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!
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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 they 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.
We would love to have an all purpose substitute for the almond flour. So many of your recipes look amazing but we cannot make them because my twins have nut allergies. Would love to try your best guess on replacing the almond flour. Thanks!
Hi Andria! Yes, unfortunately some recipes just cannot be subbed and still work properly. Almond flour is a flour that cannot be subbed, unless with another nut flour. In some recipes I suggest trying to sub with ground up raw sunflower seeds and it will work, but for a recipe like this, it is just going to overpower the flavor. Sunflower seeds are very strong in flavor and I just don’t think it would taste good here. Since there is so much almond flour in this recipe, it is the base after all, it’s just not going to work with anything else because it is the source of moisture, as it is high in fat. I have plenty of cookie recipes that do not use almond flour though. You can try subbing the ones that use almond butter for sunbutter if they won’t mind a sunbutter taste. Since I’m an oil-free blog, I use nuts a lot to replace the richness, texture and moisture. You could try these with sunbutter: https://thevegan8.com/2019/03/25/best-vegan-gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Can honey be substituted for maple syrup? And regular granulated or raw sugar for the cane sugar? I’m excited to try this recipe but don’t have maple syrup or cane sugar on hand.
Hi Tracy! I do not use honey in my recipes, only maple syrup or agave, so I’m afraid I can’t give advice on subbing it. I don’t think honey would work well here since a good amount is needed and honey is MUCH thicker and sweeter than maple syrup, as well as incredibly sticky. It would be best to get maple syrup or agave for this recipe for best results. As far as the sugar, yes, regular white sugar is fine, but not raw sugar, since it is much thicker granules.
Hi Brandi,
So I made your cookies this weekend a novice to cooking vegan. My sister Colleen has been raving about your recipes for a long time. I’m not much for cooking but coming to like it. My son and I experience IBS which runs in my family which he thanks me for 🙂 I decided to try these for him. They didn’t turn out looking anything like yours but they were yummy just the same. My son said “These are good mom they taste like the elephant ears we used to get at the bakery”. It made my day because elephant ears were his childhood favorite. Thank you so much for all your hard work in making and providing these recipes. My son may be 29 but he’ll always be my baby and I enjoy making him happy. I did tell him they might turn out differently when I get the hang of weighing and trying the recipe many more times.
Hi Peg! I’m so glad you and your son enjoyed these! Thank you so much for making them and thank you Colleen as well for the kind words, she is such a gem!!
Wow, made these & they were delicious. Then I decided to experiment so I took the basic recipe, added a little cinnamon & pecans & dusted with powdered sugar to make really delicious Pecan Sandies.
That is so awesome to hear Zannetta! That sounds really delicious too!!
Could the tapioca starch be replaced with arrowroot?
I really don’t know. I’ve never tried it, but my personal experience with arrowroot is it makes things excessively gooey and powdery. Since there is a large amount used here, I’m not sure. I would suggest cornstarch instead.
These are my new all-time favorite cookies, thank you so much Brandi! They really do taste like the original snickerdoodles. This is a recipe I will return to make over and over again. Just curious, out of all of your recipes, do you have a favorite dessert or a top 5?
Yay, great feedback, thank you Marie!! Oh gosh, I could never pick a favorite, haha. I have hundreds! Top 5, hmmm, I would say more cookies since that is one of my favorite things to make, so these and also the Funfetti Cake and the Wedding Cupcakes.
Here are some of my favorite I can think of immediately that are not only my favs, but huge crowd-pleasers.
Pecan Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: https://thevegan8.com/2012/12/05/pecan-butter-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Best Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies: https://thevegan8.com/2015/05/23/best-vegan-gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Chocolate Coconut Cookies: https://thevegan8.com/2018/05/11/grain-free-chocolate-coconut-cookies/
Grain-free Chocolate Chip Cookies: https://thevegan8.com/2018/07/10/grain-free-vegan-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Funfetti Cake: https://thevegan8.com/vegan-gluten-free-funfetti-birthday-cake/
Vanilla Wedding Cupcakes (you don’t need a wedding though, they are to die for): https://thevegan8.com/vegan-gluten-free-vanilla-cupcakes/
Double Chocolate Muffins: https://thevegan8.com/2013/12/06/double-chocolate-muffins/
Hi Brandi,
These cookies are so good! Thank you again for another great recipe!
Awesome, thank you April for making them!
Delicious! I made these a couple of weeks ago and forgot to comment, but on the plus side that means I can now confirm that they freeze beautifully. They’re delicious even straight out of the freezer.
So very happy to hear you loved these so much Brenna and great to know about the freezing!
These are so amazing! The texture and taste is spot on. I made them three times in a row! So so good
Yay!! So glad Amanda, thank you so much for the review!
The only REALLY good non-oil, vegan cookie recipe I’ve tried so far (and there have been many) – taste AND texture are perfect. Just ordered a 5 lb bag of almond flour because these will be made often. 🙂
Thank you!
So so glad you loved these, Berton! Such a lovely compliment and feedback, thank you!
I loved these cookies so much that I had to immediately make another batch because somehow half the cookies were gone within minutes lol
So happy to hear that Penny!
I don’t know what a snickerdoodle tastes like, but these cookies are delicious! I didn’t have cream of tartar so used the 1/8 tsp of baking soda, and I only had coconut sugar so used that. I have learned from you to use a scale which has made baking and cooking so much easier for me. Thank you for that and all your delicious recipes. Happy New Year!
It says 1\4 + 1/8 teaspoon do I put both???
Yes
WOW! These cookies are amazingly fantastic! You wouldn’t know that they are void of any traditional staple cookie ingredients. This is a keeper! I couldn’t stop eating them! My non vegan family members were also impressed and loved them.
This is wonderful to haer Carolyn!! So happy they were such a big hit!
Made this recipe today and we absolutely loved it! My non-vegan friends were licking fingers. Thank you for your hard work! Definitely will be on my holiday table!
Woohoo, so glad to hear it Roza!!
I just LOVE these cookies!!😍😍 And also all the other recipes of the book I tried so far! My boyfriend also can’t get enough of all the meals I’m cooking from this book🙈 This is the way how you show people that vegan food is just super delicious! Thank you so much for all your work!!!🙏🏻
Thank you so much Amelie for this amazing review!! Yay! So glad you are loving my cookbook too!
I just made these and they are delicious! Very impressive!
My daughter’s diet just changed to gluten, egg, and dairy free, which feels a little overwhelming when you’ve never cooked that way. I was a little doubtful when looking at recipes, but I will definitely start making these for my entire family. Thank you!!
So awesome to hear Shelly!! I try to make it as easy as possible for anybody, so I’m so glad they worked out for you. Thank you for the review!
I’m so glad I found this recipe! It was easy AND delicious!! I’ve made 3 batches in 5 days! The Iced Oatmeal Cookies are next on my list!
Awesome! So glad to hear it! Would you mind star rating it, thank you so much!
First batch of Christmas cookies down and I’m SO GLAD I chose these! I have my list, mind you- Grain-Free Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, 4 Ingredient Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, Vegan Coconut Butter Gingersnaps, and my personal favorite, Double Chocolate Fudge Crinkle Cookies (from your eBook), but I was dying to give these a try. They were super easy to make and my hubby and I agree, not overly sweet; which was a delightful surprise given traditional Snickerdoodles! I found the bottom of the 1 cup Pyrex container the perfect size to flatten the cookies, thought using my mini ice cream/cookie scooper made them uniform in size, and I cut corners by mixing the dough in my KitchenAid. Adding these to the “must make” Christmas desserts for my family. THANK YOU, BRANDI! Wishing you and your family holidays filled with special moments that turn into lifetime memories! 💗
yay! So thrilled you loved these Colleen!! Merry Christmas to you and your wonderful family!! So glad you found another to add to the list!
Hubby and I ate the whole batch, luckily I made half the recipe LOL. He said these were the BEST cookies ever! These are so simple, quick and delicious. Thank you for yet another winner!
Yay, this is so awesome to hear Andrea, yay!!
Wow! Better than any other snickerdoodles I’ve ever had. So easy to put together. They came out of the oven PERFECT!
made these for the third time this week!
Woohoo, love hearing that Nina!
I’m really excited to have come across this recipe but I don’t have a scale. Is it worth me attempting to make this without one?
Scales always provide accurate results, but if you scoop up the almond flour with your cup and lightly pat down and then level off, that should come close. You want to make sure the almond flour is filled in the cup without gaps. Same thing with the tapioca starch, scoop up with the tablespoon and really pat it down and level off. Just FYI though if you want to make any other desserts, a scale is inexpensive and a wise investment. You never need cups again! Just add each ingredient to a bowl, zeroing out in between each addition. So easy! And it ensures your results work every time 🙂
Absolutely scrumptious Brandi & so easy to make! They are a perfect partner for a piping hot cup of coffee or tea. Thank you many times over for the wonderful treat!
I’m so glad you loved these Kim!!
This are the best cookies I have EVER made. Seriously amazing! So worth it to get that cream of tartar. Thank you soooo much!
This thrills me to hear Nicole! I just saw them on Instagram and they looked so perfect! So happy they are best, yay!