Gluten Free Crumbl Cookies

4.91 from 11 votes

If you wish they made gluten free Crumble cookies, this copycat recipe for the thick sugar cookies with the fancy pink frosting is for you. They're chewy, tender, and piled with rich vanilla almond frosting.

Prep Time25

Cook Time17

Setting time1

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crumbl cookies gluten free, gluten free crumbl cookies

Servings: cookies

Author: Nicole Hunn

Equipment

Stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer

Ingredients

For the cookies

1 ½ cups all purpose gluten free flour blend please click thru for appropriate blends
⅜ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter at cool room temperature (not greasy)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg at room temperature
½ teaspoon butter vanilla emulsion or twice as much pure vanilla extract

For the frosting

10 tablespoons unsalted butter at cool room temperature (not greasy, but not firm)
2 tablespoons heavy cream at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon pure almond extract optional (can be replaced with more vanilla)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar plus more as needed
1 drop neon pink gel food coloring optional

Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the cookies.

In a separate medium-size bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Set the dry ingredients aside.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the butter and beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, or until creamy and smooth.
Add the granulated sugar, and beat until fully combined, and light but not overly fluffy.
Add the egg and butter emulsion or vanilla extract, and beat until fully combined and smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture, and beat on medium speed until just combined.
The dough will be thick and smooth, but easy to shape and should not be greasy.
Using a large spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop mounds of cookie dough about 3 tablespoons each (about 2 ounces), and place them about 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Do not flatten or disturb the mounds.
Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and bake until no longer shiny in the center (about 12 minutes ).
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, or until stable, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies will deflate a bit as they cool, which will give you that uneven, slightly crackled texture that we are looking for.

Make the frosting.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth but not airy (about 2 minutes).
Add the heavy cream, almond extract, vanilla extract, and salt.
Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until creamy, about another 3 minutes.
Add about 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar. Beat slowly until the sugar is incorporated.
Turn the mixer up to high and beat until the frosting becomes uniformly thick (about another 3 minutes).
Scoop some of the frosting with a spoon or offset spatula and attempt to place it back and swirl it a bit.
Add as much of the rest of the confectioners’ sugar as necessary to thicken the frosting to a thick, but spreadable, swirlable consistency.
Add the optional gel food coloring, and beat slowly, and then faster until you reach medium speed. Beat until fully incorporated but try not to incorporate air bubbles into the frosting.

Frost the cookies

Once the cookies are completely cool, place a generous dollop of about 2 tablespoons on top of each cookie with a spoon, offset spatula, or pastry bag with large open piping tip.
Mound the frosting in the very center of the cookie, then use a slightly moistened spoon or offset spatula to press the frosting out toward the edge of the cookie in a mostly even layer. (See Recipe Notes)
Starting about 1/8 inch from the edge of the cookie, press a clean, slightly moistened spoon or offset spatula into the frosting about 1/8 inch deep all around the edge while rotating the cookie. Finish with a slight swirl toward the center.
Allow the cookies to set for about an hour before serving. Let them sit out overnight, uncovered but frosted, and you'll be able to stack them gently.

Storage

Unfrosted cookies can be stored at room temperature, covered well, for about 2 days. Store them, wrapped tightly in a freezer-safe wrap or bag in the freezer for up to 5 months.
The frosted cookies can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for 3 days, or frozen in a single layer on a baking sheet and piled gently into a freezer-safe plastic bag for longer storage (up to 3 months if sealed tightly).

Notes

About frosting the cookies.

If you feel any pressure at all to frost the cookie just so, please allow me to release you of it!

Just spoon the frosting on top in the center and smush it to the edges as best you can. Moistening the spoon or spatula helps make the frosting a bit more spreadable, allows for a more even finish, and helps the frosting set up firmer.

Nutritional information is provided for informational purposes only and you should not rely upon it for medical or any other critical needs. It excludes the butter emulsion ingredient, and is per cookie, with frosting.

Nutrition