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These adorable gluten free sugar cookie cups can be filled with fluffy buttercream frosting, fruit curd, and more. They are sweet and buttery, and so easy to make and customize. Decorate them to suit any occasion, or keep them plain and simple—you can dress them up or down!
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free
- Skill Level: Easy
Cooke cups are so fun to make and are a great little handheld treat! And kids just adore them. Like my Dirt Cookies and S’mores Cookie Cups, these gluten free sugar cookie cups are cute and almost endlessly adaptable. They’re also similar to my Gluten Free Sugar Cookies, but you’ll bake dough bake the dough in a mini muffin pan and fill each cup with frosting or filling. Play around with sprinkles, chopped nuts, or whatever you like. And for a chocolate chip version, we love these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups! Here are a few of our favorite things about sugar cookie cups:
- Kids love them! The only thing better than a cookie is a cookie cup! Kids love the extra dollop of creamy frosting filling, and they are so easy to hold and to eat.
- Fun! And speaking of kids, get them involved in filling and decorating the baked cookie cups.
- Adaptable to any occasion. Make funfetti sugar cookie cups for a birthday party, turn them into mini sundaes with ice cream and a drizzle of my Easy Hot Fudge Recipe, or add Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting at Halloween—you have so many options!
- Gluten Free. No worries here; this recipe is completely gluten-free, meaning that everyone can enjoy it!
Recipe Ingredients
Nothing fussy or fancy goes into these cookies, so you’ll be able to whip them up in a flash. Here’s a look at what you’ll need, with the full ingredient amounts included in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Gluten-Free Flour: I prefer King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure blend in this recipe, but you can use your favorite 1:1 gluten-free flour.
- Salt: Fine sea salt or table salt works best.
- Baking Soda: Just a little baking soda—check to make sure it’s fresh!—helps the cookies to rise.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, for the best results.
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs: I use large eggs.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste adds depth of flavor.
Take a look at how you’ll make this recipe below. Don’t forget to check the recipe card lower down for the detailed instructions.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Make the dry mix. Whisk together the gluten free flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Cream butter and sugar. Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add the eggs. Now beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Combine. Add the flour mixture until just combined.
- Add dough to the pan. Use a cookie scoop to add the dough to the mini muffin pan.
- Press down dough. Use your hand to press the dough down into each cup.
- Bake. Bake the cookie cups until lightly golden but still soft.
- Press them down. Immediately after removing the dough from the oven, press each cookie cup down to form a deep well.
- Cool. Allow the cookies to cool completely, remove them from the pan, and then fill with your favorite fillings.
Variation and Filling Ideas
The sky’s the limit when it comes to how you can fill these cookie cups! I also add sprinkles or mini chocolate chips to the dough for extra flavor and color. Here are some more options:
- Frosting – I love adding Lemon Buttercream Frosting to cookie cups and Homemade Vanilla Frosting, Peanut Butter Frosting, and Gluten Free Cookies and Cream Frosting are also great choices!
- Filling – My homemade Lemon Curd Recipe is so good in these cookies, or try pretty, sweet-tart Grapefruit Curd.
- Sprinkles – To turn these into birthday cookie cups, liberally dust the filling or frosting with your favorite colorful sprinkles!
- Chocolate – Stir 1 cup of mini chocolate chips into the dough or sprinkle them over the buttercream frosting. Or try filling them with cannoli cream!
- Nutella – Add a dollop of the classic hazelnut-chocolate spread to each cookie for the easiest filling idea.
- Boston cream – just like the donuts, add a dollop of Vanilla Pastry Cream and a drizzle of Chocolate Glaze or a topping of Homemade Chocolate Frosting.
Avoiding Common Issues
I’ve outlined a few issues that can come up when making sugar cookie cups, plus tips on how to prevent them from occurring:
Cookie Cups Sticking to the Pan
The best way to prevent the cups from sticking to the pan is to use a silicone mini muffin pan. Otherwise, grease a regular pan well with baking spray to help prevent sticking. I also find it helpful to use the tip of a butter knife or a small offset spatula to pop the cups out of metal pans.
Overly Hard or Dry Cookie Cups
The main culprit in dry or hard cookie cups is overbaking, so follow my recipe directions carefully to ensure you don’t cook them too long. You want the cookies to still be slightly soft when you pull them from the oven; they will firm up as they cool, so don’t worry if they seem underbaked. Check at 15 minutes and keep checking each minute thereafter.
Losing Shape or Collapsing
On the flip side, you don’t want to underbake the cookies. There’s a fine line between baking too long and too short, so again, make sure to time and watch the cookies carefully. When you remove them from the oven, press them down right away, and don’t be afraid to press them down again if they still seem a bit puffy. Then, let the cups cool completely so that they set before removing them from the pan.
How to Store
- Counter – Transfer the cooled cookie cups to an airtight container and keep them on the counter for up to 4 days. I recommend filling the cups when you are ready to eat them.
- Freezer – Wrap unfilled cookie cups in plastic, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2 months. Thaw the cookies in the fridge before filling and serving them.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (210 grams) 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour (recommended: King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter , softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray (a silicone pan is recommended).
- In a small bowl, sift or whisk together the 1 ¾ cups (210 grams) 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour , ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the ½ cup unsalted butter and ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar. Cream with the paddle attachment at high speed until light and fluffy. Then beat in the 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
- Turn off the mixer, add the flour mixture, and gradually increase the mixer speed to medium, mixing until just combined.
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, divide the cookie dough between 24 muffin cups, approximately a heaping tablespoon in each, and press it down into the cup.
- Bake the cookie cups for 15-18 minutes or until lightly golden but still soft.
- Remove from the oven and immediately use the back of a measuring tablespoon or another similarly-sized scoop to press down on each cookie cup to form a nice, deep well in each. You may have to go back and press it down a little more if they begin to puff up again.
- Let cool completely in the pan, then pop them out of the pan. Fill with frosting, lemon curd, Nutella, ice cream, or any other desired fillings.
Did you make this?
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