Soft and chewy Gluten Free Snickerdoodles have a cinnamon sugar coating that ensures a sweet crunchy bite. Made with less sugar, butter and almond flour this classic cookie is a year round favorite!
Swapping white flour for almond flour to make healthier desserts has become a new obsession in my kitchen. Almond flour chocolate chip cookies is one of favorites.
Table of contents
- Why Make Healthy Snickerdoodles Cookies?
- Ingredients for Almond Flour Snickerdoodles
- How to Make Gluten Free Snickerdoodles
- Optional Add-In’s and Variations
- Tips for Best Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Results
- FAQs
- How to Serve Healthy Snickerdoodles?
- How to Ship Snickerdoodle Cookies?
- How to Store Gluten Free Snickerdoodles?
- More Almond Flour Recipes
These cinnamon sugar cookies are super soft inside, chewy outside and simply inviting; they are so cute! If you love cinnamon, put healthy cinnamon rolls and gluten free almond flour cinnamon bread on your holiday baking list, too.
Perfecting a gluten free snickerdoodles recipe has been on my mind for years, and it was easier than I thought by using almond flour. This grain free flour works really well in these pillowy soft cookies making them, airy and chewy at the same time-so delicious!
Why Make Healthy Snickerdoodles Cookies?
- Healthier swaps: Means less empty calories! I swapped white flour for almond flour, reduced butter in half, cut sugar by threefold and ended up with delicious snickerdoodles.
- Easy: No using a mixer or chilling of dough is required.
- Grain free: And gluten free! Perfect for those reducing carbs or avoiding gluten.
- Classic taste: All the taste your remember from your childhood- buttery cinnamon sugar flavor that melts in your mouth!
Why the name “snickerdoodles”? I think it’s so cute, makes me think of dog puddles. Wikipedia “thinks” the word is of German origin – Schneckennudeln (“snail noodles”), a kind of pastry.
Ingredients for Almond Flour Snickerdoodles
- Almond flour: Keeps these both gluten free and grain free plus adds chewiness and helps them bake into cinnamon sugar cookie deliciousness!
- Eggs: Gives almond flour snickerdoodle cookies structure plus the protein aids in the chewiness.
- Butter: Classic buttery taste, also helps keeps cookies tender.
- Cane or coconut sugar (cookies will turn out darker): Sugar helps cookies become crisper by absorbing moisture in the dough.
In years of healthy baking, I learned cookies have to be made with sugar and butter. That is what makes cookies chewy and soft at the same time and “a cookie”. Just have to be smart with ingredients and have clean taste buds that come with healthy lifestyle.
- Cream of tartar: Adds to the tangy flavor classic snickerdoodles are known for!
- Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract vs. imitation for best flavor.
- Cinnamon: A warming spice that is classic for these cinnamon sugar cookies!
- Baking soda: Helps leaven your healthy snickerdoodles dough, resulting in a soft, fluffy cookie!
- Salt: Enhances taste.
How to Make Gluten Free Snickerdoodles
- Prep: You will need 2 baking sheets lined with parchment or silicone mats (no need to spray either). And preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make cookie dough: Whisk eggs with sugar until creamed a tiny bit. Then add melted butter, vanilla, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Whisk, add almond flour and stir until combined. No need to chill.
- Roll cookies in cinnamon sugar: In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Scoop dough with small scoop, roll into 1 inch balls in your hands, then drop into the bowl with sugar and roll until coated. Use spoon, hands or simply shake the bowl.
I love to use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop so my cookies are uniform in size and bake evenly!
- Shape snickerdoodles and bake: Place balls 3 inches apart on baking sheet and flatten gently with fingers. Snickerdoodles do not spread or puff up much. You will have leftover sugar which I recommend to sprinkle some on top of cookies before baking.
Do not overbake cookies: It is important to remove cookies while they appear underbaked and pale.
- Bake: For 10 minutes, let them sit on a baking sheet for 10 minutes, then cool a bit longer on a rack. Chewy outside while soft inside.
Optional Add-In’s and Variations
- Cream of tartar substitute: Cream of tartar makes cookies tangy and chewy and differentiates them from regular sugar cookies. You can try using lemon juice or apple cider vinegar instead. I personally have not tested.
- Coconut oil: I have not tried using coconut oil to make snickerdoodles. In my baking experience, it results in more crunchy cookies in general. What I do love coconut oil for, though, is chocolate fudge.
- Brown butter: For additional flavor boost, brown butter in saucepan when you are melting it.
- Other warming spices: Roll cookies in pumpkin pie spice, gingerbread spice, chai spice or apple pie spice for different flavor profiles!
- Snickerdoodle ‘kiss’: Perfect for holiday baking, right after baking, add a chocolate kiss to the cookie!
- Add ‘chips’: Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips or crushed peppermint for fun seasonal variations.
- Zest: A small bit of orange or lemon zest could be added to the the cookie dough.
- Eggnog snickerdoodles: Replace vanilla extract with rum extract and add in some nutmeg to both coating and dough.
Tips for Best Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Results
- Other flour: Gluten free flours are very finicky, all flours are. I recommend using only almond flour, not even almond meal, for proper snickerdoodle.
- If using salted butter: Skip adding additional salt.
- For extra cinnamon sugar flavor: Double coat your cookies. Roll once in the cinnamon sugar mixture, chill rolled balls for 30 minutes or so (to ensure cinnamon sugar cookies really absorb that flavor!) then roll again in cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Don’t skip the cream of tartar: It gives these cookies their ‘tang’ and transform them from just butter cookies to almond flour snickerdoodles!
- Cool correctly: Almond flour can be finicky! For best snickerdoodles with almond flour results, cool only 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then move to baking rack to cool completely.
- Use proper measuring techniques: Baking is a science and I cannot stress enough that ingredients need to be measured properly to ensure best results. I prefer the scoop and level method. Scoop your flour from the bag into the measuring cup (adds air to the flour) and then level with a knife.
FAQs
I have not tested this version, but you could try replacing butter with a high quality vegan butter and eggs with chia egg. Cookies may rise and taste slightly different.
While you can try another acidic ingredient such as lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, cream of tartar powder will work best and can be easily found in most grocery baking aisles.
Cinnamon cookies will have cinnamon added to the dough whereas snickerdoodles are rolled in a cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Snickerdoodles have two major differences. They contain cream of tatar that gives them a unique ‘tang’ and they are rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Sugar cookies on the other hand do not have cream of tartar and are usually ate as is or with icing.
There are two possible reasons, you forgot to flatten them before baking (just a light press with your thumb will do!) or you added too much flour.
Yes, you can use monk fruit with erythritol or any of other natural sweeteners! Just be sure you are replacing granulated sugar with a granulated dry sugar replacement.
How to Serve Healthy Snickerdoodles?
- Snack: After a day at school, holiday shopping or playing in the snow serve with healthy hot chocolate.
- Cookie platter: Along with healthy chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies and almond flour thumbprint cookies.
- Dessert charcuterie: Build a charcuterie platter with a variety of cookies, brownies, fresh fruit, nuts, sweet breads and decadent dark chocolate. The perfect way to enjoy your healthy Christmas cookies!
Ready to make more healthy cookie recipes? I have you covered with recipes for protein oatmeal cookies ( chocolate protein cookies, too!), cranberry orange oatmeal cookies, and sugar-free oatmeal cookies!
How to Ship Snickerdoodle Cookies?
Gift a few cinnamon sugar cookies to friends and family wrapped in a plastic bag with ties. To ship, I would let cookie get 1 day old first, for better shape. Then wrap 2 cookies bottoms to each other with plastic wrap, place in airtight container where they don’t tumble around much, with a slice of bread, and ship to a not long distant destination, like 5 days max. Send some healthy gingerbread cookies, gingersnap cookies and sugar cookies, too!
How to Store Gluten Free Snickerdoodles?
Storing: The best place to store snickerdoodles is in a cookie jar for up to 5 days. You can add a slice of bread to help absorb moisture from air. If you find your cookies start to dry out, place them in an airtight container. I would not recommend doing so at the start because you don’t want cookies to get soggy and floppy.
Freezing: Freeze cinnamon sugar cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for a few hours. Cookies will taste like freshly baked.
More Almond Flour Recipes
- Healthy snowball cookies
- Almond flour shortbread cookies
- Almond flour skillet cookie
- Almond flour carrot cake
You might also enjoy this compiled list of 20 almond flour recipes!
Gluten Free Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup cane or coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 cups almond flour
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1 tbsp cane sugar
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, add egg and sugar; whisk for 20 seconds.
- Add butter, vanilla, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar; whisk well until no lumps. Add almond flour and stir until combined.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon for coating.
- Using small cookie scoop, roll 1 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on baking sheet and gently flatten with your fingers until sides "crack" a bit. Repeat with remaining dough. Sprinkle more coating on top of cookies.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
- Store: In a cookie jar for up to 5 days. You can add a slice of bread to help absorb moisture from air. If you find your cookies start to dry out, place them in an airtight container. I would not recommend doing so at the start because you don’t want cookies to get soggy and floppy.
- Freeze: In an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for a few hours.
- Cream of tartar substitute: It makes cookies tangy and chewy and differentiates them from regular sugar cookies. You can try using lemon juice or vinegar instead. I personally have not tested.
- Do not overbake cookies: It is important to remove cookies while they appear underbaked and pale.
- Coconut oil: I have not tried using it to make snickerdoodles but in my experience, it results in more crunchy cookies.
- Any other flour: Gluten free flours are very finicky, all flours are. I recommend using only almond flour, not even almond meal, for proper snickerdoodle.
Hi! I make apple butter snickerdoodles often and am looking for a GF recipe. If I add apple butter to this is there anything I would need to change as far as ingredients or bake time?
Hmm…I am not sure it will work. I would add max 2 tablespoons and still not sure since it’s almond flour and it behaves very differently from regular flour.
I really appreciate the COOKING MODE PREVENT YOUR SCREEN FROM GOING DARK option that you include. I’m happy to find this recipe for GF cookies, and hoping that between the shortbread and these snickerdoodles I can do enough mix and match to make quite a batch of yummy Christmastime cookies!
Thanks for the kind words Krista! Enjoy the cookies and Merry Christmas!
These are so delicious!!! I didn’t have cream of tartar, so I substituted a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and they turned out great!!
Awesome!
Would you consider your healthy cookies good for diabetics I tried pumpkin oatmeal cookies they are very good and want to try more.
Hi Patricia! For each of my recipes, I include all the ingredients and nutritional info so that individuals can be informed. I cannot make recommendations for specific medical conditions.
I am always looking for gluten free, low glycemic recipes for my MIL, and ifoodreal has the best! These turned out perfect. I used coconut sugar for the coating as well and they turned out great!
Thank you so much Steffani!