Chewy and naturally sweet, these gluten free cranberry cookies will be a popular choice for the holidays! And here's a bonus...these sweet treats are also vegan and ready to enjoy in under twenty minutes!
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If you are looking for delicious gluten free cookie for a cookie exchange or if you're just looking to fill up your dessert trays this holiday season, then look no further. These cranberry cookies are light and chewy and taste like shortbread. And, they taste even better the next day! I love the POP of sweetness and the color from the dried cranberries. These cookies are perfect for festive celebrations.
Why Choose Gluten Free Cookies?
Allergies are everywhere these days. When you are visiting or having guests over, it's nice to offer allergen free options to people who have dietary restrictions. Gluten free cookies are typically made with rice flour, oat flour, or almond flour. A lot of recipes use an all purpose gluten free flour. All work really well and taste great depending on the recipe and ingredients, but these cranberry cookies use almond flour as a base, which besides being gluten free, also adds a slightly nutty flavor.
Ingredients You'll Need
Let's take a look at what's in these yummy cookies! We're talking SIMPLE ingredients!
I love using a coarse salt in these dried cranberry cookies. I highly recommend using gray salt in this cookie recipe. It's also known as Celtic Sea salt and comes from France. The gray color comes from the clay that lines saltwater ponds and is full of magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and iodine.
With this recipe, you can use butter or coconut oil. Coconut oil works well for those observing a vegan diet and also provides a delicious taste! Coconut and cranberry taste fantastic together!
I prefer using dried cranberries with this recipe instead of fresh cranberries. The dried cranberries provide a bit of texture to these sugar cookies and add just enough tang for an amazing after taste with each bite!
Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
The thing I love most about these cranberry cookies is how super easy they are to put together. If you already have the liquid coconut oil, it makes things even easier! Start off by preheating the oven to 350°F. Then, line a cookie cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Grab a large mixing bowl and stir together the almond flour, baking powder, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir well until a nice dough forms.
Next, fold in the dried cranberries with a spatula or a wooden spoon so the cranberries are evenly distributed into the cookie dough.
Using your hands, roll the dough forming them into 1 to 2 inch balls. Place the balls on the lined cookie sheet and firmly press down to flatten into cookies. Expert Tip: Lightly press any extra or loose cranberries into the top of dough. This makes them super pretty!
These cranberry cookies don't spread very much, but you should space them out about ½ to 1 inch apart. Once all the cookies have been formed, flattened, and placed, bake them for 8-10 minutes.
And voila! You have yourself some amazingly festive cranberry cookies!!
Expert Tips and FAQs
- While I love the taste and texture of using gray salt in this recipe, you can also use kosher or Himalayan salt. Check out the difference between Kosher, sea, pink, and grey salt here.
- You can buy fractionated coconut oil in the same aisle as olive oil in a lot of grocery stores. Fractionated means the oil has been divided and only the liquid component remains.
- This dough doesn't spread out while baking so shape your cookies how you want them. I like to roll them into a ball then flatten them into a nice round disc. Rinse your hands between and leave them damp for a smooth finish.
- If you don't want to use your hands to form the dough into balls, use a small butter scoop. Just form the mixture into a small ball, and then release the dough onto the lined cookie sheet.
- If you love nuts, try adding in some chopped pistachios or pecans.
- Store these cookies in a glass or plastic container with a tight fitting lid on the counter top. These cranberry cookies will keep for 5-7 days.
- If you want to take it a step further you can even make your own dried cranberries! You don't need a dehydrator or any fancy equipment either. Making your own dried cranberries is a fun holiday project!
More Gluten Free Cookies
If you're looking for more cookie recipes then you're going to LOVE these! My Almond & Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies are sweet, chewy bites of goodness that are gluten free and grain free. Are you a fan of banana bread? If so, these Banana Bread Breakfast Cookies are easy to make, super healthy, and are perfect for breakfast! And these Ginger Almond Cookies are sweet and slightly spicy. Using almond flour adds so much flavor and provides an allergy friendly gluten free cookie.
I can’t wait to hear how this recipe turned out for you! If you’ve tried this or any other recipe of mine on the website, make sure you rate the recipe. You can also leave a comment below! I love hearing from you!
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Gluten Free Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp grey sea salt
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup dried cranberries, plus a small handful to press on the tops
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Pour in the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract and mix well until a nice dough forms.
- Add in the dried cranberries and fold to combine.
- Roll the dough into 1 to 2 inch sized balls and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. Expert Tip: Rinse your hands every so often and leave them a bit damp for rolling a smoother ball!
- Flatten the balls and shape them into round discs. They will not spread out during baking so no need to worry about spacing. I fit 15 perfectly on one sheet. Lightly press any extra cranberries into the tops.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the cookie sheet at the halfway point. Check the bottoms at 8 minutes to see if they are golden. Be careful as they are fragile at this point!
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up then transfer to a wire rack to cool off completely.
- Store in a sealed glass or plastic container at room temperature.
Notes
- While I love the taste and texture of using gray salt in this recipe, you can also use kosher or Himalayan salt. Check out the difference between Kosher, sea, pink, and grey salt here.
- You can buy fractionated coconut oil in the same aisle as olive oil in a lot of grocery stores. Fractionated means the oil has been divided and only the liquid component remains.
- This dough doesn't spread out while baking so shape your cookies how you want them. I like to roll them into a ball then flatten them into a nice round disc. Rinse your hands between and leave them a damp for a smooth finish.
- If you don't want to use your hand to form the dough into balls, use a small butter scoop, form the mixture into a ball, and then release the dough onto the lined cookie sheet.
- If you love nuts, try adding in some chopped pistachios or pecans.
- Store these cookies covered in a glass or plastic container on the counter top and will keep for 5-7 days.
- If you want to take it a step further you can even make your own dried cranberries! You don't need a dehydrator or any fancy equipment either. Making your own dried cranberries is a fun holiday project!
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in December 2018, but was re-published with updated instructions and pictures in April 2021.
Kelli at Hungry Hobby
YUM!!! So simply and delicious!