Gluten Free Creme Brulee Cookies

These gluten free creme brulee cookies are one of the best things I’ve baked this year. Soft, buttery vanilla cookies with a crackly caramelized sugar top – just like the classic French dessert but in cookie form.

They’re surprisingly simple to make too. The dough comes together fast, and the brulee topping is just sugar and a quick pass with a kitchen torch.

And yes, they are 100% gluten free. No one will be able to tell. The texture is spot on – soft and tender on the inside with that satisfying crack on top.

If you love creme brulee, you really need to try these. Same creamy vanilla flavor, same caramelized crunch, but way easier to make and share.

Let me walk you through exactly how to make them.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

That Crackly Brulee Top Is Unreal – You get that iconic crème brûlée crack on a cookie and it is just as satisfying as it sounds.

Tastes Like a Fancy Dessert but Way Easier – You skip the custard and the ramekins but still get all the rich vanilla brûlée flavor in cookie form.

Almond Flour Keeps Them Perfectly Tender – Almond flour gives these cookies a soft buttery texture that feels almost shortbread-like without any grittiness.

Ingredients

For the Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
• 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
• 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 Large Egg Yolks
• 2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
• 1/4 cup Vanilla Pudding Mix (gluten free)

For the Brûlée Topping

• 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar

How to Make

Step 1

In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, and salt. Set aside.

Step 2

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks and vanilla bean paste and beat until smooth and creamy.

Step 3

Add the vanilla pudding mix to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients and stir until a smooth dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 4

Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into 1.5 tablespoon-sized balls and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.

Step 5

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are just set but the centers still look slightly underdone. The cookies will firm up as they cool. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 6

Once the cookies are fully cooled, sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar evenly over the top of each cookie. Use a kitchen torch to caramelize the sugar, moving in small circles until the sugar melts and turns a deep golden amber.

Step 7

Let the brûlée topping harden for about 30 seconds before serving. The cookies should have a satisfying crack when you tap the caramelized top.

My Tips

Chill the Dough Long Enough

One hour in the fridge is the minimum, but if your dough still feels sticky or soft when you try to roll it into balls, give it another 30 minutes. Almond flour dough is naturally softer and greasier than regular cookie dough, so it needs that extra chill time to firm up.

If the dough is too warm when it hits the oven, the cookies will spread out too much and end up thin and flat. You want them to hold a nice rounded shape so there’s a good surface area on top for the brulee layer.

If you’re working in a warm kitchen, you can even pop the scooped dough balls back in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking.

Use Vanilla Bean Paste, Not Extract

The recipe calls for vanilla bean paste for a reason. It has those little vanilla bean specks in it, which look amazing in a light-colored cookie like this. It also has a deeper, richer vanilla flavor compared to regular extract.

If you absolutely can’t find vanilla bean paste, you can use the same amount of vanilla extract. But the cookies won’t have that same visual appeal or that intense custard-like vanilla flavor that makes them taste like actual creme brulee.

Get the Sugar Layer Right Before Torching

When you sprinkle the sugar on top, make sure it’s a thin, even layer. If the sugar is clumped up in spots, those thick areas won’t caramelize evenly. Some parts will burn while other parts are still white and grainy.

A good trick is to sprinkle the teaspoon of sugar on top, then gently tilt and tap the cookie so the granules spread out into one even layer. Brush off any sugar that falls onto the sides.

Use regular white granulated sugar for this. Don’t use powdered sugar, coconut sugar, or brown sugar. They won’t caramelize the same way and you won’t get that glassy, crackable brulee top.

More Tasty Recipes

• Gluten Free Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee
• Gluten Free Brown Butter Salted Caramel Cookies
• Gluten Free Classic Sugar Cookies
• Gluten Free Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Gluten Free Browned Butter Toffee Cookies

FAQ

What if I don’t have a kitchen torch?

You can use your oven’s broiler as an alternative. Place the sugar-topped cookies on a baking sheet and set them under the broiler on high for 1-2 minutes, watching them very closely because the sugar can go from perfect to burnt in seconds.

That said, a kitchen torch gives you way more control and a more even caramelized layer, so it’s worth picking one up if you plan to make these again. They’re pretty affordable and handy for lots of desserts.