a simple real food recipe :: sugar cookies :: allergen free options

One of my favorite memories growing up during Christmas time was sugar cookie making and decorating!I knew I wanted to start this tradition with my kids, but with everything I knew about food colorings like red 40 and yellow 5, processed flours and sugars, and junk oils, I just knew I was going to have to find a better way. With great knowledge comes great responsibility. How could I be ok with knowingly putting toxins in my kids? These food dyes are linked to hyperactive behavior and even cancer. They are banned in products in many countries. Processed, bleached flour leads to gut damage, and fake oils like Crisco are awful in so many ways.

Because, well, it isn’t “just once a year”…we want to make pumpkin cookies at Halloween, and heart cookies at Valentine’s day…So let’s start with fixing the recipe on basic sugar cookie, and in THIS post we’ll talk the fun toppings 😉

The dough is soaked for better digestion, there is no need for eggs, and the “sweet” is just enough – especially if you plan to top it with icing 😉 Allergen options are included in the recipes – if you are grain free check out the kitchen tips for 2 great recipe options for you while you are healing your tummy!

You’ll need:

1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour (if gluten free use brown rice flour) (I get this cheapest stone ground in the refridgerated section at our health food store. You could use King Arthur if this isn’t an option.)

1/3 cup organic pure cane sugar or sunacat (The cheapest I get this is in bulk at our health food store.)

1/3 cup melted butter (if dairy free use lard or coconut oil)

¼ cup water

1 TB raw apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

1. The night or day before you want to make the cookies, combine all ingredients well and form into a ball. Leave in the mixing bowl with a towel covering and a plate over the top to keep from drying out. Soak 12-24 hours to break down the phytic acid in the grain to digest better.
2. The next day, wrap the ball up and put it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to firm up for rolling out.
3. Flour your rolling surface and pin and roll and cut out your cookies.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes on silpat or parchment paper. Keep an eye on them around the 8 minute mark in case your oven temps run different.
5. Let the cookies cool completely before icing.

Kitchen Tips:

1. This batch makes about 12-14 cookies which is more than enough for our small family of 4! Double or triple up if you are feeding a crowd!
2. If you plan on skipping the icing you can add more sugar or sunacat to sweeten. You can also put dried fruit, nuts, or coconut on your cookies before baking to “dress them up” a bit! Dried fruit makes great buttons on gingerbread men or lights on Christmas trees! And coconut looks like fluffy snow on snowflakes!
3. You can see the thickness of the cookies I made – I prefer them this way but you can make a thicker cookie if you wish – they may have to bake longer.
4. If you are grain free you can try THIS almond flour cookie – we made these for Halloween and they turned out great. OR if you can’t have nuts you can do up my coconut cookie! Just put the dough in the fridge to make it easier to roll out – it works great for cut outs!
5. HERE is my post on how to dress up those pretty cookies real food style!

YOUR TURN!

What is your favorite Christmas tradition? What do you remember baking at Christmas time growing up?

This post was shared at Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday, and Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday!