These AIP and paleo sugar cookies are so chewy and delicious, you’ll want to make a double batch! They are perfect for the holidays and loved by both adults and kids.
Mmmmm… sugar cookies. You really can’t go wrong with them. It’s always a crowd favorite!
It’s the first week of quiet after our wedding, now that all the events are over and my parents left to go back to South Korea this past weekend. The past month has been crazy and wonderful at the same time and my parents have contributed so much energy and effort into the wedding events, not to mention traveling an insane amount, that I thanked them by doing what I do best: cooking dinner and baking them treats.
AIP & Paleo Sugar Cookies Recipe
Since my mom has rheumatoid arthritis, and it’s difficult to stick to the autoimmune protocol in Korea, she always requests that I make a dessert for her that she can bring back home and enjoy. And this time, I decided to make a big batch of these AIP & paleo sugar cookies!
Coconut Butter Frosting
You can make these without the coconut butter frosting, but it seriously makes such a big difference with that moist, delicious layer. It also adds a touch of sweetness without added sugar that I love, so I highly recommend you make the frosting. Plus, it also looks so fun and snowy if you are making it for the holidays!
Getting Creative with Food Restrictions
I truly enjoy creating these AIP and paleo sugar cookies for my mom, because it allows me to help, not just her, but others out there who are also on restrictive diets. Just because you can’t have certain foods, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t indulge in sweet treats from time to time. You just gotta get a bit more creative in the kitchen!
I hope to bring you more AIP or AIP-optional recipes in the future. In the meantime you can check out other AIP recipes I currently have on the blog by clicking here!
AIP & Paleo Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 3/4 cup tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp cinnamon plus more for garnish
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp grass-fed gelatin Use code GREATGRANDMA10 for 10% off your entire order
- 1 tbsp room temperature water
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coconut butter for frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together coconut flour, tapioca starch, cinnamon, sea salt, and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together gelatin and room-temperature water. Add hot water and whisk until the gelatin is dissolved.
- Add maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to the gelatin mixture and whisk together.
- Slowly add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, while stirring with a fork.
- Mix until combined and moldable.
- Using rounded tablespoons, drop the cookie dough on the parchment paper. It might seem sticky, but it'll be easier to work once they are dropped.
- Wet your hands slightly and roll the dropped dough into balls and flatten them.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until the edges are golden, but the cookies are still soft.
- Let cool for 15 minutes. The cookies will harden as they cool.
- Warm up coconut butter in the microwave or stovetop until slightly melted, but still thick and creamy. Spoon gently over cookies, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Let cool completely before serving.The coconut butter will solidify once cooled.
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Could we substitute arrowroot for tapioca? We can’t do tapioca. 🙁
Hey there! I’ve never tried with arrowroot starch but I think you can try it without changing the recipe too much. It may alter the texture a bit because tapioca starch gives the cookies that chewiness. But I think you’ll still be able to make the cookies with the same taste.. Let me know how it turns out!
How did your cookies turn out with arrowroot substitution? I was wondering the same thing…
I use the Arrowroot and they are great.
Yes, worked just fine! Also raisins were a nice touch!
Can you use a substitute for coconut butter?
I’m not sure if anything can substitute coconut butter, but you can leave it out or try just using coconut cream with a bit of honey or maple syrup. It won’t solidify the same way though but it’ll still be tasty!
Can I sub one egg if I don’t have any egg allergies in place of the gelatin and water?
yes!
Hey Jean! Super excited to try these cookies. Just wondering if I could substitute collagen for the gelatin? I have collagen on hand already and was curious if it would alter the recipe a lot if I used that instead. Thanks!
Unfortunately, gelatin is necessary because it acts as an egg substitute and a binder in the recipe. If you can tolerate eggs, you can omit gelatin and water, and just make it with 1 egg instead.
Thanks for your quick reply! I’ll try them with an egg instead. 🙂
Best paleo cookie recipe I’ve ever tried!! Used less maple syrup and a banana instead of a gelatine egg. Amazing!!
Thank you so much!! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Oops forgot to rate the recipe! Gave it 5 stars 🙂
I made this with banana instead of gelatin (THANK YOU SPOONIE SOPHIA) and it was DELICIOUS! Being without bread and cookies has been one of the hardest aspects of going AIP for me so I feel very lucky to have found this recipe. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Yeti, curious how much banana you used?
Tried just as is except forgot the vanilla and added a bit of vanilla stevia to the coconut butter. I like when the tast in your mouth leaves you craving for more. They are grest. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed them! And love how you improvised with the vanilla stevia. I bet that was super tasty!
These are fantastic! I made them as per recipe the first time then I substituted the cinnamon with carob -very yum!
I made these with banana instead of the gelatin egg. I also sprinkled coconut on top. Really yummy!
What a great idea! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
YUM!!! I used 1 TBSP of banana instead of gelatin since I didn’t have any. These are SO delish! I’ve missed cookies so badly since doing the AIP diet. Definitely worth it to make these, super easy and tasty!
So glad you enjoyed it! And what a great idea to use banana. I have to try that next time!
While the flavors in these cookies gave me the seasonal hit I was looking for, the texture left much to be desired. Yes, they were chewy, but for me, not an enjoyable chewy… a chewy that made me feel like I had to be drinking some kind of beverage as I was eating the cookies because they dried my mouth out so much. Not sure what could be done to adjust this recipe to give a slightly better texture (maybe add some ACV to activate the baking soda and add some air bubbles?) but I unfortunately wasn’t a fan.
So sorry the texture didn’t turn out right for you! I’ve made these many times and I never thought they were chewy. Do you think you might have overmixed the batter? Either way, thanks for trying out my recipe!
Sadly, these cookies were so mouth parchingly dry, I ended up not eating the rest of th batch. Really bummed. The texture was powdery and dry. It was impossible to eat a whole cookie without drinking a whole glass of water.
So sorry these turned out dry for you! I’ve made this several times, but I’ve never had an experience with them being dry. Did you add all the liquid ingredients to its full amount? Just trying to figure out what went wrong.
I try so many different paleo and AIP recipes and I’m usually left disappointed. But these Paleo sugar cookies are delicious and very simple to make! My little guy loves them too! Thank you!
That’s the best compliment! Thanks so much and I’m so glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
How do I store baked leftovers for the next day? Leave in container at room temp. or do I need to put in fridge? Thanks.
It’ll keep the longest in an airtight container in the fridge
They are good! A good aip cookie recipe is rare.
Hi! Recently been having some health issues which called for a major diet makeover. I cant eat white sugar , and i have the BIGGEST sweet tooth ever. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe to help kick my cravings in!!
I had a question though, do you know if you can freeze the cookies and how long they last in freezer and outside? I am the laziest cook ever, so I like to make big batches and freeze but wasnt sure if this is something I can do that with. Thank you!!
I’ve never tried freezing these but I think it’ll work! Maybe first try with a small batch, and then you can make more to freeze if they work out. Hope you enjoy!
I love this recipe and have made it several times. I’m wondering if you have suggestions for making the outside crispy. I can have eggs since my reintroduce if you think that would help for any reason.
Thanks for a yummy recipe. 👏👏👍
The ingredients in this recipe won’t make these cookies crispy, but you can try my other cookie recipe and bake them for a little longer to get a crispy outer texture.
I made these tonight! I substituted 1/4 cup of pureed pumpkin for the gelatin–if anyone tries it, I’d suggest using a little more. Didn’t quite have enough moisture as the gelatin egg would have, so the cookies were on the dry side. That being sad, they’re tasty and I love the coconut butter icing.
I made the cookies tonight and loved them!!! I’ve been eating AIP and FODMAP for many months and this is my favorite dessert yet. Thank you. They were almost like a shortbread, which I love. I used 1/2 banana for the egg, cut the maple syrup to 1/3 c.. I love lemon so I left out the vanilla and substituted fresh lemon juice and 1 tsp. Lemon zest. I also added a lot lemon juice and zest to the coconut butter icing. So delicious. Wish I could post my picture so everyone could see how they turned out.
That’s amazing! Thank you so much!
Delicious! Love them
I did not have gelatin so I used half a teaspoon of Xanthan gum. It turned out amazing
I don’t have coconut butter, I have a can of coconut milk I wonder if just topping the cookie with the cream of the coconut milk that sits in top of the can would do. Might try it!
I am on the AIP diet and need some sweet treats. I made these cookies tonight and they hit spot! The batter was also delish!
I would love to try these, but can’t use the maple syrup. Do you have any idea if it would work to use granulated Swerve or Erythritol?
Thank you in advance for your reply!
You can try another liquid sweetener like honey or keto syrup!
This looks so good! What a great way to still enjoy a treat while sticking to the good stuff!
Thanks for sharing! Do they freeze well?
My first batch of AIP cookies (different recipe) made me angry. Nothing like that should be called a cookie! This recipe was actually good. Nice consistency. Seemed like a lot of cinnamon! But I liked the flavor very much. It was my first time using gelatin, which I found in the back of my cupboard, 4 months expired. I think it did what it was supposed to do. I couldn’t whisk the syrup and coconut oil into the water/gelatin mixture. Sort of formed a blob that I did my best to incorporate into the dry mix. I will definitely be using this as my base recipe – might try the lemon suggestion next time. Cheers!
Would these work for cut out cookies? I am thinking I will need to maybe add a little more liquid (water, coconut milk?) for them to hold their form better? Any thoughts?
I would try these for cut-out cookies: https://whatgreatgrandmaate.com/paleo-nut-free-gingerbread-cookies/
You can just omit the ginger and replace molasses with maple syrup to make it regular sugar cookies!