Place the sugar, peanut butter, vegan buttery spread, applesauce, and maple syrup in a mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth.
Add the gluten free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and mix on low speed to combine.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or until firm. (This is important! With this gluten free dough, you need the full 2 hours to chill).
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.
Bake for about 12-13 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets once. Cool for ten minutes – they will break if you try to move them too soon. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.
Repeat steps 5 and 6 with remaining dough.
Notes
Nutrition facts are for one cookie.Store cookies in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for about 5 days.If you can't eat peanut butter, go ahead and use Sunbutter or Wowbutter. If you use Sunbutter, you will need to reduce the amount of baking soda and baking powder by one third.