How to Make a Gluten Free Christmas Cookie Box
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Learn how to make a Gluten Free Christmas Cookie Box with this step by step guide! Included in this post are delicious gluten free holiday cookies, the exact boxes I use, plus recipes for the extra additions to make your Gluten Free Christmas Cookie Box even more delicious!
If you’re looking for more gluten free gifting ideas, check out some of my other favorites like my Chocolate Peppermint Olive Oil Granola, Homemade Gingerbread Spice Mix, or my Caramel Sauce Jars.
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Gluten Free: Obviously if you’ve clicked here, it may be because it says gluten free! You can count on all these cookies to be gluten free, plus they are insanely delicious so even if someone isn’t gluten free, they will still enjoy. I’m not gluten free, yet I am obsessed with all these cookies!
Step by Step: I provide you a step by step tutorial here, exactly what to bake, where to buy boxes, and in what order to do it all so you can maximize your time this holiday season.
Homemade Gift: This is an amazing homemade gift that anyone will love, even if they eat gluten. This Gluten Free Christmas Cookie Box will be coveted by whomever receives it!
Recipes
Let’s start with the recipes that I made in order to make this box. Here are links to all the recipes that I used in this box. You are welcome to use different recipes, but this is exactly what I used and photographed.
The Best Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies
These Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies are the best gluten free gingerbread cookies ever! I am not exaggerating at all when I say that. As someone who eats gluten regularly, I would eat these cookies any day of the week!
Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
These are the epitome of holiday cookies – these Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies are a buttery and crisp shortbread cookie dipped in dark peppermint chocolate. The best thing about these is you can bake these a few days ahead as shortbread cookies have a long shelf life and are great when you just leave them out!
Dark Chocolate Toffee Almond Cookies
These Dark Chocolate Toffee Almond Cookies are soft, chewy, sweet, and a little salty! I love these for this box as this adds something in for those chocolate lovers who don’t care so much for the gingerbread and peppermint. I’m literally obsessed with these cookies because they have that sweet and salty combo that I love so much (plus tons of chocolate, obvi).
Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Cashew Clusters
I fill in the gaps of this cookie box with my Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Cashew Clusters. These naturally gluten free treats are an easy no bake dessert with just 3 ingredients! They make a perfect filler for any cookie box.
Dark Chocolate Coconut Cups
I also add in my Dark Chocolate Coconut Cups. I love these for winter because the fine shredded coconut reminds me of snow so I feel like they look very wintery without being overly decorated or festive. Plus, they are insanely easy to make and you can make ahead of time!
Gifting Supplies
Lake Champlain Chocolates Organic Dark Chocolate Snowman
I love adding a little candy into cookie boxes and this Organic Dark Chocolate Snowman is the perfect holiday touch! Plus, it’s from Lake Champlain Chocolates, which is my favorite chocolate. They make amazing organic chocolates, but they also have great festive chocolates which I love!
Organic Candy Canes
A Christmas cookie box is not complete without candy canes! I prefer organic candy canes as they have no artificial colors and are made with real organic sugar! Add a candy cane or two under the ribbon when you tie it on top of the box for a festive decoration that is also delicious! I've also bought organic candy canes at Whole Foods recently, they are a good price and right by the register!
Cookie Boxes
These are the cookie boxes I used here. This is a good sized box! Perfect for giving to a family or bringing to a party! I love this box because it has a lid with clear plastic so you can see inside. While I love everyone’s festive cookie boxes that I see on social media, I literally wonder why people are photographing cookies in a wood organizer box when you would literally never give it to someone like that! It drives me insane! I guess because I used to own a bakery that sold hundreds of cookie boxes each holiday season, I know that they are best when you can actually close them for delivery!
Parchment Paper
Parchment paper is key for using inside the box. Use a few sheets in the bottom of this box and up the sides. You can’t see mine in the photos as I tucked it under the sides of the box where the boarder is, plus it’s white. But, parchment paper is key for keeping the box looking pretty. If you don’t use parchment paper, the cookies can leak grease into the bottom or even top of the box. This doesn’t look great, especially when you are trying to gift a beautiful cookie box. I have tested parchment paper in cookie boxes (from my bakery days) and it will keep cookies from getting the box greasy for 2 to 3 days at most. My favorite nontoxic parchment paper is from Kana, use code MIMIBAKES for 10% off!
Holiday Ribbon
Holiday ribbon will finish off your beautiful cookie box! I’m using simple black and white stripe here, but any festive ribbon – green, red, candy cane strip, whatever you want to use will look great. When I owned my bakery, we would get about six different types of ribbon each year for cookie boxes. This way when they were all out on the counter, they looked different and festive, even if all the cookies were the same inside. If you are giving a lot of boxes, this is a great way to differentiate between them for specific people!
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Purchase boxes, parchment paper, ribbon, candy canes, and snowmen. These items you should purchase asap so that they have time to arrive before you need to assemble your boxes.
Step 2
Start with the most shelf stable recipe first! That would be the Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Cashew Clusters. Make this recipe first and then add it all into a freeze Ziploc bag and store in the freezer. This candy can be stored in the freezer for months! It will be ready to add to the boxes straight from the freezer.
Step 3
Next, make the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cups. Do the same thing with these that you did with the Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Cashew Clusters. Make them, then add into a freezer Ziploc bag. These can also be stored in the freezer for months and can be added to your cookie box directly from the freezer.
Step 4
Ensure you have all your supplies before making cookies: the boxes, parchment paper, candy canes, snowman, and ribbon.
Step 5
Bake cookies! Start with the Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies. Make these first. You can also make these ahead of time and freeze as well as these cookies freeze very well. If freezing, first ensure that the chocolate is set completely. Next, freeze the baking sheet with all cookies on it first. This is crucial to ensure each cookie is frozen before stacking. If the cookies are not frozen individually before stacking, they can stick to each other, but if they are, then there’s really no issue. Add into a Tupperware or freezer Ziploc.
Step 6
Next, bake The Best Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies! These should have a full day for the icing to set before packing cookie boxes. This is crucial for the success of these cookies. My top tip (and what I do) is I bake these cookies in the evening and ice them. I place them all back onto one baking sheet and place the whole baking sheet in the freezer overnight. This ensures the icing hardens, and the next day they are ready to package up!
Step 7
Make the Dark Chocolate Toffee Almond Cookies. These are soft and chewy so they should be made the day you’re gifting the boxes so they don’t sit out and dry out. If you need to make ahead of time, that’s okay too, but you should freeze them if so. If freezing, following the same steps I listed above. Place them all on a baking sheet and freeze individually just until hard, about 30 minutes. Then you can store them in a freezer Ziploc of Tupperware.
Step 8
Assemble your cookie boxes! Once all your cookies and candies are made it’s time to assemble the boxes. These boxes are incredibly easy as there is no assembly required, they just open and are ready to (my favorite kind of boxes).
Once the boxes are open, place a few pieces of parchment paper into the bottom of the box. You can use more parchment paper if you want to raise the cookies up more and do less per box, that’s totally fine!
Step 9
Once the boxes are assembled, it’s time to fill your cookie boxes! If you have cookies or candy in the freezer, they can go directly into the boxes from the freezer. This makes it especially easy to stack things without breakage if the cookies are chilled (pro tip!). I grouped the same cookie flavors together, as you can see, but you can add them in any way you like.
Step 10
Fill in the gaps with candy. Once you have the cookies in the box, it’s time to fill in the gaps with the candy. I love using candy for filling in the gaps as it makes the cookie box look extremely full and over the top, but it actually is less work as you’re not gifting as many cookies. Another little pro tip for you from a former bakery owner, haha!
Step 11
Once the cookie boxes are full of cookies and candy, then close them up. Use a ribbon to tie a pretty bow and slide a candy cane or two under the ribbon.
Step 12
Your cookie boxes are ready to gift!
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Baker's Tips
- Make sure to follow the steps and prep before beginning this as there are multiple steps to make sure you are ready for assembling boxes!
- You can use any kind of box you like, if you want to use a smaller box that’s totally fine! I have a lot of great boxes and tins linked in my post, How to Package Cookies for Gift Giving.
- Because two of these cookies are soft and chewy (the Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread and the Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee Cookies) it’s incredibly important to take note of that. Soft and chewy cookies can dry out easily. If you are assembling boxes and not giving for a day or two, these cookies may be dried out by the time your recipient receives them! That’s why keeping these cookies frozen and assembling the day of gift giving is ideal.
- If you want to add in different gluten free cookies, go for it!
- If you are looking for more gluten free cookies that are not soft and chewy (meaning you can prep boxes a day or two before giving and cookies will be okay) then add in more shortbread cookies, sandwich cookies, or biscotti as these are all cookies that are buttery and crisp, which makes them stay fresh longer. Some of my favorites (that are gluten free or can be made gluten free) include: Gingerbread Florentines, Homemade Vanilla Oreo Cookies, Homemade Peanut Butter Oreos, Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies, Snickerdoodle Biscotti, or Chocolate Chip Biscotti.
- If you make 1 batch of all the cookies and candies this will make 2 boxes or maybe 3, depending on how much cookies or candy you add in. If you need to make more, you can double or triple recipes. Bring on the holiday baking!
FAQ's
Of course, you can use any kind of gluten free cookies you like. I have a simple gluten free adjustment for *almost* every cookie recipe on my site! The gluten free adjustment is always at the bottom of the recipe in the Notes section. So feel free to browse my cookie recipes for more inspiration.
Yes, you can prep all the cookies ahead of time and freeze them. Be sure to store cookies in an airtight container in the freezer. Then, I would recommend assembling the boxes the same day you plan to gift them as these boxes have soft and chewy cookies like the gingerbread and chocolate!
Craving More?
How to Make a Gluten Free Christmas Cookie Box
Equipment
- Cookie Boxes
- Holiday Ribbon
Ingredients
Instructions
- Purchase boxes, parchment paper, ribbon, candy canes, and snowmen. These items you should purchase asap so that they have time to arrive before you need to assemble your boxes.
- Start with the most shelf stable recipe first! That would be the Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Cashew Clusters. Make this recipe first and then add it all into a freeze Ziploc bag and store in the freezer. This candy can be stored in the freezer for months! It will be ready to add to the boxes straight from the freezer.
- Next, make the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cups. Do the same thing with these that you did with the Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Cashew Clusters. Make them, then add into a freezer Ziploc bag. These can also be stored in the freezer for months and can be added to your cookie box directly from the freezer.
- Ensure you have all your supplies before making cookies: the boxes, parchment paper, candy canes, snowman, and ribbon.
- Bake cookies! Start with the Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies. Make these first. You can also make these ahead of time and freeze as well as these cookies freeze very well. If freezing, first ensure that the chocolate is set completely. Next, freeze the baking sheet with all cookies on it first. This is crucial to ensure each cookie is frozen before stacking. If the cookies are not frozen individually before stacking, they can stick to each other, but if they are, then there’s really no issue. Add into a Tupperware or freezer Ziploc.
- Next, bake The Best Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies! These should have a full day for the icing to set before packing cookie boxes. This is crucial for the success of these cookies. My top tip (and what I do) is I bake these cookies in the evening and ice them. I place them all back onto one baking sheet and place the whole baking sheet in the freezer overnight. This ensures the icing hardens, and the next day they are ready to package up!
- Make the Dark Chocolate Toffee Almond Cookies. These are soft and chewy so they should be made the day you’re gifting the boxes so they don’t sit out and dry out. If you need to make ahead of time, that’s okay too, but you should freeze them if so. If freezing, following the same steps I listed above. Place them all on a baking sheet and freeze individually just until hard, about 30 minutes. Then you can store them in a freezer Ziploc of Tupperware.
- Assemble your cookie boxes! Once all your cookies and candies are made it’s time to assemble the boxes. These boxes are incredibly easy as there is no assembly required, they just open and are ready to (my favorite kind of boxes).
- Once the boxes are open, place a few pieces of parchment paper into the bottom of the box. You can use more parchment paper if you want to raise the cookies up more and do less per box, that’s totally fine!
- Once the boxes are assembled, it’s time to fill your cookie boxes! If you have cookies or candy in the freezer, they can go directly into the boxes from the freezer. This makes it especially easy to stack things without breakage if the cookies are chilled (pro tip!). I grouped the same cookie flavors together, as you can see, but you can add them in any way you like.
- Fill in the gaps with candy. Once you have the cookies in the box, it’s time to fill in the gaps with the candy. I love using candy for filling in the gaps as it makes the cookie box look extremely full and over the top, but it actually is less work as you’re not gifting as many cookies. Another little pro tip for you from a former bakery owner, haha!
- Once the cookie boxes are full of cookies and candy, then close them up. Use a ribbon to tie a pretty bow and slide a candy cane or two under the ribbon.
- Your cookie boxes are ready to gift!
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