7 Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes

December is a busy month and you want recipes that will deliver to your holiday baking dreams. This collection of 7 Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes are recipes I’ll be making in my kitchen to celebrate the season with friends and family. I hope you’ll love them too!

I’ve been wearing sweaters and boots this week despite temperatures in the high 60’s. After all tomorrow IS December 1^st and the countdown to Christmas will begin in our house. Each year I pull out (well my teen son beats me to it now) a countdown box with a drawer for each day. When the kids were younger I’d put little notes or activity announcements in the drawers and we’d count down with festive things daily. Now the box usually has candy, but it does get the holidays going.

A tradition I began on Boulder Locavore five years ago (eeps!) was sharing a curated list of 24 gluten-free Christmas cookie recipes to allow you to bake your way to Christmas. I carefully tried to avoid duplications year to year so the collection (all of which are pinned to my Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie board on Pinterest), now around 120 recipes, would be a resource for your baking pleasure.

I sat down to create the list this year and found myself stalling. I’d type a little and go eat some Pecan Rum Balls. I’d sit down again and decide my English bulldog puppy Clementine needed a walk (if you follow my Instagram Stories you’ll know she doesn’t walk but rather sits for long periods of time watching cars go by). I could feel something wasn’t clicking.

When I stepped away to think about it I realized I’m not going to be baking 24 Christmas Cookie recipes and you probably aren’t either. So instead I want to share the seven recipes that I know I’m going to bake this December. These are recipes I can’t wait to linger over in the kitchen, maybe even turn over to my kids to do an entire recipe on their own. I’m excited about these recipes and hope you will be too!

Chocolate Mint Truffle Cookies. These cookies are always a win. Crisp outside and chewy inside due to loads of melted chocolate in the recipe. The cookies are baked on two pans at the same time so it’s a one shot to finish the entire batch of approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Pecan Rum Balls. Love these. They remind me of my Grandparents and I confessed to a girlfriend they feel like day drinking for cheaters. They are boozy, I won’t lie, but in the most fabulous way. They are created a week before using them to allow the flavors to blend and last well. Did I mention this is a no bake recipe?!

Forgotten Cookies. These are a grandmother classic in my family. My maternal grandmother would make them yearly and they were pure magic. As an adult cook I now know them to be a meringue cookie with nuts and chocolate chips, dropped onto a cookie sheet in a pre-warmed oven that has been turned off. Left overnight (or at least a few hours if you want them more quickly) the glossy, snowy-white cookies transform into a matte white finish, hard, light cookie that never disappoints.

Mini Gingerbread House Mug Topper Cookies {Noshtastic}. I’m sure I don’t need to share why I can’t wait to make these adorable dipping cookies. I can’t think of anything more fun on a snowy Saturday than a construction line for these itty-bitty ginger houses. The cookies made easier with a 3D mini gingerbread cookie cutter available online allowing the creative fun to be in the construction and decoration of the noshable cookie.

Peppermint Macarons {What The Fork Food Blog}. When we rented an apartment in Paris a few summers ago I, embarrassingly, did not know macarons are naturally gluten-free. I assumed they were not and avoided them. Ug. They ARE naturally gluten-free if made traditionally and such a pretty cookie. The delicate, chewy sandwich cookie has a wonderful flavor and this peppermint version is perfect for the holidays. My son and I took a class to learn how to make macarons at our local Escoffier cooking school this fall. Can’t wait to test our skills on these recipes.

White Chocolate Dipped Gingerbread Cookies (Mama Knows Gluten Free}. Christmas isn’t Christmas without some gingersnaps or gingerbread. These chewy-looking gingerbread cookies are dipped in white chocolate and decorated making them a sure holiday win.

Chocolate Coconut Cloud Cookies {Meaningful Eats}. This excerpt from this recipe post jumped off the page at me: “Holiday baking is here! If you’re looking for a delicious, naturally gluten-free cookie (that doesn’t require weird ingredients) to make for holiday parties and cookies swaps, this is the one!” No weird ingredients! Holiday baking should be fun and easy, and this layered cookie will be happening in my kitchen. A layered cookie mixed with a macaroon, these cookies look heavenly.

The last four recipes are from talented gluten-free Bloggers who each have loads of delicious gluten-free recipes. Check them out!

Want more recipes?

If you are ready for more baking check out the past cookie guides: 24 Days of Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes (2013), 24 Days of Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes (2014), 24 Days of Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie & Treat Recipes and 24 Best Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes (2016).