Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles with Almond Flour

These gluten-free snickerdoodles are made with a combo of almond and oat flour. They’re full of cinnamon flavor with the perfect chewy, but fluffy texture.

When brainstorming recipes for this holiday season, I knew I wanted to share some healthy holiday cookie recipe ideas. I love getting together with the ladies in my family for holiday baking. We make a point to do it every year and it’s such a fun tradition.

What I don’t love is having sugary, not-so-healthy treats all over my house after a day of baking. With that in mind, I’ve been determined to make upgraded versions of all of my faves. So far, I have created EBF-friendly versions for a bunch of holiday cookie recipes including no bake cookies, cut-out cookies and my Nanny’s crescent cookies.

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookies

Snickerdoodles are one of Isaac’s favorite cookies, so this year I decided to take a stab at making them a bit healthier, gluten-free and vegan!

When I looked up “gluten-free snickerdoodles” most were made with a gluten-free flour blend and loaded with butter and white sugar. Not exactly healthy… a good reminder that gluten-free or vegan doesn’t automatically mean something is healthy!

Gluten-free flour blends are often made with not-so-great ingredients like potato starch.

In this recipe, I used almond flour and oat flour which are major upgrades. They’re naturally packed with protein, fiber and healthy fats. Almonds and oats vs. white flour or potato? I’ll take the almonds and oats any day.

These cookies have the perfect chewy, but fluffy texture. Isaac and I both loved them and I know you and your family will enjoy them as well!

Here’s What You Need

• almond flour – make sure you get almond flour and not almond meal, which are two different textures. Bob’s Red Mill almond flour is my go-to.
• oat flour – you can make your own oat flour or use a store-bought brand! I like using Bob’s Red Mill oat flour but it is really simple to put some oats in a blender and blend them up!
• cinnamon – what’s a snickerdoodle without it’s delicious cinnamon flavor! This is added to the cookie dough and also used to make a delicious cinnamon sugar topping to coat the cookies in before baking.
• cream of tartar – do not skip on this ingredient! It helps give snickerdoodles their distinct texture and flavor. I go into a little more detail about cream of tartar below.
• baking soda and baking powder – leavening agents to help the cookies rise.
• sea salt – brings all the flavors together.
• coconut oil – to bind all the ingredients together and provide a nice dose of healthy fat to the cookies.
• maple syrup and coconut sugar – the sweeteners in these cookies.
• vanilla extract – another flavor enhancer.

How to Make Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookies

Snickerdoodle cookies are super easy to make!

Combine dry ingredients: Start by mixing the almond flour, oat flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.

Mix wet ingredients: Mix in the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla extract. Stir until everything is combined.

Make topping: In a separate small bowl, mix together the coconut sugar and cinnamon for your topping.

Bake: Roll out balls of cookie dough and then roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten slightly. Bake for 10 minutes, in a preheated oven, until slightly golden and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

What is Cream of Tartar?

One ingredient that almost all snickerdoodle recipes call for is cream of tartar! If your brain is anything like mine, cream of tartar makes you think of tartar sauce or something tart… just me?! But really, cream of tartar is a dry powder that comes from fermenting grapes into wine. You can find it in the spice aisle near the baking soda and baking powder.

It’s the cream of tartar that makes a snickerdoodle different from a traditional sugar cookie. The acid gives snickerdoodles their distinct flavor and texture. Whatever you do, don’t swap out or skip the cream of tartar.

How to Store

If you won’t be eating the cookies right after making them, you’ll want to make sure you store them properly so they don’t get stale! Let them cool completely and then layer the cookies in an airtight container. The cookies will keep for a week. They store really well which makes them great for holiday parties and gifts!

More Healthy Holiday Cookies to Try

• Almond Flour Crescent Cookies
• Healthy Gingersnap Cookies
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Almond Butter Espresso Cookies
• Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
• Snowball Cookies
• S’mores Cookies

Be sure to check out all of my cookie recipes and the full collection of dessert recipes here on EBF!

Almond Flour Snickerdoodles

4 from 38 votes

These gluten-free snickerdoodles are made with a combo of almond and oat flour. They’re full of cinnamon flavor with the perfect chewy, but fluffy texture.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 13 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 ¼ cup oat flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper, set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: almond flour, oat flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the coconut oil, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
• In a separate shallow bowl, make your cinnamon sugar by stirring together the cinnamon and coconut sugar.
• Using a cookie scoop or spoon, measure out about 1 heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Roll each cookie dough ball into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Place on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies slightly with your palm or the flat bottom of a glass. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
• Let cool for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. 
• Store leftover cookies in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie Calories: 176kcal Carbohydrates: 24g Protein: 3g Fat: 8g Sodium: 158mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 12g

Author: Brittany Mullins

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten free snickerdoodles

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