November 6, 2017
updated
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You’ve found the whole wheat sugar cookie that tastes scrumptious AND can easily be cut into perfect shapes.
Whether it’s a special occasion or you want to enjoy a delicious cookie made with whole wheat flour without a dense/hockey puck texture, this recipe guarantees lots of smiles.
Roll-Out Sugar Cookies with Whole Wheat Flour
The perfect whole-wheat sugar cookie (aka this one) should have a chewy texture with a buttery and not-to-sweet flavor. It should be soft enough to easily bite in and sturdy enough to handle being decorated without breaking or crumbling everywhere.
While this recipe can be made with traditional whole-wheat flour, whole-wheat pastry flour is a game-changer. It gives cookies, pie crusts, bread, and other baked goods a delicate texture that tastes like a pro baked it and a little less dense than traditional whole-wheat.
Ingredients
Let’s take a trip to the pantry and grab the following items to make these sugar cookies:
- Whole wheat pastry flour: pastry flour has a finer texture. If you don’t have any, traditional whole wheat flour will work.
- All-purpose flour: using only whole wheat flour will make the cookies too dense; regular all-purpose flour is necessary for them to be soft and chewy.
- Salt: enhances the flavor and leavening.
- Baking soda: helps the cookie dough rise while baking and provides texture.
- Unsalted butter: make sure it’s at room temperature. If using salted, omit the added salt.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetness.
- Egg white: binds the cookie dough and makes a stiff icing.
- Vanilla extract: belongs in sugar cookies.
- Almond extract: optional and tastes incredible combined with vanilla extract.
- Powdered sugar: for the icing.
- Lemon juice: brightens the icing flavor, so it’s not overly sweet.
You’ll find the ingredient amounts in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to Make Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies
Follow the step-by-step directions below, and you’ll have perfect sugar cookies ready to frost and eat!
- Sift the dry ingredients
Combine the flours, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl; make sure to use the scoop-to-fill method and measure the flour correctly. - Combine the wet ingredients
In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it’s fluffy. Add the egg white, vanilla, and almond extract, and mix until combined. - Chill
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and preheat the oven to 325F. - Roll out
Roll the dough to a ¼-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes and transfer them to a lined baking sheet. - Bake
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, remove them from the oven, and let them cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the baking sheet. - Mix the icing
While the cookies cool, whisk the powdered sugar, egg whites, and lemon juice in a large bowl until smooth- the consistency should be a glaze. - Frost and enjoy
Ice the cookies with a small spatula or piping bag and decorate as desired.
All that’s left is to grab a glass of milk or cup of coffee and treat yourself!
Love it when you can watch how to make a recipe before attempting it yourself? Me too! Watch how it’s made in this short video:
Whole Wheat Sugar Cookie Tips
Making these whole-wheat sugar cookies is similar to making traditional sugar cookies. Here are some tips for the best results!
Room temperature butter and eggs
Are much easier to work into cookie dough without overworking the gluten.
Don’t skip the chilling
Cold dough rolls out without sticking to the rolling pin and will retain its shape in the oven.
Storage
If there are any leftover cookies, refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Make Ahead
Prepare and refrigerate the dough for up to 5 days or freeze-wrapped in a freezer-safe container for up to 30 days.
Now you just need to make yourself a mug of homemade hot cocoa, and you’ll be ready to enjoy your cookies!
Whole-Wheat Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1 cup Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour
- ½ cup Unbleached All-purpose Flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
Icing:
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk flours, salt, and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the egg white, vanilla, and almond extract, beat until combined.
- To the butter mixture, add flour mixture, and mix until incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 4 hours.
- Once dough is ready, preheat oven to 325°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lightly dust a work surface with all-purpose flour and place chilled dough directly onto the work surface. Roll dough out to a ¼-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes in dough, and gently transfer them to baking sheets. Re-roll dough scraps into new large pieces of dough.
- Bake cookies for 12 minutes or until the edges look golden but not browned. Remove cookies from oven, and cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the icing, whisk together all the icing ingredients in a large bowl until completely smooth. Mixture should have consistency of a glaze. If you want a thicker glaze, add a little more sugar and any food coloring you like.
- Ice cookies by icing the edges first and then filling it in. Let icing harden before serving. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also refrigerate dough for up to 5 days and freeze dough up to 30 days.
Donna
I use arrowroot and 1-to-1 gluten free to make treats for my grandsons.
Tonya Shultz
We use Bob Red Mill Gluten Free flour for most of our baking needs. It is a flour I trust and we are never disappointed. We use it for pic crusts, pizza, cookies, cakes and brownies.
Rachel
I especially love baking granola bars and breakfast yummies!! Bob’s Red Mill has some great products to help with that oven fun!! 🙂
Linda
I live near Bob’s Red Mill. It is a fabulous location and if you are every in the area go to their restaurant!!
I love Bob’s bread for cookies, muffins and scones!
Karen
Gluten Free flour for just about everything, We love their GF quick oats too!
Phyllis
I love Bob’s gluten-free pancake mix! I make a double batch easily once a month for family brunch. Then we nibble pancakes as snacks w peanut butter the next day. they never last long.
I also love to bake cookies w the Almond flour which I use to make recipes gluten free!
I love to experiment and Bob’s products are so versatile! 🙂
Laura Fuentes
Hi Phyllis! You are our gift card winner!
Phyllis
Yay!!!
Guess I can’t say “I never win anything” anymore. This is great News 😀
Laura Fuentes
Congratulations!
Tammy R
I love using whole wheat pastry flour! Cookies and quick breads taste wonderful!
Betsy C
Have used Bob’s Gluten free flour mix to bake for family members with Celiac. My favorite thing to bake is oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Rachel
We love the oatmeal for breakfast and almond flour because we make muffins every week.
Rebecca
My favorite is whole wheat pastry flour for muffins.
Barbara
We like to use Gluten free flour for holiday muffins. They are a tradition.
Tricia
I have only used the whole wheat flour but am going to ty the cookie recipe with the whole wheat pastry flour, it sounds really yummy, looking for a healthier Christmas cookie to try.
Lisa
Is there a way to see the printed recipe? I didn’t see it in this post.
Laura Fuentes
Hi Lisa! Thanks for catching that. With our web update, the recipe did not carry over. Hit refresh and now it’s there. 🙂 Laura
Lisa
I Haven’t used Red Mill flour, but am going to try these cookies. Cookies (cut-out, snickerdoodle, peanut butter) are my favorite things to bake.
Carin
We love Bob’s!!!! We would love to win this!!! We bake so many things….and use all types of flours – whole wheat, white whole wheat, gluten free – but we have never tried ww pastry flour. Thank you!
Abby Hilkemeier
I love the gluten-free all purpose flour because gluten causes a lot of problems in our family.
Moira M
My favorite type of Bob’s Red Mill flour to use in baking is Organic Whole Wheat Flour. I love to bake treats for the kids but love that its organic!
Melanie
I use the whole wheat flour the most. To bake up all kinds of breads and muffins.
Linda
I like to use Bob’s Red Mill Pastry whole wheat Fluor for making muffins. ❤️❤️❤️
Andrea
My favorite is Bobs Red Mill gluten free all purpose four, i make banana muffins and the kids love them, can’t tell the difference between regular flour!
Lauren
Organic whole wheat flour for my scrumptious banana bread! Yum!
Becky
My girls love to bake cookies and muffins with me and we usually use some all purpose and some whole wheat!
Margot C
I like using the Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour to make a tasty gluten-free crust for a fruit tart.
Susan Bosserman
Lately I’ve been making Bob’s Red Mill delicious Almond Oat cookies. The recipe is on the bag of Bob’s Red Mill Oat Flour. My favorite is the Super Fine Almond flour, but I love all the flours they make!
Lealia
I️ like to use Bob Red Mills Flour when I️ make banana bread. It is so good!
Debbie Bates
I use the all purpose flour for my pancakes!
latanya
I would like to bake a pound cake.
Melissa
All purpose flour I use to make Banana mini muffins and of course peanut butter brownies with caramel drizzle!!
Cristina
I use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour. I love to bake good old fashioned chocolate chip cookies and your Breakfast Cookies from your first cookbook. Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour makes it tastes just like regular flour.
siri
my favorite is Bob’s red mill whole wheat flour for my yummy nano`s.
Alice Bouwma
Where’s the recipe itself – not just the link to the video? Thanks for this “healthier” option!
Jennifer Silva
I like to use Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat baking flour when baking breads.
Connie Boyd
We are a GF family and love all of the Bob’s Red Mill products offered for our family!
Emily Williams
Love their almond flour and we love making breads and bars!
Rachel
Thanks for all the great baking tips. I am excited to try your sugar cookie recipe.
Evelyn
I love using Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour when I make chocolate chip zucchini bread. But I’ll be honest, I’m an All-Purpose White flour lover too. Can’t go wrong with any of these.
Trish
The whole wheat pastry flour is the best for cookies!!!
Maureen
I love to bake gluten free Pumpkin bread. with Bob’s Gf flour
Wendi
Bob’s red mill artisan bread flour. We make 2 loaves of bread per week (no more store bought bread for us). Any bread flour will do in a pinch but Bob’s … .
Katie Glowicki
I’ve only ever used all purpose flour for baking, but definitely up for trying a different type.
Jenny
All purpose flour for my great, great grandma’s poor man’s cake!
Sarah
Our favorite flour is all purpose flour or whole wheat flour. My favorite recipe right now is blueberry shortbread bars with blueberries we picked over the summer :-).
Sarah
I love using their almond flour for healthy(ish) almond chocolate chip scones!
Isabella Roversi
My favorite type is actually Chickpea flour! I make a nice savory bread with it. Lots of proteins and not a lot of carbs. 😛
Keri justice
My favorite thing to bake are desserts. m making monster cookies today, they’re my absolute favorite cookie.
Billie Moore
My favor is the whole wheat pastry flour to bake cookies and brownies.. The almond flour is helpful with gluten problems in our household.
Michelle Hoehne
I love Bob’s Red Mill Pastry flour. It makes great biscuits, pie crusts, and cookies. Making rolled-out cookies is a holiday tradition for us, and this flour makes great cookies.
jacquelyn
My favorite is their bread flour for making a fresh loaf of bread!
Rebecca Otto
Gluten free baking flour!” Sugar “cookies using honey and coconut oil.
Preciousa
Actually, my favorite Bob’s baking “flour” is actually the organic old fashioned oats and a little of their bleached traditional flour for awesome chewy oatmeal cherry cookies ( dried cherries instead of boring old raisins)! Going to see what kind of results I get with the steel cuts oats next!
Preciousa
Unbleached!!!!! Stupid autocorrect!!
Najla
Organic whole wheat flour for cookies and pizza crusts.
Jennifer C
I use Bob’s Unbleached All Purpose Flour. I make our sandwich bread out of it. Now my family won’t eat any other bread. What have I done?! Haha
Cammile
I love to bake cookie and cakes with all purpose flour… Yummy
Be
I like to use the unbleached all purpose flour…delicious desserts especially over the holidays!!!
Nicole Bu.
All purpose flour for pumpkin chocolate chip muffins we make every Fall!
Nicole
All purpose flour to make snickerdoodle and chocolate chip cookies!
Angel
Hopefully this counts since it’s actually a no-bake item, but I love to use the almond meal in my no-bake peanut butter cup bars. Yum!
Kathlene
Hi, my favorite Bob’s Red Mill flour is, the whole wheat pastry flour that you use in your cookie recipe. I use it for my biscuits, pancakes and also for coating my chicken when I bake it.
Thank you.
Paula Clemmer
I love Bob’s Red Mill organic whole wheat flour. It’s a beautiful flour great for everything!
Allison
I love using their white whole wheat flour. I use it to make whole wheat bread in my bread maker every week, to make pie crusts for pies and quiche, for banana and pumpkin muffins…for everything! I love it!
Jennifer Caldwell
MY daughter has celiac so we came to know Bob through his gluten free products. They are lifesavers and so easy to use! I love the one to one gf blend
Heidi
I use Bob’s Whole Wheat Pastry Flour for ALL my baking, from pancakes to muffins, coffeecake to waffles, even birthday cupcakes!
Renee Dixon
I love making pies and cookies with my kids over the holidays. I normally use all purpose but would love to try Bob’s Red Mill!
Debbie Anderson
100% stone ground whole wheat flour to make amazing blueberry muffins! Great for snacking on anytime.
Felicia Black
My favorite is the whole wheat flour. I love using it in my waffle mix!
Jeannette Knudsen
I love Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour. I love to make gluten free vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. With this flour they taste just like the wheat flout cookies that I used to make.
Angela
Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour as my daughter was diagnosed celiac 6 months ago so I have had to learn to cook and bake gluten free and make sure we don’t cross contaminate.
Stacy L
We like the all purpose organic flour for chango bars. My daughter’s teacher read a book to the class a few years ago that talked about them and she has taken the bars to school for her birthday treat ever since. Of course, blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes are always a favorite in our house, too! 🙂
Kelsey Roderick
All purpose flour for savoury & sweet scones
Christina Aguilar
All purpose flour for chocolate chip cookies
Ivy
Ive never used anything but all purpose flour. I’m looking forward to trying whole wheat, though.
Karey V.
I use Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour in most of my baking. My favorite is my grain free chocolate chip cookies :).
Gary
Bob’s Red Mill flour is what I always buy! Just today I got their stone ground Whole wheat Pastry flour and Almond meal. I like to bake muffins of all kinds.. followed by cookies.
Carrie Haines
I love to bake chewy chocolate chip cookies- yummy!
Denise
I love using the organic whole wheat flour to bake artisan bread
Carrie Miller
Whole wheat pastry flour! I use it for everything: pancakes, biscuits, quick breads, muffins and cookies.
Maria
Would love to try Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour for making cookies and breads.
MARIA OTTINGER
My favorite flour to use Bob’s red mill coconut flour. I like to bake small cakes with it
Becky Barnfather
I use the Arrow Root Flour the most for making some of my favorite Paleo desserts!
Heather
We love Bobs whole wheat pastry flour in our muffins!!
JoAnna Waddoups
my favorite is the glkuten free pancake mix.. my aunt is gf so it makes it so much easier..
Stacy
Whole wheat pastry flour for my lavender sugar cookie!
Kay Eibl
I love baking with all things from Bob’s Red Mill! Recently, I’ve made some gluten-free recipes for friends and co-workers with gluten sensitivities using the Almond Flour and Coconut Flour from Bob’s Red Mill. Thank you for all your wonderful products!
Suzanne
I love Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour for my special occasion French Macaroons!
Courtney
I love to use all of their products!! What I use most though is almond meal for paleo treats 🙂
Cristina
My favorite Bob’s Red Mill flour to use is the gluten free 1-to-1. I like to use it for cookies, but also recently made a pumpkin cake with it and it was delicious!
Katie Chang
The whole wheat flour is staple in my pantry. I use it to make banana bread and blueberry muffins.
Jennifer Parrish Shumake
I’m an all-purpose flour type of girl. I would love to learn how to use some of the other great Bob’s Red Mill flours though. I do have the coconut flour to use for my Christmas cookies this year. My favorite cookie recipe? My white chocolate cherry chunkies.
Norma-Jean
I usually use all purpose flour for my cookies and sweet breads for the holidays, but I would love to
try the Whole Wheat Pastry Flour!
Candace
Homemade biscuits or shortbread for strawberry shortcake! My daughter loves my breakfast version using yogurt instead of cool whip.
Stuti Patel
Organic whole wheat flour for bread for delicious coconut milk bread pudding!
Rebecca Consol
I love using the Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free pizza crust mix, but I use it to make cinnamon rolls.
Kate C
Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat for pancakes, muffins and breads.
Angela
My favorite is the unbleached white all purpose flour. I love to make chocolate cake.
Luisa Rivera
All purpose flour for my bake my needs
Sarah Esses
I love Bob Mills whole wheat flour for baking muffins- all types.
Christina Wotton
My favorite Bib Mill’s flour is the gluten free all purpose flour! I like to bake homemade pancakes for my family
Irlenn Ortega
I don’t live in the states, but I would like to try this flour to bake cookies for my kids. Thanks for all the information, it’s very helpful!!
Lindsey Mullnix
I’ve never used Bob’s Red Mill flour but I’ve had their oatmeal which was excellent. I’d like to try their flour sometime.
Also, I love baking pumpkin pie & mint brownies!
Julie R
I like the Unbleached white pastry flour. I use it most to make pie crust for apple pie!
Wendyt
All purpose flower for my yummy cardamom bread recipe for the holidays !!!!
Cheryl
M favorite type of Bob’s Red Mill flour to use in baking is Organic Whole Wheat Flour. I like to bake breads and cookies most.