Easy Paleo Christmas Sugar Cookies

Cutout sugar cookies are a must for Christmas time! These easy paleo Christmas sugar cookies are soft, delicious, and perfect to decorate with the kids. Just about everyone can enjoy them; they’re gluten-free dairy-free, and paleo-approved.

My kids love to help out in the kitchen, and baking is one of their favorite things to do. Well, licking the bowl and spoons is their favorite thing.

With 4 kids on deck, baking something easy and delicious is a must!

We love a good fudgy peppermint brownie or an orange cranberry cookie, but the kids are always intrigued by the sugar cookies. I mean, how can a regular ol’ cookie compete with a Christmas-shaped cutout cookie that is decorated with red and green icing? 

We have a tradition in our home to bake Christmas cookies on the day we put the tree up, the day we take it down, and a few days in between. Did I mention that my kids love to bake?

I wanted to come up with a paleo sugar cookie with dairy-free coconut cream icing so the kids could enjoy decorating cookies this year without unwanted ingredients. After a few rounds in the kitchen, we came up with something I know you will love!

Why You Will Love this Recipe

• Easy to make: If you’ve ever baked regular sugar cookies, you’ll have no problems making paleo sugar cookies! This recipe comes together so easily and only takes a few minutes of active time.
• Paleo-friendly: This recipe is specially made with the paleo diet in mind. That means it’s free of wheat flour, refined sugar, and dairy. You can enjoy these cookies without worrying about sticking to your diet. They’re also ideal for those with gluten or dairy allergies!
• Delicious: These paleo Christmas sugar cookies are so tasty, you won’t even realize that you are eating a dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free dessert! The paleo-friendly sugars and flours actually add more flavor, making a rich and delicious cookie.
• Festive: You can’t make Christmas cookies without making frosted sugar cookies! These fun cookies are a tradition for many people and this recipe ensures you can enjoy your tradition even when you’re paleo.

What Goes Into This Recipe

• Coconut oil: For these paleo cookies, we will use coconut oil instead of butter or vegetable oil. Be sure to find cold-pressed, unrefined coconut oil.
• Coconut sugar: Coconut sugar is a wonderful sweetener for paleo pastries! You can find it at most supermarkets, health food stores, or online.
• Maple syrup: Another natural alternative sweetener. Be sure to use pure maple syrup, not sugar-sweetened pancake syrup.
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Almond flour: A paleo-approved alternative to regular flour. Almond flour is made out of blanched, dried, and ground almonds.
• Coconut flour: Coconut flour is another wheat-free flour alternative and is made out of coconut flesh. Combined with almond flour, they create a perfect texture that is moist while still holding its structure.
• Baking soda
• Salt

Paleo Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe

How to Make Paleo Sugar Cookie Icing

A Christmas sugar cookie has to be topped with icing, am I right? Decorating them is half the fun! I love to make an easy coconut cream whipped cream to dip fruit in, slather on my healthy pumpkin pie, or use as icing. 

It is so simple to make; this paleo sugar cookie icing has one necessary ingredient: coconut cream. Of course, you can add maple syrup, vanilla extract, and natural food dye to make it even tastier and more festive.

The night before you plan to make coconut cream frosting, put a can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge to make scraping the cream off the top easier.

Ingredients

• Coconut cream: You can purchase a can of pure coconut cream or scrape it off the top of chilled full-fat coconut milk. This will be a canned good – you don’t want coconut milk from the refrigerated milk section.
• Pure maple syrup (optional)
• Vanilla extract (optional) 
• Natural food dyes (optional): You can purchase natural food dyes online or make your own! Keep reading for suggestions for making your own.

Instructions

1. Add coconut cream to a large mixing bowl. 
2. Mix with a stand-up mixer or a handheld mixer for several minutes until stiff peaks form. 
3. Add in maple syrup, vanilla, and food dye if using and continue to mix until well combined. 

Helpful Tips

• Don’t skip chilling the dough! It will be nearly impossible to work with and roll out before it spends some time in the fridge.
• These cookies can be frozen, unfrosted, for later. I like to make a big batch at the beginning of the holiday season and take out what I need to thaw and decorate.
• If you aren’t avoiding sugar, feel free to substitute the coconut sugar with organic cane sugar.
• Serve these delicious cookies with paleo peppermint hot chocolate (or a Whole30 pumpkin spice latte for the adults)! They go perfectly together for a festive sweet treat.

How to Make All-Natural Food Dyes

You can find all-natural food dyes that are made with real food, or you can make your own. For this recipe, I used homemade red and green food coloring to keep things festive.

Natural Red Food Dye

There are several ways you can make red food dye out of red fruits and vegetables. Because I had leftover cranberry sauce in my refrigerator from Thanksgiving, I used that.  I added about one tablespoon of the liquid to the coconut cream and blended it with a handheld mixer. 

Cranberries are very colorful and you only need a little to make the white coconut cream red. You can also blend in freeze-dried strawberries, beet juice, or hibiscus flowers. 

Natural Green Food Dye

I used spinach for this because I had some on hand and because spinach has a very mild flavor. Have you ever added a handful of spinach to a smoothie? You can’t even tell it is in there, but the whole smoothie turns green. Hence, spinach makes the perfect all-natural food coloring. 

To make it:

1. Add a handful of fresh spinach to a small saucepan of water. Use just enough water to cover the spinach.
2. Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Strain off most of the water, only leaving about a tablespoon. 
3. Pour spinach and water into a food processor and blend until smooth — strain spinach out if needed. 
4. Add a small amount of the green liquid to the coconut cream until the desired color is reached.

More Delicious Dessert Recipes

• Strawberry Lollipops without Corn Syrup
• Paleo Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Avocado Frosting
• Paleo Apple Pie Crumble
• Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream

If you tried these Paleo Christmas Sugar Cookies or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!