Last Updated on September 22, 2026 by The Allergy Chef
Welp, the day has finally arrived. Today, I’m sharing with you one of the prized recipes from my award winning free-from bakery that was in operation for about five years (you can get ALL of the bakery recipes in this fantastic cookbook).
Whether you’re here to make vegan snickerdoodles for Christmas, a summer BBQ potluck, or just to fill your freezer, you’re in for a real treat today. We’re going to take simple ingredients and transform them into award winning cookies that will have your friends and family saying, hold on… that’s free-from (or vegan, or gluten free, or something else…)??
Yes friend, we can absolutely have bad ass cookies that blow people away. So, grab your tools and let’s get busy baking. Also, preheat your oven.
Allergy Status
Free From: Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Tree Nuts, Peanut, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Top 9 Allergens, Top 14 Allergens, Alliums, Avocado, Banana, Beans & Lentils, Berries, Buckwheat, Carrot, Celery, Citrus, Coconut, Cruciferous, Garlic, Legume, Lupin, Mushroom, Mustard, Nightshade, Oat, Onion, Pea & Pea Protein, Potato (Nightshade Variety), Poultry, Red Meat, Rice, Squash & Gourd, Stone Fruits, Strawberry, Sweet Potato & Yam, Tapioca/Cassava/Yuca/Manioc, Tomato, Yeast
Friendly To: EOE, Vegan
Compatible With: Apple Free, Latex Cross Reactive Foods (H/M) Free, FPIES, Low FODMAP
- All Compatibility: Swap the organic ACV for a safe-for-you vinegar.
Easy Snickerdoodle Cookie Cake Decorating Video
Here’s a little video that shows you how to take your snickerdoodle cookies and use them as a SIMPLE cake decoration.
Tools Needed for This Vegan Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Kitchen Scale (this is the one that I love)
- Small Bowl 2x (one for flax gel and one for cinnamon-sugar mixture)
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment OR Electric Hand Mixer + Large Bowl
- Baking Tray
- Parchment Paper
- Spatula (this is the one that I really like)
- Cookie Scoop
Ingredients for This Vegan Snickerdoodle Recipe
Flax Gel/Bind
- 5 TBSP Golden Flax Meal (use this brand for the best results)
- 10 TBSP Water (room temperature)
This is sometimes called a flax egg, but I don’t use that term because there’s no standard measurement for this.
Part 1 Ingredients (Wet Ingredients)
- 225g Dairy Free Butter (8 ounces)
- 230g Organic Cane Sugar
- 100g Organic Dark Brown Sugar
Part 2 Ingredients
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1.5 tsp Organic Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract (for best results, use this brand)
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
Part 3 Ingredients (Dry Ingredients)
- 170g Sorghum Flour, superfine OR Brown Rice Flour, superfine
- 150g Millet Flour, superfine
- 70g Organic Gluten Free Purity Protocol Oat Flour OR Organic Tiger Nut Flour (tuber, not a tree nut)
- 30g Arrowroot
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture/Dip Ingredients
- 4 TBSP Organic Cane Sugar (aka white sugar)
- 1 tsp Organic Ground Cinnamon
Important Ingredient Notes
I already know that people want to know, can I use coconut sugar, or can I use an all purpose flour, or can I use Bob’s Red Mill Flour instead of your flour blend?
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT THAT I HAVE IT IN ALL CAPS: This incredible vegan snickerdoodle cookie is from my award winning bakery. THIS is the award winning recipe. For every swap you make, you’re a step further from what made it FREE-FROM MAGIC and you’re moving away from truly the best vegan snickerdoodle cookies.
Now that I’ve said that, make these swaps at your own risk. Sure, your vegan cookies will still function, and they’ll probably taste good to you if these are the key ingredients you’re used to baking with. BUT. They will NOT be the cookies from the bakery, so don’t come at me saying it didn’t XYZ because you made swaps (I say this with all the kindness in the world).
Taste Note: If you’re familiar with a classic snickerdoodle recipes, you may be wondering where the cream of tarter is. Honestly, every taste tester I have doesn’t like the taste of it in a cookie, so I ditched it. The result: this was the number two cookie seller at the bakery. Apparently a lot of people really enjoy vegan snickerdoodle cookies without cream of tartar, so I hope you’ll enjoy these cookies as well.
Potential Swaps (remember, you’re not making the bakery recipe anymore if you do this)
Dairy Free Butter: I use the Earth Balance food service 30 pound box which is top 9 free and coconut free. All of the other options contain *something*, so choose the best vegan butter that meets all of your needs. Do not swap the butter for an oil that’s liquid at room temperature like olive oil, etc.
Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar. It cannot be swapped for a liquid sweetener such as agave or organic pure maple syrup. You can use other granulated sweeteners such as organic maple sugar or organic date sugar. However, the taste will absolutely shift if you make this swap. Like, SHIFT.
Gluten Free Flour: My flour blend is a total of 430g. You can swap this for 430g of an all purpose flour. Do NOT swap this for a single flour such as almond flour, cassava flour, coconut flour, whole wheat flour, and so on. If you want delicious cookies, it needs to be a proper flour blend.
Gluten Free Oat Flour: If you don’t manage a wheat allergy, Celiac Disease, or need a strictly gluten free diet, you can use regular oat flour.
More Amazing Vegan Cookie Recipes
If you’re on the hunt for gluten free + vegan recipes, I have SO got you covered. These amazing dessert recipes are gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and super allergy friendly.
- Egg Free Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies (perfect for the holiday season)
- Grain Free Vegan Lemon Cookies (soft, delicious, and they’ll make you dance in your kitchen)
- Vegan Danish Butter Cookie Recipe (top 9 free)
- Chewy Oatmeal Cookie Recipe Without Eggs (top 9 free)
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Vegan Snickerdoodle Recipe Instructions
- Bake Temperature & Bake Time: 325f/163c | 14 – 16 Minutes
- Cool on Tray Time: 15 Minutes
Get ready to make the best vegan snickerdoodles! Combine your flax and water together in a small bowl, mix well, and set aside.
Place your empty mixing bowl on your scale and tare to zero. I’ll be using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make this cookie recipe. You can use a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer if that’s what you have. With your scale tared to zero, measure in your Part 1 Ingredients.
Cream (mix) together on medium speed for 30 – 45 seconds. Turn your mixer off and add the Part 2 Ingredients. Mix again, then turn your mixer off.
Return the bowl to the kitchen scale (leave the paddle in the bowl for ease). Tare to zero, then measure in the Part 3 Ingredients. Don’t forget to tare between weighted ingredients. Once everything is in, mix on low speed and you’ll see a thick crumb/cookie dough start to form.
Turn the mixer off and add your flax gel. Mix again on low speed. Once the flax is a bit incorporated, Increase to medium speed and mix until your dough is fully formed. Turn the mixer off and set aside.
It’s time to roll and apply the cinnamon sugar coating!
In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon sugar mixture dip ingredients and gently mix together. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and use a cookie dough scoop to portion dough. Roll each portion into balls of dough, then roll each cookie dough ball through your dip bowl to completely coat the dough ball with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
As you place each cookie dough ball on your prepared baking sheet, press down a bit. You’re not going for a full flattened cookie, but just a shy of a half press to make sure your cookies turn out just right. When accounting for spread, you can comfortably get 12 cookies on a half sheet baking tray.
It’s time to bake!
Once your snickerdoodle cookies are all set, bake them at 325f/163c for 14 – 16 minutes. Allow them to cool on the tray for an additional 15 minutes before transferring. Do NOT skip this step, or the texture will be wrong.
That’s it! You should have amazing vegan snickerdoodles with a soft texture but also a bit of a chewy center. The edges will have a little crisp and hopefully you’re doing a little happy dance as you bite into this classic cookie recipe.
How to Store Your New Favorite Cookies
After you’ve made these delicious cinnamon sugar cookies, it’s time to store them. You can store your cooled cookies on the countertop at room temperature for 4 days (covered), or you can freeze them for many months.
One of the best things about this recipe is that your cookies are freezer friendly. To freeze your cookies, place them on a single layer on a lined baking sheet. It’s OK if the sides of the cookies are touching. If you need a second layer, place a piece of parchment paper over the first layer of cookies first. The pieces of parchment paper between the layers will prevent the cookies from freezing together and clumping, or being hard to separate.
Place the entire baking tray into your freezer. Once the vegan snickerdoodles are frozen solid, transfer them to an airtight container. You can store them in a container with a lid, or in a large freezer baggie. Be sure to label your container.
These cookies can be frozen for 4 – 6 months before you start to see a decline in the texture. To thaw, leave some cookies out on the counter, at room temperature for 45 – 60 minutes. Once thawed, you’ve got the perfect cookie to enjoy, loaded with cinnamon flavor.
Questions & Answers About This Vegan Snickerdoodle Recipe
Can I use unsweetened applesauce in place of the sugar?
No, you absolutely cannot make that swap when making these easy vegan snickerdoodles. Applesauce is a liquid sweetener and this recipe needs a granulated sugar to function properly. If applesauce is the only safe sweetener you have, you’ll want to find a recipe that’s designed from the ground up to use is you have the highest chances of success.
What’s the best brand of vegan butter?
Honestly, I can’t tell you because I haven’t used them all. I use the commercial 30 pound box from Earth Balance because it’s top 9 free and coconut free. All the commercial options usually contain some kind of allergen I like to avoid when baking (either because of the needs of my tasters, or the needs of the website).
So, you’d have to test them all side by side. However, in terms of performance, they’re all going to be nearly identical. When baked in a snickerdoodle cookie situation, you won’t even be able to taste the differences/variations for the most part (unlike spreading butter on toast where you can really taste it, yanno?)
This article here on my website lists out the different brands that make vegan butter. Read them over, check out the websites, and maybe you’ll find something new to experiment with.
Will these cookies have a tangy flavor?
No, since there’s no cream of tartar (the key ingredient for that classic tang) and there isn’t anything overtly acidic to contribute to something tangy in this eggless snickerdoodle cookie recipe. If that’s your jam, you can try adding a little cream of tarter, or make a tangy glaze for your snickerdoodle cookies.
I suggest you start with a little bit to give your vegan snickerdoodles a slight tang, rather than go ALL in, since the flavour can be polarizing.
Can I use coconut oil in place of the vegan butter?
In theory, yes. However, coconut oil has a very distinct taste and will absolutely shift the flavour profile of your snickerdoodle dough. So, make that swap eyes WIDE open, or test it out on a half batch of cookies first (the best way to experiment if you ask me).
I’ll also add this, you cannot swap the dairy free butter for vegetable oil, or any other oil that’s liquid at room temperature (olive oil, tiger nut oil [tuber, not a tree nut], etc.).
How do these compare to conventional snickerdoodle cookies?
These vegan snickerdoodles, I’ve been told not only hold a candle to traditional snickerdoodles, but they taste better than what you can get at most bakeries and grocery stores.
Some of my tasters attribute this to the precision baking that I do, the perfect texture these cookies have, the high quality ingredients, and the missing cream of tarter.
Texturally, these vegan snickerdoodles are going to have that perfect chewy texture with a little hint of crisp at the edges. Honestly, it’s a great recipe and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Can I use baking soda instead of baking powder?
Nope, and I’m so glad you asked because they aren’t the same thing. Generally, you don’t want to use more than half a teaspoon of baking soda in a batch of cookies. If you use more, you’ll negatively impact the flavour. Some recipes can get away with up to a teaspoon, but more than that and people will KNOW.
Since this is a gluten free + egg free recipe, the baking powder is there to provide lift. If you want more lift you could add a little high powered carbon water, but it’s really not necessary. Either way, don’t use a tonne of baking soda, since that will ruin your awesome vegan snickerdoodle cookies.
Is a cookie sheet the same thing as a baking tray?
A cookie sheet (sometimes called a cookie tray) and a baking tray (also called a baking sheet) are similar, but not quite the same. Unfortunately, a lot of homemade cookie recipes online use the terms interchangeably. A baking tray is solid, without holes, and generally has some weight to it, which prevents warping. It’s also usually dishwasher safe.
On the other hand, a cookie sheet is lighter, usually doesn’t have a lip/raised border, and often has small holes all over to promote better airflow. These slight changes allow for most cookie dough balls to bake up to cookie perfection.
In terms of if you’ll see a huge difference between the two, that’s going to depend on the cookie recipe. Some genuinely require improved airflow to perform their best. If you’re following my recipe, know that for the best cookies, you’ll only need a standard baking tray.
Should I cool my cookies on a wire rack?
Nope, you don’t need to do that. I’ve been making free-from cookies professionally for over a decade, and guess what? I’ve never once used a cooling rack for cooling my free-from traditional cookies (or my wild cookie inventions).
All you need to do is allow the cookies to cool on the tray as instructed, then you can transfer them to the countertop without an issue.
