Celebrate the New Year with these delightful gluten-free butter cookies. They’re buttery, tender, and perfect for a New Year’s Eve gathering.
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About This New Year’s Cookie Recipe
This recipe is adapted from a similar butter cookie I make for Valentine’s Day. For the holidays I switched to star-shaped cutters and bright yellow icing to symbolize a fresh, sunny start to the year. The base is a simple, reliable gluten-free butter cookie that holds its shape and takes frosting well.
Ingredients You Will Need
Gluten-Free Flour: I use Cup4Cup multipurpose gluten-free flour for this recipe. It’s my top choice for cookies, pastries, and yeast breads and has consistently produced good results in my testing. If you choose a different gluten-free blend your results may vary, and you may need to adjust liquids or leavening.
Other Ingredients You Will Need:
Unsalted butter
White sugar
Salt
Egg yolks
Vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, light corn syrup, and gluten-free food coloring (for the icing, if desired)
How To Make Gluten-Free New Year’s Cookies
Prep the dough. Cream the butter, sugar, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla until light and pale. Add the gluten-free flour and mix until combined. The dough may be crumbly at first; work it together with your hands until smooth, form into a ball, divide into quarters, flatten into disks, wrap, and chill.
Roll out the dough. After chilling, let the dough rest 5–7 minutes at room temperature so it won’t crack when rolled. Lightly flour your surface and roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick.
Cut out cookies. Use star-shaped cutters (or any shape you prefer) to cut the dough. Transfer cookies to an ungreased or silicone-lined baking sheet. Reroll scraps and continue cutting.
Bake. Bake at 325°F for about 10–12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Watch closely starting at 10 minutes; you want only a light golden edge — avoid browning too much.
Cool completely. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes after removing from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack. For best texture and easier decorating, allow them to cool overnight before frosting.
Make the glaze and frost. Prepare a simple icing by mixing confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, a little light corn syrup, and water until you reach a thick but pipeable consistency. Divide into bowls and tint with gluten-free food coloring. Pipe or spread the icing and decorate as desired.
Tools For Making Gluten-Free New Year’s Cookies
Rolling pin: Essential for rolling the dough evenly.
Baking sheets: Use sturdy baking sheets; silicone mats are a reusable alternative to parchment.
Bench scraper: Helpful for transferring cut cookies to baking sheets without distorting their shape.
Star-shaped cookie cutters: A star is festive for New Year’s, but any cutter will work.
Decorating tools: Piping bags, tips, and gluten-free sprinkles can make decorating easy and fun.
How To Ice These New Year’s Cookies
The icing: A simple royal-style icing made from confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, a touch of corn syrup, and water works great. It sets quickly, holds detail, and is easy to color. If the icing is too thick, add a little more water; if too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar. Pipe or flood the cookies and allow the icing to set completely before stacking or storing.
More Holiday Gluten-Free Baking Recipes
If you enjoy these cookies, try other gluten-free holiday treats like gluten-free pretzel bark or a homemade gluten-free apple pie. A warm cup of gluten- and dairy-free hot chocolate pairs perfectly with freshly baked cookies.
Discover all the gluten-free baking recipes on the blog.
Here’s how to make these gluten-free New Year’s butter cookies!
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Gluten-Free New Year’s Cookies
2 dozen cookies
1 hour 20 minutes
12 minutes
12 hours
13 hours 32 minutes
Ring in the New Year with these cookies!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten-free flour (such as Cup4Cup), plus more for rolling
- For the icing:
- 1½ cups (180 g) confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- 2–2.5 tablespoons (30–38 ml) room-temperature water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Food coloring drops of your choice
Instructions
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or using a hand mixer), beat the butter, sugar, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla on medium-low for about 3 minutes until creamy and pale. Slowly add the gluten-free flour while stirring with a large spoon; the dough may be crumbly. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to bring it together into a smooth ball.
Divide the dough into quarters, wrap each in plastic or beeswax wrap, flatten into disks, and refrigerate for 1 hour. When ready, preheat the oven to 325°F. Let the dough sit 5–7 minutes at room temperature before rolling to prevent cracking.
Lightly flour the work surface and roll the dough to about ¼ inch thickness. Cut shapes with your cutters and transfer them to an ungreased or silicone-lined baking sheet. Reroll scraps and continue cutting until the dough is used up.
Bake for 10–12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Begin checking at 10 minutes—remove the cookies as soon as the edges are lightly golden. Let them rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. For best results and easier decorating, allow cookies to rest overnight before icing.
To make the icing, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, 2 tablespoons water, and the salt until thick. If too thick, add ½ tablespoon more water at a time; if too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar. Divide and tint as desired, then pipe or spread onto cooled cookies and allow to set.
Notes
Gluten-Free Flour: Cup4Cup gives consistent results in this recipe, but other 1:1 gluten-free blends may work with adjustments.
Shapes: Use any cookie cutters you have—stars are festive but not required.
Icing: A royal-style icing that dries quickly is ideal for decorating.
Storage: Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–5 days. You can freeze them for up to one month, though I rarely have leftovers long enough to test this.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12
Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 332Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 61mgSodium 157mgCarbohydrates 40gFiber 1gSugar 14gProtein 3g
How do you celebrate the New Year?
Have you made these cookies before?
Let me know in the comments!