Gluten Free Snickerdoodles

The best recipe for Gluten Free Snickerdoodles — made healthier! While made with healthier ingredients, these cookies are chewy in the center and crisp around the edges, just like a traditional cookie. They are so delicious and simple, you’ll make them over and over again!

My Favorite Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe

When I went gluten free, cookies were a challenge.

I wanted to make my cookies from whole foods, not starches and gums, like so many gluten free recipes are based on. Swapping wheat for starches hardly makes baked goods any healthier! These, like all of my healthy cookie recipes, are gluten free snickerdoodles with no xantham gum.

When I discovered baking with nut flours (and butters!), my gluten free cookies improved! Because nuts have a natural sweetness, using them gives cookies a great texture, similar to a regular wheat-based cookie, and lessens the amount of sugar needed.

You’ll love these Gluten Free Snickerdoodles Because:

• The have the best chewy interior, and are crisp with a delicious cinnamon topping on the outside. They taste just like a classic snickerdoodle, while being made with wholesome ingredients!
• The recipe calls for just tablespoons of sugar, not cups! I do use organic white granulated sugar here, rather than coconut sugar or honey — it’s the only way I found to give them the same chewy texture as regular cookies.
• This recipe uses just 1 bowl — mix your baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon directly into the wet ingredients before adding the dry ingredients. Because we don’t need extra dishes to do!

How to Make Gluten Free Snickerdoodles

Step 1: Into a medium sized mixing bowl, add the cashew butter, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla. Mix until it’s creamy a and smooth, and then add the baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, and cream of tartar, then mix to combine.

Step 2: Add the oat flour and arrowroot powder, and stir to combine into a sticky cookie dough. Refrigerate the cookie dough for about 30 minutes so that it’s easier to roll into balls. If you need to refrigerate it for a longer period of time (like overnight), cover it with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

Step 3: Mix 3 tablespoons of organic coarse sugar with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in a small bowl.

Scoop the cookie dough with a tablespoon or a tablespoon sized cookie scoop, and roll into balls. Roll the balls of cookie dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture, and place them on a lined cookie sheet.

Step 4: Press the cookies down using a fork. See below for variations on the shape of the cookies. These do not spread very much so if you’d like a flatter, crispier cookie, they need to be partially shaped prior to baking.

If you like your cookies thicker and softer, you can just bake the cookies in balls, without pressing them down. They will end up looking like this:

Step 5: Bake the cookies for 9 minutes. When you take the cookies out of the oven, they will be very soft and crumbly. As they cool, they will become more firm. I don’t put them on a wire rack to cool because they will break if you move them before they completely cool.

After the cookies cool, put the cookie sheet in the refrigerator or freezer (wherever you have room) to fully chill them. I promise — once the cookies are chilled, they have a very firm, chewy texture, and are not crumbly at all! This is the price to pay for having a healthy gluten free snickerdoodle cookie, without using weird starches or gums.

The cookies have the best chewy texture right out of the freezer! Store leftover cookies in the refrigerator or freezer, wrapped tight, based on your preference.

Tips for the Perfect Gluten Free Cookies

Skip the arrowroot starch: I don’t mind using small amounts of arrowroot starch, because it’s less processed than other starches and has more nutrients, like B vitamins, potassium and iron.

I buy this arrowroot starch from Bob’s Red Mill because it’s consistent, a good price, and doesn’t have a strong flavor like some other brands.

I tested these gluten free snickerdoodles with no arrowroot starch, and they are delicious. The cookies are slightly more crumbly, but once they are frozen, there is almost no difference in the texture. Simple substitute 2 additional tablespoons of oat flour for the arrowroot.

No Cream of Tartar: No problem! Instead of baking soda and cream of tartar, sub 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Alternatively, use the baking soda as directed, and add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice to the batter.

Make them Bar Cookies: This snickerdoodle cookie recipe is perfect baked as bar cookies! Press the chilled dough into a parchment-lined 8×8 inch baking dish, and sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake the cookies for 14 minutes. Allow to fully chill, refrigerate to cool further, and then slice into bar cookies.

Other Delicious Gluten Free Cookie Recipes:

• Vegan Oatmeal Cookies, by Sunkissed Kitchen
• Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, by Sunkissed Kitchen
• Vegan Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, by Sunkissed Kitchen
• No Bake Almond Joy Cookies, by Sunkissed Kitchen

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