Soft, chewy and generously scented with cinnamon and vanilla, these decadent vegan snickerdoodles are made with almond flour, for a tender crumb and natural sweetness that everyone will fall in love with…no one will know they’re gluten free!
A really good snickerdoodle is magic…tender, chewy on the inside with that sparkling cinnamon-scented sugar exterior. And these almond flour snickerdoodles are that kind of magic times two. Because no one will believe that they’re vegan. Or gluten free. Or actually, kinda healthy. Like, not for one second.
Because I make nourishing food for people who LOVE to eat. Like, “live to eat” kinda people. Here’s the deal…you might be surprised to hear a dietitian say this, but I’m not gonna spend my life eating sad approximations of my favourite foods in the name of “health”. Because a healthy life includes plenty of wiggle room to eat what you want.
It doesn’t matter what month it is: you can enjoy your favourite things alongside all of the more nutrient-dense choices like greens, beans and whole grains (and I’ll make those craveable too). If that’s you too, well, you’re in exactly the right spot, and… did we just become friends?
Maybe you, like me, actually like sweets on the not-too-sweet side? I find a lot of other baking recipes are so sugar-forward it gets in the way of flavour so I love creating lower sugar cookies that make my tastebuds happy. Since you’re already in the making mood, maybe make these Mini Vegan Turtles too!
Oh, and I like my bakes EASY. These soft-baked vegan snickerdoodles are as easy as it gets: ready in 30 minutes (yes, you read that right), one bowl and no fussy flour blends…just almond flour and some arrowroot. Why almond flour? It’s my absolute favourite, naturally gluten free flour for a few reasons. The first is that it produces a soft, tender, almost cake-y crumb and has a natural sort of buttery sweetness that doesn’t read “gluten free” from a mile away.
And the dietitian in me loves that almond flour is rich in plant-based protein, healthy monounsaturated fats and fibre, which makes your baking a little more blood sugar friendly (because we all deserve a sweet treat, including those of us with celiac disease or blood sugar issues!). Oh, and a single cookie is even low FODMAP…because I never forget my fellow members of the IBS club.
Want even more craveable plant-based recipes? Grab – or gift! – a copy of my latest plant-based cookbook, Plant Magic?
Sound good? Let’s talk ingredients, friends
First up, I should probably tell you that these snickerdoodles are actually a wee bit rebellious…because there is no cream of tartar in this recipe. GASP! Isn’t it essential?
Cream of Tartar helps create that classic chewy texture and adds a bit of tang. But using almond flour means you can get pillowy, soft and chewy cookies without it. That, and I typically have arrowroot in my cupboard and not cream of tartar so that’s what I went with here. Try them….I think you might like my rebel snickerdoodles too.
Phew, now that we got that out of the way…head to the pantry and grab your ingredients! Let’s talk a few specifics…the full ingredients and recipe are in the recipe card, at the end of the post.
- Vegan Butter: I use Earth Balance Baking Sticks because that’s what my local shop carries and it is a *chef’s kiss* butter substitute. I hear that Becel plant-based baking sticks If you’re feeling fancy, Miyoko’s is pricier but delicious and works very well. Just make sure you do not use the spreadable options or your cookies might fail. I even find Melt baking sticks way too, um, melt-y for baking.
- Maple Syrup: maple syrup adds depth of flavour beyond just sugar. This is a pretty low sugar recipe already…but if you need it even lower, you can use a sugar free liquid sweetener of your choice as long as it says it’s bake-able. And it has to be liquid, or the ratio of wet to dry ingredients will be off.
- Almond flour: Almond flour has a naturally sweet, buttery flavour and tender crumb and I designed this recipe specifically for it so you can’t substitute regular flour or a GF blend. Almond flour can be a bit pricey where I live, so I’m pretty devoted to getting it at Costco, where it’s like half the price (freeze the big bag so it stays fresh!).
- Arrowroot powder: this is a flour-like powder derived from tapioca and it helps with that chewy texture. Yes, you can skip it for more almond flour but it really makes the texture of these cookies.
How to make these easy vegan snickerdoodles in 30 minutes flat
No blending a million flours. No chilling time. Just mix it all up in one bowl, roll and bake!
Step One: Invite friends over for cookies. Then, preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up. Mix the sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
Step Two: Beat the butter, maple syrup and vanilla together in a medium bowl either with handheld beaters, a stand mixer or a wooden spoon and some impressive wrist strength. It won’t fully emulsify…don’t worry, that’s how it is supposed to look.
Step Three: Evenly sprinkle over the almond flour, arrowroot, 1 tsp of the cinnamon, baking powder and salt and mix really well. If you aren’t using beaters and want to get in there with your hands, go for it. No gluten, no risk of over mixing!
Step Four: Scoop out 2 tbsp of dough, roll into a ball and roll the ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on the baking sheet and gently flatten into a thick disk.
Step Five: Bake for 8-9 minutes for small cookies or 14-16 minutes for large cookies. Cookies will be golden brown on the bottom and dry to the touch – but still very soft – on top. This is essential for soft, chewy cookies! Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet, placed on a cooling rack. Put the kettle on and get ready for your friends to ask you for the recipe!
For the first day, store cookies uncovered so they don’t re-soften. After about 24 hours, feel free to loosely cover the cookies for the perfect texture.
More incredibly easy cookies to help you use up that bag of almond flour
- Quick Vegan Snowball Cookie with Almond Flour
- Vegan Gingerbread Cookies with Almond Flour
- Gluten Free Thumbprint Cookies with Almond Flour
- Tender Orange Cardamom Shortbread
Soft-baked Vegan Snickerdoodles
Equipment
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Handheld mixer stand mixer, or just good old fashioned elbow grease!
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan baking sticks place on counter for 10 minutes to soften
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or sugar free liquid sweetener
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ cups almond flour or walnut flour
- ¼ cup arrowroot powder or extra almond flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon divided
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar for rolling cookies
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350℉ (176℃). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. In a small bowl or place, mix 1 tsp of the cinnamon with the sugar and set aside.
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter, maple syrup and vanilla together until the butter is well distributed in the liquid – it won’t emulsify, and that’s okay!
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Sprinkle over the almond flour, arrowroot, remaining 1 tsp cinnamon, baking powder and salt and beat together until a soft dough forms.
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Scoop out 2 tbsp (30 mL) of dough for larger cookies, 1 tbsp (15 mL) of dough for smaller cookies. Roll dough into a ball using your hands and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
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Place on baking sheet and gently press down with fingers until it is about 1 cm (⅓ inch thick). Repeat with remaining dough.
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Bake 14-16 min for larger cookies. Or, 8-9 min for smaller cookies. You want golden brown bottoms and tops that are very soft but dry to the touch.
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Place baking sheet on a rack and let cool completely. For the first day, store completely uncovered so they cookies don’t re-soften. The next day you can loosely cover them…they won’t dry out!
Notes
FODMAP friends! One of these cookies (1/12 of dough) is a low FODMAP portion. Almond flour is high in GOS in larger serves.
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