Start by preheating your oven to 325°F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. While the oven heats, lay out a large sheet of parchment paper on your work surface—this will be essential for rolling out the dough without it sticking. Having everything ready before you start mixing ensures your dough doesn't sit around and dry out while you're preparing your baking station.

In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, sea salt, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or your hands until the mixture comes together into a cohesive dough. The maple syrup will act as the binding agent here, so mix until you don't see any dry flour streaks. I find that using my hands for the final mixing gives me a better feel for when the dough is ready—you want it to hold together without being overly wet.

Place the dough from Step 2 between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to an even 1/8-inch thickness. Work gently and evenly so the cookies will bake uniformly. Once rolled, remove the top sheet of parchment and cut the dough into your desired shapes using cookie cutters or a knife. Using parchment paper prevents sticking and makes cleanup easier—no floury mess on your counters.

Using a fork or wooden skewer, poke several small holes across each cookie (this is called docking and helps the cookies bake more evenly). Carefully transfer the cut cookies to your prepared baking sheet from Step 1, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Work gently since the dough is delicate at this stage.

Bake the cookies at 325°F for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. Watch them carefully during the last minute since almond flour cookies can brown quickly. Remove from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. I like to let them cool on the sheet first because they're quite delicate when warm and benefit from setting up slightly before moving them.