Learn how to make the absolute BEST Vegan Gluten-free Snickerdoodles ever! They are so buttery, moist and delicious with the classic cinnamon sugar taste and crackle top, yet are gluten-free, oil-free, made in 1 bowl and in 25 minutes!
*This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.
VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE SNICKERDOODLES
It’s exciting to be sharing these Vegan Snickerdoodles with you today because it took me 4 trials to get them the way I wanted, as you all saw since I was sharing my testing trials in my Instagram stories and on Facebook. They really are the best vegan snickerdoodles you’ll ever have, shoot, best ever!
The most amazing part of these cookies is the fact that they taste so legit, yet are:
gluten-free, vegan, grain-free, oil-free and just 8 ingredients! The most challenging thing about baking my recipes in a lot of cases, is achieving optimal results, in taste, texture and appearance, all at 8 ingredients. That’s often why I have to trial multiple times. It would be a lot easier if I could do 9 or 10 ingredients, LOL.
THE BEST VEGAN SNICKERDOODLES
I wanted them to spread and crackle and look just like traditional snickerdoodles I used to get at bakeries. After much experimentation with flours and liquids and ratios, I finally got it. I tell you what, it is not easy to get a cookie the way you want it all the time, especially a snickerdoodle without using any butter, oil or nut butters! I was quite frustrated, but I kept on until I nailed these vegan snickerdoodles. The almond flour is the special ingredient here.
HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGAN OIL-FREE SNICKERDOODLES?
To make these vegan gluten-free snickerdoodles, you only need 10-15 minutes of prep and 1 bowl, that’s it.
First, gather these 8 ingredients:
- blanched almond flour
- tapioca starch/flour
- baking powder
- cream of tartar
- pure cane sugar
- maple syrup
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
Next, whisk your dry ingredients, then add the syrup and vanilla to the same bowl and stir until thick.
Roll into balls and coat into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Place the balls onto the lined pan. Flatten them and bake at 375°F for 10 minutes until golden and they should have puffed up and slightly crackled.
WHY DO YOU ADD CREAM OF TARTAR TO SNICKERDOODLES?
The reason for cream of tartar is for that classic subtle tang that the classic snickerdoodle cookie has. It is what sets them apart from just a sugar cookie. This is one reason I’ve always loved these cookies because they have that taste. So, naturally, these vegan oil-free snickerdoodles need it too. It also helps the baking powder react, so don’t omit!
MORE VEGAN COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY:
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
- 5 Ingredient Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Thin Mints
- Dark Chocolate Molasses Cookies
- Vegan Old-Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies
- Best Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Almond Butter Blossoms
- Grain-free Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Double Chocolate Espresso Almond Cookies (my all-time favorite cookie)
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Snickerdoodles (Gluten-free, Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (252g) superfine blanched almond flour (please weigh for accurate results!)
- 6 tablespoons (48g) tapioca starch/flour
- 3 tablespoons (36g) pure cane sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (200g) pure maple syrup
- 2 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar coating
- 6 tablespoons (72g) pure cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
NOTE
- Please do not ask to sub the almond flour, as you can see, it is the main ingredient. With no oil or butter in this recipe, it is the very source of moisture and buttery flavor. It simply will not work with any sub.
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl, add the almond flour, tapioca, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt and whisk very well, making sure to break up lumps from the almond flour.
- To the same bowl, add the syrup and vanilla and stir with a spoon for several minutes until it all comes together into a thick, somewhat sticky batter. Keep stirring and pressing the mixture with the back of the spoon until this happens.
- To a small bowl, add the sugar and cinnamon for the coating and whisk well.
- With the batter, form balls using 1 1/2 tablespoons worth of the cookie dough. If you would like larger cookies, then use 2 tablespoons worth of dough. Roll into tight balls with your hands. The batter, if you weighed everything correctly, should be somewhat sticky, but you SHOULD be able to roll into balls. If it is too sticky to roll into balls, place in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.
- Place each ball in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and rotate it several times to really coat them well. Add them to the pan 2 inches apart. I got 18 cookies (9 on each pan). Depending on how big you make them you may get more or less.
- Press each cookie down between 1/4 to 1/2 inch, making sure the whole cookie is pressed down evenly. Pressing them down properly is what will help them crackle as they bake and spread.
- Bake 1 pan at a time. (While the first pan cools, bake the 2nd one) Bake for 10 minutes. They should have puffed up and slightly crackled, that is when they are done. I found 10 minutes to be perfect.
- Leave them to cool on the pan 10 minutes, then transfer to cool another 10 minutes. They will flatten back out a bit as they cool. These cookies do finish cooking as the cool in the insides, so I would wait before eating one until they are cooled, or they will seem a bit underdone still in the middle. They will fluff up on the inside more as they cool. They should have a crispy edge with a moist and soft, chewy center. Store sealed in a container.
I made half the recipe which I always do when I try something new. It made 13 cookies, 20g each (1-1/2 Tblsp using a cookie scoop). I baked them in a toaster oven and pulled them out after 9 minutes because the bottoms were getting dark. My husband liked the cookies but he said they tasted slightly underdone in the center even though he ate them hours after they baked, but they got firmer overnight. Thanks for another winner, Brandi!
So glad you enjoyed them Mimi! Sounds like the toaster oven cooked them too quickly on the bottoms. I find my toaster oven doesn’t cook nearly as evenly as a traditional oven. I’ve never had these cookies burn on the bottom before cooking the centers or heard that from another reader. I’d try in the oven next time, thank you Mimi!
My husband and I LOVE these! Thank you so much. Turned out perfectly even with omitting the cream of tartar ( didn’t have any).
So happy you loved these Laura! Thank you!
MAGIC! That was my friend’s first comment when I told her these snickerdoodles don’t have a speck of butter or flour in them. This is my first time making vegan, gluten-free cookies and I was amazed that they’re just as good as “regular” snickerdoodles (even better since I don’t have that “ick” feeling after eating them). Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Hi Brandi,
I made these Snickerdoodles recently and they are delicious! Snickerdoodles was always one of the cookies my Mom made for Christmas when I was growing up, most likely because it was my Dad’s favorite! I made these and have to say they are SO close to the taste of the ones I grew up with! They passed the test for my entire family, including my Mom and sister who both said WOW! Thanks for creating delicious oil-free recipes! It’s so appreciated!
I have just baked these cookies. They are amazing!!! The texture is very interesting and they taste so good! My boyfriend liked them a lot. I said to him that I would like to bring some of them to his parents tomorrow. He said that it is a a great idea if by tomorrow they will be any survivors left :-)))
Haha that’s awesome! So glad they were such a hit!
These cookies are hands down the best! I’m a snickerdoodle fan so these are definitely a keeper. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Hi Brandi! I love your recipes and these snickerdoodles are amazing! Do you have any thoughts on substituting monk fruit sweetener in place of all or part of the cane sugar? I’m really trying to reduce the amount of sugar we are eating and would love to try using this but I’m not experienced with it yet. I usually make a triple batch of snickerdoodles so I’m hesitant to to try something new without knowing how it might turn out. What do you think?
Hi, thank you so much Lisa! I have never personally used monk fruit, so I’m afraid I can’t give advice on how it performs in baking, but I *think* it is a 1:1 sub for sugar, so you can try to sub the dry sugar for it, but you still will need the syrup as it is a liquid and helps the texture. You could sub agave also. If you want to experiment, maybe try just a half recipe first!
I thought these were fantastic! So easy and all ingredients I had around the house. I did use food gloves for rolling in the cinnamon sugar as they were slightly sticky. They are perfect on day one. Crispy on the edge, chewy in the middle. On subsequent days they are not quite snickerdoodle consistency but still delicious. They remind me of a Chinese Almond cookie for texture reference which makes sense with the almond flour. I used the bottom of a glass dipped in the cinnamon sugar to flatten the cookies out. I froze a couple baked cookies to see how they would hold up to send in a care package for my college daughter. I pulled them out and let them thaw then baked for a few minutes in a low temp oven and they were again crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside.
So happy to hear these were such a success, thank you for the review Kellie!
Can I substitute maple syrup in place of the white sugar? If so, how much?
Hi! No, because then you are adding liquid to the recipe which would make the batter too wet. You can use coconut sugar if you like. Will make them darker.
100% my new favorite cookie! DELICIOUS!
I just made these and omg I think they might just be one of the nicest things I’ve ever eaten! I’d never heard of a snickerdoodle but saw all the amazing reviews and decided to give it a go. So glad I did! Went down a real treat in our house, thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
Aww that is so amazing to hear!
I was skeptical that I would like these since I love traditional snickerdoodles so much. These turned out great! They were easy to make and I would make them again. I did miss the butter found in a traditional cookie. However, these are worth making which cannot be said of all vegan cookies. 🙂
Awesome recipe
They came out perfect
These cookies are delicious. So soft, perfectly spiced and not too sweet. I followed the recipe measurements using the weights given and they turned out great. However, I somehow ended up with quite a bit of leftover cinnamon sugar coating.
So happy to hear that!!
Hello! I am trying to make vanilla wafers. It seems to be quite the challenge. I am looking at different cookie recipes of yours, and the Snickerdoodles seem to come close to a Vanilla Wafer recipe. Do you have any suggestions? I don’t mind tinkering with some recipes; I just need a base to work from. Thank you, in advance. I have your new cookbook, and my favorite recipe thus far is the, “BBQ Chipotle Green Lentils w/ Potato Wedges”. I appreciate all your hard work!!!!
These were awesome!!! I saw that Tami from Nutmeg Notebook made them, so I came by and tried them. Amazing for being vegan, and without oils. So glad I did stop by. You have so many recipes I can’t wait to try. Thank you!!!
Wonderful to hear Lynn!
Astonishingly delicious~!! My husband is a runner and joined me in eating plant based a few months ago, and I’ve been scrambling to re-do some of his go-to indulgences with vegan ingredients … this cookie is a winner, thank you! I find they are best the same day. I want to make a LOT of them for Christmas when we have all of our kids here. I wonder if I can make up a triple batch and bake them on demand. Have you tried this?
I lost count of how many times I have made these cookies and how many people have asked for your recipe! Dozens of batches later I find myself just days away from Christmas and yesterday I gave my last few away to friends so … I’m headed back to the kitchen and will hide my next batch for Christmas with my family. Thank you Brandi for always being our trusted go-to for every type of vegan recipe!
I’d never tasted a snickerdoodle before (I know!!) so I didn’t know what to expect. Wow! These cookies are delicious. My daughters also loved them and it’s rare we three have the same taste in anything! I found them a bit sweet- I may cut down some sugar next time. Also I halved the recipe which seems difficult but that’s all the syrup I had. They worked out fine and super yummy. It’s a truly easy recipe! Thank you!
So very happy you loved these Deb, thank you for making them!
Delicious
I’m pretty terrible at baking, but I get a wild hair sometimes so I decided to try these and OMG these are insane, and I can’t believe I didn’t ruin these. 🤣 I saw the note about weighing vs measuring and thought, yep that’s how I’m gonna mess this up (since I didn’t have a scale) but they turned out perfect. Thank you! Saving this recipe forever. SO SCRUMPTIOUS.
Yay!! So happy to hear this!
These are my new favorite cookies! They turned out perfect. Thanks!
Yay, that is awesome!
Thanks for this great recipe. I don’t use oil or butter in my baking so these fill the bill. I love just saying the name “Snickerdoodle” it’s such a yummy word to say. These are so good as they taste like they have butter or oil in them. Thanks for figuring this out so i don’t have too. Also thanks for including the weights which as you know is so much easier than dealing with measuring cups . Wish all recipe writers would publish the weights . Digital scales are so inexpensive nowadays no reason not to have one.
Thank you so much Scott for your kind words and making these! So glad you enjoyed them!
I made the recipe as-is (using measuring cups rather than a scale) and they were delicious, SUPER easy and a wonderful quick treat. Batch made 18 generous sized cookies. I cooked at 375F for 10 minutes in my Breville Air Fryer. After cooling 10-15 minutes, they were perfectly crispy on the edges but still soft and chewy in the center. I am curious to test with partially brown rice flour or white flour in place of some of the almond flour just because I think it might make them a little “lighter”? Not that they were too heavy but it’s just a texture thing for me. I have an insatiable sweet tooth but I am also going to reduce or omit the 3 Tbs of sugar in the recipe as they were plenty sweet and I think I can get away without it. If my tweaks don’t work, no worries as the original recipe is divine and well worth making. Maybe I got lucky the first time, but I think this recipe is forgiving.I left hubby and 16 year old alone with the cookies and fear they’ll all be gone by the time I’m done typing this!
Fantastic! Going into regular rotation.
I agree with another comment that this is far too much sugar/cinnamon for this batch size. Based on that comment I cut it in half (and added a dash of nutmeg because I like that on snickerdoodles). I rolled smaller cookies, which means more surface volume, and still had at least a tablespoon of the mix left over. So if you don’t think you have enough cinnamon don’t let that stop you!
I’m wondering if I could substitute brown rice syrup for the maple. I have a bottle of that to use up from some long forgotten recipe. I don’t want to mess with the flavor if the maple is adding something that the rice syrup wouldn’t. Any thoughts on substitution there?
So glad you loved these! Brown rice syrup is much less sweet and much thicker/stickier than maple syrup, so I imagine they will taste much less sweet and possibly the texture change, so I’d keep that in mind if you want to experiment with it!
O.M.G. These were REALLY good!
I want to know whether I can substitute your cream of tartar with psyllium husk. In the country where I live you cannot find cream of tartar.
Hi, no I would not use that, they are not the same thing. Just leave it out!
I am planning on making these today but have a question about the cane sugar you use. Is it finely granulated like white sugar, or more like Demerara?
Fine like white sugar although not 100% as fine but very close
These came out so good. But the tops of mine didn’t crinkle. Any idea why? I followed the recipe to a T. The only thing I added was anise seeds to make them more like biscochitos.
They are sweeter than what I would like, so I was wondering if I could dilute the maple syrup with water as long as I have 200gm. Oh I love the weight measurements over cups any day!
So sorry I missed this! This can happen for a few reasons…if your climate is drier, they will spread less. Because colder or drier climates will make the batter a bit stiffer, which means they wills spread/crinkle less. I wouldn’t sub with water, will probably make them way too fragile. You want to sub all the syrup?? That will make these very bitter and wet/fragile.
Hi! Do you think I could successfully sub date powder/sugar for white sugar? Thank you
I’ve never used date sugar so I really don’t know!
Is there any nutritional information for this recipe? I have a family member who is on a low potassium, low phosphorus, low salt diet aka kidney diet This recipe might be good for someone on a kidney diet but I’m not sure.
Easy to make with just one bowl, a whisk, and a spoon! So melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
That is wonderful, so glad they were a hit Rebecca!
Great recipe! Made for the first time today and my entire family loved them. Thank you!
So happy to hear that!
Easy to make and they came out just as described. The taste is just like a classic snickerdoodle.
Yay, thank you Tracie!
I am new to the gluten free vegan arena of life. My daughter in law is vegan/gluten free due to severe food allergies. I am learning and trying many things. This recipe is my first true success. Thank you!!!I look forward to trying more recipes.
So glad you loved these, yay, thank you Donna!
These snickerdoodles are great! I used 3/8 c maple syrup, which was sweet enough for me. You can’t tell they have no butter in them.
Thank you for a great recipe.
So happy you enjoyed them Mary!