The BEST Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe (you won’t believe they’re healthy!)

This is the only snickerdoodle cookies recipe you’ll ever need! Chewy and soft, these undetectably healthy snickerdoodle cookies are easy to make and completely vegan, dairy free, gluten free, and low in sugar!

Summer quickly moved into fall here, which brought in the beautiful smell of falling leaves and that crips chill in the air.

It’s making me want all things cozy and warm…and sweet of course because if you couldn’t tell, I have *quite* the sweet tooth.

As cookie season is quickly approaching, I thought I’d whip up a batch of one of my favorite and surprisingly easy cookie recipes of the fall and winter months.

You know those softy and chewy snickerdoodle cookies that basically just melt in your mouth and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

Yeah, that’s what we have right here.

No joke, these are the best snickerdoodle cookies that I’ve ever tasted, and my family shockingly concurred. I was speechless! Every time I’ve made a batch for testing, they’re gone by the day’s end!

And you wouldn’t even know that these easy snickerdoodle cookies are not only healthy and low in sugar, but they’re also completely dairy free, vegan, and gluten free.

And if my mom can’t tell that they’re healthy, then chances are you won’t be able to either haha! She has a knack for these things 😉

What’s the difference between a sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle cookie?

So many people actually think of snickerdoodles as basically a cinnamon sugar cookie…which it is, but there’s another trick to it that really makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle and that is…

Cream of tartar!

Now, cream of tartar is actually dairy free and vegan, despite its name. The white baking ingredient actually comes as a byproduct of the winemaking process! Adding cream of tartar to your vegan snickerdoodles give it that classic snickerdoodle cookie taste!

How to make the BEST snickerdoodle cookies

These are just about the easiest snickerdoodle cookies you’ll ever make. Mainly because all you really need is two bowls, a spoon, a cookie scoop, a hand mixer, and a baking sheet. And the cookie dough only needs to chill for about 20-30 minutes.

Oh, well, you do need a few ingredients in addition to those baking essentials, or else you wouldn’t get any cookies now, would you?! Check these out:

• Gluten free flour (or regular all-purpose flour, or cassava flour for a grain free version)
• Vegan butter (or coconut oil)
• Unsweetened applesauce (check out my trick for making your own here)
• Sugar (you can use coconut sugar, but it will give them a more caramel color)
• Vanilla extract
• Cream of tartar
• Cinnamon

Now that we have our ingredients down, let’s go over how to make these this easy snickerdoodle recipe!

1. Start by whisking together the flour, leavening agents, and cream of tartar, then set that bowl aside.
2. In a separate bowl, beat together the softened vegan butter, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla until it’s nice and smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and combine with a spoon until it’s completely mixed.
3. Next up, chill the dough for about 20-30 minutes in the fridge. While it’s chilling, whisk together the extra sugar and the cinnamon together to create the cinnamon sugar for rolling the snickerdoodle cookie dough balls.
4. Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to scoop about 1 tablespoon worth of cookie dough and roll into a small cookie dough ball. Either sprinkle the cinnamon sugar or roll the cookie dough ball into the cinnamon sugar to evenly coat, then place it on a the cookie sheet. Then just repeat until all of the dough is gone and bake!

Cookie Tips & Tricks

Of course I have tips and tricks for making the best snickerdoodle cookie recipe, I mean, how could I not include this part?! I want these cookies to be the best dang cookies you’ll ever taste, and you won’t even know that they’re healthy. Here are some of my best cookie tips:

• You can use any flour! With some exceptions…I have not tested these cookies with a blend of almond flour and coconut flour, but the flours that do work are as follows: regular all purpose flour (go organic if you can), gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour (I recommend Bob’s Red Mill, but not their regular gluten free flour here), and cassava flour for a Paleo flour.
• Use either vegan butter or coconut oil. I personally go for the vegan butter here (my personal favorite is Miyoko’s), but you can also use coconut oil if vegan butter is unavailable! Now, if you don’t like the coconut taste that comes with coconut oil, go for the refined coconut oil.
• Swap in coconut sugar for the cane sugar. To make these vegan snickerdoodle cookies also Paleo, simply use cassava flour and coconut sugar! The only caveat is that the cookies might look more caramel colored due to the fact that coconut sugar is brown!
• Use a cookie scoop! This is the best tip for making perfectly round cookies 🙂 great for if you’re making these for a cookie exchange!
• Bake more than you think you’ll need. Because these are vegan snickerdoodles, they need a bit more time in the oven to make sure that they’re baked completely through and that the middles will set. Go for more towards the 10 minute mark if you can, then definitely let the cookies sit for a little before enjoying!

I hope you love this healthy twist on the best snickerdoodle recipe as much as I do! They seriously come together so easily and make for the most perfect holiday cookie for cookie exchanges, parties, or just because you want something cinnamon-y and sweet!

If you make these cookies, let me know in the comments below, and as always, I absolutely love seeing your creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there! I truly just have the best community, you guys always knock my socks off.

Happy baking and cinnamon rolling!

More healthy cookie recipes you’ll love:

Simple Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Paleo Brownie Cookies

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

S’mores Stuffed Cookies

Paleo Vegan Oreos

Peanut Butter Cookie Skillet

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