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– raw, vegan, gluten-free, grain-free –
I find sugar cookies to be so completely comforting and very personal. For me, this is because people all over the world can use the same basic recipe and yet they all come out so very unique.
Kids and adults both enjoy designing, decorating and of course eating them. A basic sugar cookie recipe uses 1 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 2 tsp. of vanilla extract, 1 beaten egg and 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. I was really missing a good ole’ sugar cookie recipe in my raw little raw world so I set out on a mission to create a healthier version and I accomplished just that. :)
Shaping sugar cookie dough is perhaps the most fun part of this recipe. You can roll out the dough and cut it with cookie cutters. If you don’t have a collection of cutters, cut shapes out of cardboard and trace around them with a sharp knife. You can also make slice-and-dehydrate cookies with the dough. Shape it into logs, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Once chilled, slice and dehydrate. These cookies can be colored, decorated with sprinkles, slathered with frosting, or even topped with jam.
Back in the day, while living in Alaska, my mom and I got into this bad habit of purchasing A sugar cookie from the local 7-11 gas station. I emphasize the word “A” because it was only ONE cookie… ONE BIG COOKIE! lol They were addicting. They were large in diameter, super thick, and so delicious!
These cookies were soft and each bite was like sinking your teeth into a chewy cloud (can’t you just imagine a chewy cloud? :) They were sweet but not too sweet to where you couldn’t finish it. If I recall, they must have been about 4-5 inches in diameter and about 1/2″ thick.
Not only that they were then topped with a delicate, mouth-watering pink icing which was then adorned with sprinkles. Not so bad for 7-11 huh? haha If memory serves me right, they had about 400 calories per cookie. Oy-vey. But long gone are those days and those cookies… till today! The cookies made from this recipe remind me of those chewy clouds and now I am a happy camper knowing I can enjoy them whenever I wish and they are made with healthy ingredients. Mission accomplished.
Side note… I had sent this photo to my girlfriend because she was here to help make some raw cookies. I wanted to show her the outcome. She commented on how she liked my pan (with a giggle). I had to laugh. I told her that I paid good money (umm, I think .25 cents) for it at a garage sale. I wanted the WELL USED look that it had for photo backdrops.
One day, I caught Bob with a scouring pad trying to clean it. I about fainted (ok maybe not really) but I was like… “NOOOOO! I BOUGHT IT THAT WAY!” It’s like they say, “One mans junk is another man’s treasure.” hehe
P.S. I have included a baking option for those of you who don’t own a dehydrator. You are still light years ahead of purchasing commercially processed cookies. So I am proud of you for being here. I do recommend in time that you invest in one as it will open up a whole new culinary world to you. :) I highly recommend the 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator.
Ingredients:Yields 24+ cookies
Decoration:
Baking option:
When it comes to sugar cookies all possibilities are on the table; cookie cutters, hand shape and flatten them, stamps, pressings, molds… you can be as creative as you wish! One tip when using cookie stamps is to place the stamp straight down on the dough and press firm and evenly before lifting it. If it doesn’t come out right the first time, gather the dough back up, roll it out, and try again.
I love seeing the vanilla bean seeds in the dough!
I usually roll the dough out to 1/4″ thick.
Serve them up with fresh almond milk!
For a gift giving an idea; package up the cookies and make a fresh bottle of almond milk. Yummm!
Thanks so much.
Your welcome Ben. Have a wonderful weekend. amie sue
Wow! Those look amazing! I have to make some of these for the holidays! BTW I love your website and I’m kind of addicted! LOL! It’s nice to see a fellow Living Light grad doing really well in their raw dream. Keep it up! :)
~Vanessa
Thank you Vanessa… driven by passion for healthy foods. Thank you for your encouragement. :) Blessings amie sue
Amie, when do you sleep?! You are prolific in recipe creation! I am loving the MANY recipes coming this season. Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try this one on my kids.
DOH! I knew that I was forgetting to do something! haha I try to but raw ingredients dance in my head and keep me awake. hehe Oh, please let me know what your kiddos think. They are my toughest audience and I love their feed-back. Have a wonderful weekend, amie sue
Can these be made without a dehydrator?
Hello Jenny,
Good question… I haven’t tried baking them, because I try to keep most of these recipes on the raw side. (give or take a few processed ingredients). amie sue
Amie Sue, Did you use almond meal to make these, or did you use almond flour (leftover re-dydrated pulp from almond milk? I have both but am curious as to which is would be better? Thanks so much in advance. BTW~ I’m super excited about all the butter and sugar cookie recipes! :)
Good afternoon Courtney…
I have used both and they both taste good, just a slight difference in texture.
Almond meal, specially if you make your own doesn’t grind down to powder. Still good though.
Almond flour made from almond pulp – I would recommend dehydrating the pulp and then grind to a flour for the best texture.
Please let me know how they turn out for you! Many blessings, amie sue
Hi Amie-Sue,
I have just recently begun adventures in raw “cooking” and I love your site. I just wanted to tell you that my 6 year old son, who is one of the pickiest eaters ever (and very addicted to sugar) LOVES your raw sugar cookies. I made your basic vanilla frosting and sprinkled cinnamon on top at his request and he gobbled them up. AND he passed them out to his friends and they ate them too! Hah!
Thank you so much!
Rachelle
Oh Rachelle, that is so wonderful to read. Thank you for sharing that with me, it means a lot. Kids are always number one on my list for taste testing and approvals. hehe Have a blessed day, amie sue
Is there a way of doing this without the nuts? Maybe a seed substitute?
Hello Claire,
I don’t think that any seed would taste right with this recipe. Nuts are the bulk ingredient of this recipe so it would require redesigning this complete recipe. I don’t really have a recommendation at this point. When I create recipes I spend a lot of time balancing ingredients to get the right texture and test that I am aiming for. I hope that makes sense. Have a great evening, amie sue
Thank you for the reply – if you ever create a nut-free version, let me know! :)
Hi, i was wondering if you would think about taking orders and selling cookies and/or a cake?
Hello Kellie,
Thank you for asking. I am touched. May I ask where you live? amie sue
In this recipe you elased the cashew flour with the line, what is good ingredients instead of cashew flour?
Good day Sunny,
I am sorry about the confusion. Apparently, the link broke so the system puts a line through the ingredient. You still use them. I will try to find all the broken ones and fix them… but until then, if you see one, just let me know and make the recipe as indicated. Blessings, amie sue
Hi Amie
First I want to ask how are you and how you are doing in your family crisis.. i keep thinking about you. We all miss you…
Second, If you remember, I have been asking your if there is a good substitute to coconut flour/flakes etc. in your recipes.
You asked me to give you a recipe of yours that i would like to make but without any coconut…
So here is one, looks amazing, but i can’t use coconut… :(
Do you have an idea about this?
Thank you, dear
Good morning Mickey,
I am still with my family, watching over my grandmother. She is under hospice care and her breath grows more shallow each passing day. I am so thankful and feel blessed to have this time with her. Thank you for checking in. :) hugs Regarding this recipe… since you can’t do the shredded coconut, you could replace it with more almond or cashew flour. I added the dried coconut to the recipe for a couple of reasons ; for a little coconut flavor, and to reduce the amount of nuts being used. Therefore, this is an easy one to substitute. The main texture for this cookie is to resemble the dough of baked sugar cookie dough, and the flavor of this cookie is to be slightly sweet with a neutral flavor… just like typical sugar cookies.
I hope this helps. Keep me posted if you give it a try. hugs and blessings, amie sue
THANK YOU for taking the time to answer my question when you are so busy with your Grandma…this is not being taken for granted…I will surly try to make the cookies and let you and our group know how they came out.
Bless you Amie, you are one of a kind!
Mickey
Oh, thank you Mickey. Doing my best to stay on top of it all.:) I hope the cookies turn(ed) out well for you. blessings, amie sue