Gluten Free Nutmeg Pecan Cutout Sugar Cookies!
Cutout Sugar Cookies are an obvious must have recipe every Holiday Season!!
I already have a number of delicious and perfect in every way sugar cookie recipes here in the club for a wide variety of diets. So this year I figured I would venture out beyond the typical cookie and experiment with something new. I adapted my favorite sugar cookies to take on a whole new flavor profile and boy am I ever glad I did!! They turned out incredible!!
Warm notes of brown sugar, with crunchy pecans and a hint of nutmeg round out the flavor. They have a bit of a pecan sandy flavor only with the soft fluffy melt in your mouth texture of a perfectly baked sugar cookie. I give this recipe a 10 out of 10!!
Flour Options:
Better Batter Gluten Free Orginal Blend. This flour blend continues to amaze me. It can do so many things better than most other blends that I have tried. I cant live without for my bread recipes & have found it works exceptionally well in cookies too!
Lately I have been ordering it from the Better Batter website directly. When they sell out- they tend to restock pretty quickly. Check back within a day or two if they are sold out when you look. I buy it in bulk now (Up to 40 lbs at a time) as I cant risk running out. I use it in too many recipes that we love.
What if you cant get your hands on it? This may be the case if you live outside the US. My friend Nichole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring has figured out a mock recipe for better batter. Her version should work great in this recipe! The owner (Naomi) of better batter has confirmed that the mix is similar to the official version.
It is by and far my favorite flour blend for cookies!! But- right now being December its once again sold out everywhere. (I had to preorder rather than order more this past week..womp wimp)
So- the second best option that I have tested out for this recipe is King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour! The cookies still turn out really great and I have never had an issue sourcing that flour!
I have heard from club members that Jules Gluten Free All Purpose flour works great in my sugar cookie recipes as well. I have not personally tried it but I would feel safe recommending that to you as well.
Other Ingredients and Questions Answered:
Butter : You can make these cookies with regular salted butter If dairy isn’t a concern for you. IF you are making them dairy free like I did please use Earth Balance Butter Sticks. You may try other brands but know that there is a lot of variety brand to brand and they don’t all perform the same. Earth balance is the best when it comes to mimicking how real butter works. Of course you can just use regular salted butter too if making them dairy free isn’t a concern.
To make the cookies Corn Free: Just use a brand of corn free baking powder!
Do I need to chill the dough? If you are in a rush and your butter was pretty cold then you can skip the chilling process. IF your butter melts COMPLETELY by accident before adding it to the bowl then sure you may want to cover the mixing bowl and stick the dough in the fridge 1-2 hours. We chill out dough so eliminate how much flour is needed when rolling out. The more flour used the less tender the cookies become.
Can I freeze the cookie dough? Sure! I haven't tried it out but I cant see why it would be an issue. But here’s the big BUT- I don’t recommend baking the cookie dough frozen. Let it thaw until its easy enough to roll out!
Gluten Free Nutmeg Pecan Cutout Sugar Cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 Sticks (16 tbsp) softened/room temperature Earth Balance Butter Sticks or Salted Butter.
- 230 grams Brown Sugar (1 1/2 cups_
- 1 Large Egg
- 1/4 Cup of Milk, Half & Half or Heavy Cream (Dairy or nondairy)
- 407 grams Better Batter Original Blend (2 1/2 cups) OR King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure flour.
- 1 Tsp. Double Acting Baking Powder
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 Tsp Almond Extract
- 1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1 Cup finely chopped Pecans (Raw/unsalted)
Instructions
- Place your stand mixer bowl on your baking scale. Add the butter and sugar. Using a paddle attachment cream the sugar and butter on high for 40-60 seconds.
- Place the bowl on your baking scale again and add all the remaining ingredients.
- Start by mixing on low slowing increasing to high until a smooth fully mixed dough forms. Stop and scrape the sides once if needed. Add in the chopped pecans and stir them in.
- Cover the mixing bowl with ceran wrap and place in the fridge for at least one hour (or overnight if you wish to make it ahead.)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set aside 2-3 large clean/dry baking sheets (no oil or parchment is needed).
- Place a large sheet of parchment paper on your work surface. Lightly Sprinkle it with better batter flour. Add half of the dough (or more if you wish) Using a rolling pin roll the dough out between 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle the top with a little more better batter flour. Cut out using cutters of choice. Place cookies on the baking sheets.
- Press the remaining dough + leftover dough into a ball. Roll out again and repeat.
- Bake the cookies 6-8 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. If you want your cookies sturdier and crisper when they cool bake for the full 8 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool almost fully before using a thin spatula to gently remove them. At this point you can stack and store them at room temperature, fridge or freezer in a sealed container. Frost once they are fully cool with your favorite buttercream or royal icing.
Notes
For the topping you may use any frosting of choice! I went with a basic buttercream and then toasted some pecans in a dry skillet to sprinkle on top!
Note: I used 1 egg + 1/4 cup of milk so that my cookies would have some nice fluff to them! If you are looking for a tender, super sturdy cookie that doesn't puff up much and holds the shape of the cookie cutter exactly feel free to swap out the milk and use 2 large eggs int he recipe as well.
Alternatvely if you are looking to make the cookies egg free/vegan I think most all egg replacers will work in this recipe no problem :) Dairy free butter such as earth balance buttery sticks is the best options.
