Cassava Flour Holiday Sugar Cookies

Being gluten-free doesn’t mean missing out on the fun of holiday cookie baking! With cassava flour, you can make scrumptious gluten-free, whole-food sugar cookies that taste just like those made from wheat flour! If you haven’t discovered cassava flour yet, these Cassava Flour Holiday Sugar Cookies are the perfect reason to do it now!  See: Getting to Know Cassava (yuca) Flour.

For me, discovering cassava flour was key to easing the strain of being gluten-free. (I only wish I found it 5 years earlier!!!) 

I can now make ANYTHING I used to make with wheat, with either boiled yuca or cassava flour. (See my other yuca/cassava recipes on this site such as Pop-tarts, Flatbread, Tortillas, Empanadas, Baked Fries, Pinwheel Cookies….)

I use Otto’s Cassava Flour for all of my baking. It can be swapped into many recipes that call for wheat flour in a 1:1 ratio. It has a powdery consistency – just like wheat flour (not grainy like nut flours.) I don’t know about you, but as someone who has been gluten-free for 6 years I can’t bear to make another thing out of almond flour!!!

Otto’s Cassava Flour

Otto’s Cassava Flour can be found in some specialty stores or purchased online by clicking below.

Otto’s Naturals 100% Natural Cassava Flour Made from Yuca Root Bag, 2 Pound

Let’s make some Cassava Flour Holiday Sugar Cookies!

*Full printable recipe below*

                                                     Makes 24 cookies

Click on any needed non-perishable item below to order online.

Ingredients for Cookies:

-1 1/2 cups Otto’s Cassava Flour

-3/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

-1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening

-1/2 cup maple sugar

-1 cage-free egg

-1/2 teaspoon almond extract ( I use Simply Organic)

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda

-1/2 cup filtered water

–parchment paper (For rolling out dough. Cassava dough can be sticky.)

-cookie cutters of any desired shape

Ingredients for Icing:

-1 cup powdered confectioners sugar

-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-1 1/2 teaspoon filtered water

Directions:

In a mixing bowl (or stand mixer) blend Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening and maple sugar. Add egg and almond extract, then mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, blend dry ingredients (Otto’s Cassava Flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, pink Himalayan salt.) Combine contents of the 2 bowls, add water, then mix until a dough is formed.

Roll out dough between two pieces of parchment paper, until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Parchment is a non-stick surface. Using it on the top and bottom of the dough prevents the need to flour your surface or rolling pin. (WAY less of a mess!!)

Using cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes from rolled out dough – such as these snowflakes. To make optimal use of time, place cookie cutter as close as possible to previously cut out shapes to decrease dough scraps and additional re-rolling.

Multiple cookie cutter shapes can be used with the same rolled-out dough – such as these snowmen.

Here I added reindeer, Christmas trees, dreidels and menorahs for the full holiday experience!

Place each cut out cookie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (The same parchment can be used as when rolling out dough.) Place in an oven that has been pre-heated to 350 degrees.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until edges begin to slightly brown. (These are very easy to burn so keep an eye on them.)

Cookie Decorating Ideas

Allow cookies to fully cool before decorating.

Sugar cookies are fun because bakers can decorate them using any number of colored icings and candies to make their own signature creations!

In this post, I used white icing made with powdered confectioners sugar, pure vanilla extract and water as my base for decorating.

In line with my philosophy of clean eating, I used fruits, vegetables, and spices to color the white icing. I do anything I can to keep chemical dyes, artificial flavorings, preservatives and pesticides out of my food. The one slight exception I made was with the blue colored icing used for the Chanukah cookies. For these, I used ColorKitchen Real Food Decorative Coloring, since no fruit, vegetable, or spice that I know of is able to make a true blue colored icing, and Chanukah cookies can’t be made without blue icing – am I right??? (I tried blueberries, but the icing came out purple.)  The only ingredient in the blue ColorKitchen Real Food Decorative Coloring is “spirulina color,” which is a natural colorant. I think this is acceptable.

For details on natural colored icing, check out my post – Icing Colored With Fruits and Vegetables

*****

While I’ll show you my personal creations, feel free to decorate your Holiday Cassava Flour Cookies any way that expresses your way of eating, personal style, and holiday traditions!

I’d love to hear about your creations in the comment section below! Or email pictures to me through my contact page.

 ***

Snowflake Holiday Cassava Flour Sugar Cookies

For a simple snowy effect, sprinkle cookies with powdered confectioners sugar. Place 1 or 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar into a sieve. Hold sieve over cookies and tap gently, allowing sugar to fall evenly over cookies (just like falling snow.)

Using powdered sugar is the simplest and quickest way to have beautiful holiday cookies! They taste delicious and look beautiful plated any number of ways!

Snowman Holiday Cassava Flour Sugar Cookies

The body of this snowman was decorated with the basic white icing mentioned above. His red hat was made with the white icing colored with the juice of organic strawberries! (See post: Icing Colored With Fruits and Vegetables for directions on how to make it.) This snowman’s eyes and buttons are Enjoy Life Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, and the pom pom on his hat is an Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Chip. (Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips are gluten, dairy, soy and nut free.) I used a slice of real carrot for his nose, which I wouldn’t recommend since the moisture in the carrot infused into the icing overnight. In the future, I will use dried fruit such as apricot or mango for the nose. (Live and learn!)

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Holiday Cassava Flour Sugar Cookies

Next came these adorable reindeer! The brown icing was colored by adding cinnamon to the basic white icing. The cinnamon not only made these reindeer the perfect color, but made them extra DELICIOUS!!! The antlers were decorated using melted Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Chips. The eyes were crafted first by placing 2 dots of white icing over the dried brown icing, and then immediately adding an Enjoy Life Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip over each dot of icing (before the icing had time to dry.)

These “Rudolph” noses were made by placing drops of white icing onto parchment paper, and sprinkling TruColor Natural Sanding Sugar immediately on top of each icing drop (before they began to dry.) This sanding sugar contains only sugar, vegetable color, and carnauba wax, so I figured it was acceptable for my healthy-ish holiday cookies. The icing drops were left to harden overnight and then placed onto each reindeer cookie. Carefully remove “noses” from parchment by sliding a knife under each drop. Adhere to reindeer cookie using another drop of wet icing.

Note: Icing can be re-hydrated after hardening by adding a few drops of water and stirring.

Note: While drying starts quickly, these “noses” don’t fully solidify, so handle carefully.

How cute are these reindeer???

Christmas Tree Holiday Cassava Flour Sugar Cookies

Believe it or not, the icing of these Christmas tree cassava flour cookies was colored with freshly juiced spinach! (See my post: Icing Colored With Fruits and Vegetables for the simple instructions on how to do it!) The color came out gorgeous, and they didn’t taste like spinach at all! Red TruColor Natural Sanding Sugar was sprinkled on top to give these trees a more decorative holiday look!

Menorah and Dreidel Holiday Cassava Flour Sugar Cookies

The rich, yellow coloring for these dreidels and menorahs were made by adding turmeric to the basic white icing! The blue color was made by adding ColorKitchen Real Food Decorative Coloring in blue, which has only one ingredient, “spirulina color,” a natural colorant.

Enjoy your Holiday Cassava Flour Sugar Cookies no matter what shapes or decorations you choose!

Wishing you and your family a very happy holiday season!

***

CLICK HERE TO SHOP

Click here, or on the SHOP link in the menu bar above, to see the recommended pantry items and kitchen gadgets I personally use to make Crazy For Yuca recipes. Check out the yuca/cassava snacks – all personally taste tested and approved by me and my family! 

***

Healthy Eating Tip: Why add cassava flour to your baking repertoire!

The holidays are definitely extra challenging for gluten-free and healthy eaters. From Thanksgiving through New Years we are bombarded with food and desserts wherever we go, most of which we can’t eat. It’s a time of year that’s supposed to be festive, but can be very straining for those who are gluten free. Many give in to temptation during the holidays and end up feeling sick and inflamed. With a little planning and baking of your own, you can enjoy treats made with Otto’s Cassava Flour without compromising your health. You’re worth the effort!

Otto’s Cassava Flour is gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, soy-free, Paleo, Vegan, Autoimmune Protocol friendly, and non-GMO! How many flours can make a claim like that? Cassava flour is a whole-food flour made simply by drying and grinding the white flesh of the peeled yuca/cassava root. (Yuca and cassava are different names for the same root vegetable.) It isn’t enriched with anything or stripped of any of its nutrients.

Cassava flour is a truly healthy alternative to wheat for those who are gluten intolerant or have an allergy to nuts. A further benefit is that it won’t spike blood sugar the way many gluten-free flours can. Cassava (yuca) has a low glycemic index, which makes it an ideal choice for those with blood-sugar issues.

Cooking and baking with cassava flour is a wonderful choice for anyone looking to eat a healthy, low grain, “real food” diet, whether gluten intolerant or not.

Purchase Otto’s Cassava Flour by clicking here today so you’ll have it available for your holiday baking…. 

And check out my other posts to get excited about other delicious things you can make when your cassava flour arrives. (I have a lot more recipe ideas on the way!!!)

Otto’s Naturals 100% Natural Cassava Flour Made from Yuca Root Bag, 2 Pound

***

***

***

Print

Cassava Flour Holiday Sugar Cookies

Cook Time

12 mins

 

Who says you can't be gluten free and eat delicious holiday sugar cookies? With Cassava Flour Holiday Sugar Cookies no one misses out on the fun of holiday cookie baking and decorating! These gluten-free, whole-food, cassava flour cookies taste so much like those made from wheat, no one will even know they're gluten-free! If you haven't discovered cassava flour yet, what are you waiting for?? 

Course: Dessert

Servings: 24 cookies

Author: Lauren from Crazy For Yuca

Ingredients

Sugar Cookie Dough

• 1 1/2 cups Otto's Cassava Flour
• 1/2 cup maple sugar
• 1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening Pastured butter can be used if you tolerate dairy.
• 1 pastured egg
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt Any salt can be used, Himalayan is preferred because of mineral content
• 1/2 cup filtered water

White Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Tbsp filtered water. If icing is too thick, add additional water 1 tsp at a time.

To add desired color to icing, use either conventional food coloring or for a natural alternative see my post - Icing Colored With Fruits and Vegetables

Decorate your Holiday Cassava Flour Sugar Cookies with colored sugar, sprinkles, chocolate chips, candies, or anything that fits into your dietary protocol.

Instructions

To make the dough

1. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, blend Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening and maple sugar. 

2. Add egg and almond extract and mix until well combined.
   

3. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together - Otto's Cassava Flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, and Himalayan sea salt. 

4. Combine contents of the two bowls, add water, and blend until a dough is formed.  

Making dough into cookies

1. Place dough on parchment paper and roll it out to desired thickness - about 1/4 inch.

2. Cut out desired shapes using cookie cutters.

3. Dough can be made back into a ball and rolled out again and again until all dough has been make into cookies. 

4. Arrange cut out cookies on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

5. Place baking sheet in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees. Bake for about 12 minutes, until edges start to brown slightly. 

6. Allow to fully cool before icing.

Making Icing

1. Place powdered sugar, vanilla extract and water in a bowl and blend until fully incorporated.

2. Add food coloring, if desired, to create any number of holiday designs. 

3. See my post entitled Icing Colored With Fruits and Vegetables for ideas on how to color icing naturally.

4. Decorate cookies with colored sugar, chocolate chips, sprinkles, or candies to create desired effect or holiday characters. 

5. Enjoy your holiday cookie baking!!!

*****

Subscribe to Crazy For Yuca for free recipes and healthy eating tips sent right to your inbox. Enter your email above so you never miss a recipe!  

Disclaimer– At Crazy for Yuca I write about my own personal health and diet journey.  My experience and recipes are not to be considered expert advice or suggestive that anyone follow any particular diet protocol. Each person’s body and medical issues are individual and need to be evaluated by a medical professional. If you have any concerns due to your specific diagnoses, please consult your doctor before eating yuca.