Healthy Sugar Cookies
Published 2/8/2021 • Updated 3/17/2024
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You would seriously never know these are HEALTHY sugar cookies. Our almond flour sugar cookies are made with 8 simple ingredients and guess what? There’s no white sugar involved!
The Best Healthy Sugar Cookies
This healthy sugar cookie recipe is one that we use year-round. From Valentine’s day to Christmas cookie cut-outs, these healthy sugar cookies are our go-to!
Here’s a few reasons why you need to make these:
Sugar-Free: technically these sugar-free because the only thing they use for sweetness is honey!
8-Ingredients: 8 ingredients is all you need to whip up a batch of these cookies.
Soft on the Inside: These come our soft and perfect on the inside, while holding shape on the outside.
Grain-Free: These almond flour sugar cookies are actually grain-free because the “flour” that they use is almond flour and coconut flour, both grain-free flours.
What you Need
All ingredients listed below are grain-free, gluten-free, and paleo-friendly. Unfortunately we don’t recommend making ANY swaps, so please only use the following.
ingredients
- blanched almond flour
- coconut flour
- baking soda
- salt
How to Make Healthy Sugar Cookies
These sugar cookies are seriously so easy to make. Here’s a quick run-down of how to whip these up.
Make the Dough
First things first, let’s make the dough. Combine the wet ingredients, by whisking the honey until it completely dissolves. Then, combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Then, wrap it in plastic wrap and place the dough in the refrigerator to chill.
pro tip
If the dough is sticky while you’re trying to roll it into a ball, slightly wet your hands and try again.
Roll Cookies
First, flour a hard, cool surface with coconut flour.
Then, remove the chilled dough from the fridge. It should be cold and malleable. Remove the plastic wrap and place the dough on your floured surface.
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thick. If the dough is sticking to your rolling pin, sprinkle on some coconut flour.
Cut Out Cookies
This recipe will make around 20 small/medium cookies. Feel free to use whatever cookie cutters you have for the appropriate holiday.
If you have leftover dough, knead it and roll it out again so you don’t waste any dough.
Transfer healthy sugar cookies to your parchment-lined baking sheets.
Bake
Since you’re going to get around 20 cookies from this recipe, you will need to use 2 baking sheets. These cookies don’t expand much, so don’t worry about spacing them out a lot.
Bake almond flour sugar cookies at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.
Quick Q & A
Can I substitute the almond flour or coconut flour?
Short answer, NO! We have only tested these healthy sugar cookies with almond flour and coconut flour. We do not suggest any other subsitutions. Check out more of our cookie recipes for cookies with other flour options.
Can I freeze these cookies?
Yes, you can freeze these cookies! Be sure the cookies and the frosting have cooled completely before placing them in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Can I make these vegan?
Unfortunately, the egg is an important part of this recipe as it binds the ingredients together. We do not recommend subbing or removing the egg.
Healthy Sugar Cookies (Almond Flour Sugar Cookies)
Ingredients
Wet
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, softened
Dry
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
For the Icing
- 2 cups organic powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- 2-3 drops pink/red food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium-size bowl, mix together dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Make sure the honey is completely dissolved. Then, slowly add dry ingredients to wet until your dough is formed. The dough may seem crumbly at first, but continue to knead the dough together until it forms a ball. It helps if you use your hands.
- Create a ball with your dough and wrap it with plastic wrap and then place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.
- Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and sprinkle coconut flour onto a hard, cool surface. Then, use a rolling pin to roll out dough so that it’s around 1/4-inch thick. If it’s sticking, sprinkle on some more coconut flour.
- Use small/medium cookie cutters to create sugar cookie cut outs. Then, transfer cookies to the parchment paper. Don’t worry about spacing too much as the cookies will not expand that much.
- Bake healthy sugar cookies at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes or until cookies begin to turn golden brown.
- Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.
For the Icing
- Add water to powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time. Add enough water (by the tablespoon), until you’ve reached your desired thickness. If you want your icing to be pink/red, add 2-3 drops of food coloring.
- Use a knife to ice cookies, or transfer icing into a piping bag and ice that way.
- Let icing harden for at least an hour before transferring into an airtight container to store. Will last on the counter for up to 5 days. For best results, freeze for up to 3 months.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #fitfoodiefinds, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
These are great! Chewy middle with crispy edges. I may have altered the recipe slightly though – I didn’t have coconut flour so I used D.H.’s GF plain flour, and I love the taste of coconut sugar, so I used 1T honey and 2T (heaped) coconut sugar.
Thanks for a delish recipe!
Thanks for sharing that these substitutions worked for you, Emily!
I love how healthy these are! And they worked perfectly with my cookie cutters!! Have you ever tried or succeeded in making them crispy? My son loves a good crunch! Would cornstarch help?
Hmmm, that is a good question. I am not exactly sure. It might be hard to get them crispy since they’re made with an almond flour base!
Can you swap whole wheat flour for the almond flour?
Hi, my LO is allergic to almonds. Is it ok to sub almond flour with plain flour?
Made these for a toddler Christmas cookie decorating party. They are mom and kid approved! A couple women said their husbands asked them to get the recipie! We did have one rejection (even with the icing on it), so if your little person snubs their nose at healthy, this may be no exception. I love that I have no mom guilt letting my son eat these. It’s basically almonds, egg, and coconut oil! A cookie with actual nutritional value!
LOL. Love that one kid just didn’t like them 😛 But if the husbands did…WINNING.
These are so delicious. I made them for my boys but I had to change the pink color for them! Personally I think they are super cute in pink but my boys won’t eat them in pink.
LOL! I hope you made them green 🙂
It looks really delicious. Thanks for sharing.
– Gustavo Woltmann
These are just so gorgeous. I will have to make them. I don’t think I’ve seen a more cute cookie!