Thick & Chewy Gluten-Free Vegan Snickerdoodles
These Gluten-Free & Vegan Snickerdoodles are thick, chewy, and pillowy soft with a delicious cinnamon-sugar coating. They’re perfect for healthy holiday baking or whenever a cookie craving strikes!
Say hello to the best gluten-free & vegan snickerdoodle cookies you will ever bake. They have an extra soft and chewy texture with a buttery melt-in-your-mouth center you will swoon over! Not to mention — they’re full of healthy ingredients, yet they are incredibly rich and chewy, and coated in a crunchy cinnamon sugar edge.
These are exactly the kind of cookies we need heading into the holiday season (along with all of these amazing gluten-free cookies)!
Ingredients for gluten-free vegan snickerdoodles:
These healthy paleo snickerdoodle cookies only require a handful of simple ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Blanched Almond Flour: Be sure to use almond flour and not almond meal as this will affect the texture and structure of the cookies.
- Cassava Flour: Another grain-free flour I love to help create a delicious, soft cookie texture. You can substitute extra almond flour if you don’t have cassava on hand.
- Coconut Sugar: Using coconut sugar keeps the cookies refined sugar-free but you can also substitute brown sugar if needed.
- Flax Egg: To make this recipe vegan you’ll use a flax egg by mixing 1.5 TBSP flaxseed meal and 4 TBSP water. Allow the mixture to set for 10 minutes until a thick texture forms.
- Refined Coconut Oil: Make sure your coconut oil is sightly softened and not completely melted. The texture should be similar to softened butter.
- Creamy Cashew Butter: Cashew butter provides structure to the cookies without the use of traditional butter as a fat binder. I love Artisana Organics brand for quality and flavor.
- Baking Soda: To help the cookies puff up and rise!
- Vanilla Extract
- Kosher Salt
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a must for snickerdoodle cookies! It helps create a warm, comforting flavor and is crucial for the outer coating.
- Raw Turbinado Sugar: This is for the outer cookie coating but feel free to substitute coconut sugar if that’s all you have or want these to remain paleo.
Can you make snickerdoodles without cream of tartar?
Yes! You’ll notice these snickerdoodle cookies don’t require cream of tartar. In traditional recipes, cream of tartar and baking soda are used in order to obtain the soft, crumbly cookie texture with a tangy flavor.
However, these cookies become soft and chewy from ingredients like coconut sugar, softened coconut oil, and cashew butter. You will still need baking soda as well to help the cookies puff up but we found cream of tartar was not necessary here.
How to make extra thick & soft snickerdoodle cookies:
There are a few key factors for making these snickerdoodles the super thick, chewy, and soft cookies we all love.
You’ll use a combination of softened coconut oil and cashew butter in place of regular butter as the fat binder. I love using cashew butter for the neutral, buttery flavor it creates, however, almond butter may work as well! This combination of healthy fats creates the traditional soft and chewy snickerdoodle texture we all love without using the cream of tartar.
For the dry ingredients, you will notice a mixture of almond flour and cassava flour. Not only do these flours make the cookies paleo-friendly, but they also help create an extra pillowy soft texture. Both are key staples in my kitchen and get used in many recipes like this yummy gluten-free vegan shortbread!
Tip for the cinnamon sugar coating
A snickerdoodle is not a true snickerdoodle without the cinnamon sugar coating! This pretty much makes or breaks your cookies. While the dough chills, you will mix together cinnamon and raw turbinado sugar. I love using turbinado sugar to create an extra crunch however coconut sugar or raw cane sugar will work too.
Once the dough is chilled, you will roll the cookie dough balls in the cinnamon-sugar coating before placing them into the oven to bake! I love having these straight from the oven after baking for an extra warm and soft cookie. What more do we need in life right?
Want more healthy holiday cookies?
- Gluten-Free Vegan Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (with vegan option)
- Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Salted Caramel Thumbprint Cookies
Gluten-Free Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Paleo & Vegan Snickerdoodles are some of the chewiest, softest cookies ever, with tons of cinnamon and a delectably crunchy cinnamon-sugar coating. You’ll be making them again and again!
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 3 tablespoons (37g) refined coconut oil, softened with a texture similar to softened butter
- 3 tablespoons (48g) creamy cashew butter
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1½ flax eggs, 1.5 tablespoon flax meal + 4 tablespoons water, whisk and let set for 10 minutes
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1⅓ cups (128g) blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (53g) cassava flour
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoons kosher salt
To roll the cookies in
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar or raw turbinado sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the coconut oil, almond butter, and coconut sugar until fully combined, about 1 minute.
- Beat in the flax eggs, then stir in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the blanched almond flour, cassava flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together until completely combined.
- Place dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before forming balls to make it easier to work with – you can leave the dough in the fridge (covered) for up to 48 hours.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl to roll the cookies in.
- Use a small cookie scoop (mine fits 2 teaspoons of dougto make cookie dough balls, roll into a ball with your hands, and then roll each dough ball in the sugar mixture. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they’ve puffed and cracked. Let cool completely on the cookie sheet.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Keywords: snickerdoodles, gluten-free, vegan, cookies, holidays
What can I sub for the cassava flour? Non of our stores here carry it.
Hi Anita, you can use more almond flour instead. Enjoy!
I would like to make these this weekend. But, I was wondering if they can be made with vegan butter instead of coconut oil? I just hate coconut oil.
Hi Karen, I don’t really use vegan butter so no guarantees but as long as it bakes well, that should be fine. You can also use refined coconut oil, which I recommend and has no coconut flavor.
Hi! I JUST made them. Like right now I took them out of the oven and I’m so disappointed I absolutely love your recipes, they never fail! I follow them exactly as you write… but this one didn’t work for me. I knew the dough was way too dry, after I tores it for like 40minutes in the fridge but I though “oh well….maybe this is how it’s supposed to look…?” And put them in the oven anyways, just trusting the process. But now that they’re done, I just feel like throwing them out to the trash. They’re super dry and crumbly… they actually taste like flour when they crumble in my mouth…
I used the measuring you said 1+1/3 cup of blanched almond flour and then an extra 1/4c cause I didn’t have cassava flour…
Well, just wanted to let you know that this is your first recipe ever that didn’t work! You’re still my favorite tho but wanted to give you some (hopefully positive) feedback.
Have a beautiful Sunday!
Cheers,
Pam
Hi Pam, so sorry that this recipe didn’t work out for you! The dough for this should definitely be on the softer side, and not dry or crumbly at all. Did you change anything else about the recipe? I would love to help figure out what went wrong here!!
I see that this recipe is substantially different than the one in your cookbook. Which one would you recommend making the most?
Hi Jennifer, both are awesome! I’d say this one is a little chewier than the others, which are a little bit softer, so it depends what texture you prefer! :)
Amazing!!!!!
★★★★★
So glad you’re loving them, Rachel!
Hi! Love this recipe. Still have leftover dough. It has been in fridge for almost 72 hours, not 48. Can I still bake? What happens? Thank you!
★★★★★
It should be ok! Did you bake the dough? How did it turn out?
These were BOMB my family is a big snickerdoodle family but my mom and I both now have to follow a paleo diet for autoimmune health and cannot eat our family’s traditional snickerdoodle recipe. I decided to try these ahead of Christmas when we usually make snickerdoodles to see if they’d be good enough to share with everyone (because let’s be honest, sometimes you can really tell when you’re eating a healthier option and that’s no fun!)
This recipe was soooo good! Shared with 3 friends who aren’t paleo and they had no idea ans we finished the whole batch of 20 in one night between the 4 of us
These snickerdoodles are a definite crowd-pleaser and I’ll be making them over and over again
Thank you for making such delicious options for those of us who can’t or would prefer not to eat baked goods that are loaded with refined sugar, flour, etc.
★★★★★
I love this!!! So glad they passed the snickerdoodle test Jocelyn, and I hope your family loves them this holiday season :D
Most of your recipes call for coconut oil, which I’m not a fan of. Can I substitute vegan butter instead?