Gluten-free Christmas cookies and festive baking

You bake gluten-free Christmas cookies with ground almonds or hazelnuts, or with buckwheat flour, rice flour or fine cornmeal. Cinnamon stars, macaroons, Brunsli (Swiss chocolate almond cookies) and Elisenlebkuchen (flourless nut gingerbread) hardly need any flour anyway. If you have coeliac disease, make sure ingredients such as baking powder, wafer bases and oats are certified gluten-free.

All gluten-free Christmas cookies

Candied almonds with coconut sugar and cinnamon – 182 kcal
Gluten-free Vanillekipferl (vanilla crescent cookies) with buckwheat and almonds – 217 kcal
Gluten-free Pfeffernüsse (spiced gingerbread drops) with almonds and maple syrup – 198 kcal
Hazelnut Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) with coconut sugar meringue – 189 kcal
Gluten-free cut-out cookies with rice flour and honey – 218 kcal
Gluten-free Christmas Bethmännchen (marzipan almond cookies) with almonds and honey – 183 kcal
High-protein almond macaroons with orange and almond flour – 242 kcal
Paleo almond crescents with honey marzipan – 256 kcal
Low-carb hazelnut cookies with orange zest – 210 kcal
Coconut macaroons – 350 kcal
High-protein Bethmännchen (marzipan almond cookies) with almond flour and quark – 326 kcal
Paleo cinnamon cookies with pecans and dates – 221 kcal
High-protein hazelnut cookies with quark and cinnamon – 315 kcal
Vegan chocolate crunch clusters with amaranth and almonds – 139 kcal
Gluten-free date caramel cookies with sea salt – 281 kcal
Vegan Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) with almonds and coconut glaze – 243 kcal
Paleo walnut cookies with maple syrup and orange – 267 kcal
Gluten-free tahini cookies with sesame and honey – 197 kcal
Keto cheese cookies with parmesan and rosemary – 218 kcal
High-protein Dominosteine (layered gingerbread cubes) with dried plums and quark marzipan – 275 kcal
Gluten-free marzipan potatoes with almonds and honey – 143 kcal
Gluten-free hazelnut macaroons with honey and cinnamon – 220 kcal
Heidesand (brown butter shortbread) with almonds – 233 kcal
Gluten-free Elisenlebkuchen (flourless nut gingerbread) with hazelnuts and honey – 169 kcal

Frequently asked questions

Which Christmas cookies are naturally gluten-free?

Cinnamon stars, coconut and almond macaroons, Brunsli, Bethmännchen (marzipan almond cookies), Elisenlebkuchen without a wafer base and candied almonds don’t need flour. Still check the baking powder, wafers and chocolate – they can contain gluten.

Which flour do I use for gluten-free cookies?

Ground almonds or hazelnuts make cookies crumbly and moist. For cut-out cookies, mix them with rice flour, fine cornmeal or buckwheat flour and a little cornflour. Ready-made gluten-free flour blends work too.

Can I cut out gluten-free cookies?

Yes. Gluten-free dough breaks more easily: chill it for at least an hour and roll it out between two sheets of baking paper. After baking, let the cookies firm up on the tray for a few minutes.

How do you check whether a cookie recipe is gluten-free?

With fixed rules: if an ingredient contains wheat, spelt, rye, barley or anything made from them, the recipe doesn’t count as gluten-free. If you have coeliac disease, still check the labels on your ingredients yourself.

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