Gluten-Free Sugar Blossom Cookies
Published
Baking is one of my love languages, especially holiday baking! Every year, I throw a festive baking party for my kids and their best friends, and these gluten-free sugar blossom cookies are one of their favorites. The homemade cookie dough is rolled in colorful sprinkles, baked until golden, and then topped with a Hershey’s Kiss! It’s the best combination of sweet, crunchy, and chocolately—everything a cookie should be! This recipe is also entirely gluten-free and includes a dairy-free option.
Gluten-Free Sugar Blossom Cookie Recipe
When I was younger, my mom always baked a huge assortment of cookies over the holidays. She spent a whole day marathon baking, making enough for our family to share with friends. I decided to carry on this tradition with my kids, and this recipe is just one of the many gluten-free Christmas cookies we make each year. These cookies are just like my gluten-free peanut butter blossoms but with a gluten-free sugar cookie twist! While the chocolate is a delicious addition, it’s the cookie made with gluten-free all-purpose flour, vegetable shortening, and sugar that I love the most.
Ingredients
- Vegetable Shortening: Adds moisture and helps create a melt-in-your-mouth cookie.
- Sugar: I use regular granulated sugar and brown sugar for extra flavor. The brown sugar especially adds a nice caramel-like taste to the cookies.
- Milk: Adds more moisture to the cookie dough. You can also use non-dairy milk, such as cashew, coconut, or almond milk.
- Eggs: Helps bind the dough together.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor enhancement.
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Different brands of gluten-free flour may yield different results. I can’t guarantee the same results with any other flour.
- Xanthan Gum: This mimics the gluten in regular flour and helps hold the cookie dough together. Omit it if your gluten-free flour blend already contains it.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cookies rise.
- Cream of Tartar: Adds a slightly tangy flavor and helps activate the baking soda. It also helps create a chewy texture.
- Salt: Balances out the sweetness.
- Gluten-Free Sprinkles: For rolling the cookies in before baking.
- Hershey Kisses: For these gluten-free sugar blossom cookies, I use the candy cane Hershey Kisses for a festive touch. They’re nice and minty, but you can use any type of gluten-free chocolate you prefer. For a dairy-free option, I like Enjoy Life chocolate chips.
Tips and Suggestions
- Beat the vegetable shortening with the sugar before combining it with the other ingredients. Doing this incorporates air into the dough to create a lighter texture.
- I recommend mixing the dry ingredients in a separate bowl to ensure they’re evenly distributed before adding the sugar/shortening mixture.
- Use room-temperature eggs for the best results.
- I use a greased cookie scoop to get evenly sized-cookies, but you can use a spoon instead.
- Don’t overbake the cookies! They’re supposed to be slightly soft when they come out of the oven so the Hershey Kiss can stick. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
Are Hershey Kisses Gluten-Free?
Not all Hershey Kisses are gluten-free, but several varieties are. Regular milk chocolate, special dark chocolate, milk chocolate with almond, candy cane, and milk chocolate filled with caramel kisses are all gluten-free. However, always check the label before purchasing, as ingredients and manufacturing processes can change.
Why Is My Chocolate Not Sticking?
You have to press the kisses into the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. The heat from the cookies will soften the chocolate and help them stick. If you wait too long, the cookies will cool, and the chocolate won’t stay in place. If this happens, you can always melt the chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies! They won’t have the classic blossom cookie shape, but they’ll still taste delicious.
Storage Instructions
Store your gluten-free sugar blossom cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days. They’ll stay fresher for longer if you store them in the fridge! You can also freeze the cookies for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container or bag. Let any frozen cookies thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes to Try!
- Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Gluten-Free Monster Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Almond Spritz Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies
Gluten-Free Sugar Blossom Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon milk, dairy-free use your favorite non-dairy milk. I like cashew, coconut or almond milk.
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour, I like Pillsbury Gluten Free
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum, leave out if your flour has it already
- 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- gluten-free sprinkles
- Hershey Kisses, I used candy cane-which is very minty, so if you are not a candy cane fan please use your favorite gluten-free flavor. For dairy-free use your favorite dairy-free chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine shortening, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well blended. Add milk. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.
- Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a separate large bowl. Mix into shortening mixture until well blended.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. (I used a cookie scoop.)
- Roll cookie dough ball in the sprinkles and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes. (Please watch your cookies because every oven is different.)
- As soon as you bring the cookies out of the oven place the Hersey Kisses in the center of each cookie.
- Allow to cool completely or the Hersey Kisses will flatten.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- I like Pillsbury gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- Hershey Kisses are not dairy-free, so you could use your favorite dairy-free chocolate. My family likes Enjoy Life Foods Mini Chips and Chunks.
- Store in an air-tight container.
- Mama says, “Check all of your labels!”
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Would I be able to add some peppermint extract for a hint of candy cane flavor to this recipe? If so, would I need to alter the recipe in any way? I would then add a dark chocolate or milk chocolate kiss on top. Thank you! My daughter just loves candy cane cookies and I am looking for something fun. My traditional recipe just doesn’t turn out well gf.
Hi Terina! That sounds delicious. I would use no more than 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract, and take the vanilla extract down to 2 teaspoons.
Thank you! I just made them again this year and they came out perfect! I added the peppermint extact at 3/4 tsp for just a hint of flavor and it paired nicely with the Hershey kiss! Thank you for providing such a delicious and fool-proof recipe to add to our holiday cheer!
The cookies were very good, they spread because I misread the directions and used 3/4 cup of shortening instead of 1/2 cup..🤣🤣 will try again correcting my mistake..
These look super cool, would love to give them ago some time. could I use a dairyfree butter/spread like say Nutlex? I’ve used it in other gf cookies before like (jamdrops) several times and always come out fine.
Thank you so much Sarah! I have not tried the recipe with Nutlex. If you try it please let me know how it turns out.
Perfect sugar cookie! Made as blossoms and left some plain to frost. The family keeps asking me to make more! Very quick and easy to make too!
Thank you so much Helena for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your family enjoyed the sugar blossom cookies. I am also glad that you found them quick and easy to make. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!
We made these today and they turned out great! My family doesn’t care for sprinkles so I stirred in mini chocolate chips. I also used a variety of Hershey’s Kiss flavors. This recipe is a keeper—thank you for sharing!
Hi Val thank you so much for the wonderful recipe review! I am so happy to hear that you all enjoyed the cookies. What a great idea to do mini chocolate chips! I will have to try that. You are so welcome I love sharing what I make for my family.
Can I use coconut oil instead of shortening?
I have not tried it with coconut oil. I do not think it will give it the moisture or texture the cookies need. If you do not want to use traditional shortening, maybe you could use palm shortening or butter. Thank you for asking!
made these today along with my regular pb ones. the dough was super sticky even after refrigerating. very few were thick enough for a kiss. the flavour is good but they spread out.