These Gluten Free Snickerdoodles are the same soft, chewy cinnamon sugar cookies as the classic, just without the gluten (Which no one will miss!)
These gluten free snickerdoodle cookies are an entirely different type of cookie from the Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies I posted earlier this morning:
These are chewy cookies, those are dense and flaky. The shortbread is a rich, basic flavour, while these involve a sweet cinnamon-sugar coating. Those were rolled with a rolling pin, these are rolled into balls, by hand.
However, like that earlier blog post, this gluten free snickerdoodles recipe is not actually a new recipe! The first time this recipe was published was in my second gluten-free cookbook - Beyond Flour 2 - in 2016!
This gluten-free snickerdoodle recipe makes the best gluten-free snickerdoodles - almost indistinguishable from classic snickerdoodles.
While this gluten-free version may have slightly different ingredients from the original, it turns out the perfect cookie - great flavour, chewy center, crispy edges, a generous amount of cinnamon-sugar goodness (from the cinnamon sugar coating!)...
These tender cookies are the perfect gluten free sweet treat!
This recipe makes about 36 large, soft cookies, let’s get to it!
Ingredients
Like all of my gluten free baking recipes, this recipe makes the use of individual gluten-free flour elements - flours, starches, xanthan gum - rather than using a premade gluten-free flour blend.
I just find that any mix advertised as an all purpose flour ... does a mediocre job at pretty much everything. They’ll taste ok, and have an ok texture, but that’s about it.
When you use individual flours, you can create a recipe from the ground up, using the flavors and textures of each flour - in specific proportions - to get exactly what you want.
... and when it comes to gluten free cookie recipes, this can mean coming up with a cookie that tastes even BETTER than the regular flour version.
Regular all-purpose wheat flour doesn’t have a lot of flavour on its own, while many of the gluten-free flours do.
Combine them with your other ingredients, and you can achieve a great depth of flavour - specific to the type of finished product you’re aiming for.
Anyway, while there are a few more ingredients than in a traditional snickerdoodles recipe, this is still an easy recipe to make!.
Gluten Free Baking Flour Mix
Brown Rice Flour
Sorghum Flour
Coconut Flour
Tapioca Starch / Tapioca Flour
Xanthan Gum
Additional Ingredients
In addition to the gluten-free baking flour mix ingredients, there are a few simple ingredients that you likely have on hand:
Granulated sugar
Butter, softened
Large eggs
Vanilla extract
Cinnamon
Cream of tartar*
Baking soda
Salt
* Don’t skip this! The cream of tartar - an acid - gives the cookies the bit of tang that is signature to snickerdoodle cookies.
If you’ve had yours for a long time, you might want to consider buying a new container of it, as it can lose potency with time.
How to Make Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookies
Full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, this is the pictorial walk-through, with additional tips included.
Make the Dough
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, starch, cream of tartar, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt until well combined, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, - or a large bowl with an electric hand mixer - cream together butter and 1 ½ cups sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla extract, mix until well incorporated and smooth.
Slowly add dry ingredients to the mixer bowl of wet ingredients, and carefully mix until well incorporated and smooth. This will make a soft dough that’s slightly sticky.
Wrap snickerdoodle cookie dough in plastic film, chill for 1 hour.
Make the Cookies
Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C), line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, make your cinnamon-sugar mixture by combining the remaining sugar with the cinnamon, set aside.
Roll balls out of the snickerdoodle dough - about 1.25" in diameter - then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.
Arrange cookie dough balls on baking sheets leaving at least 2.5" between cookies - they flatten out a fair amount.
Gently press the tops of each - flatten JUST enough to prevent the dough from rolling.
Bake for 9-11 minutes. Cookies will look puffy, but flatten out as they cool. Do not overbake! (Though if you like yours crispy, cook for an extra minute or two!)
If you’d like to use a cooling rack, you can place each cookie sheet on a wire rack when you take them out of the oven.
Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes before removing from baking sheet.
Cool completely to room temperature before storing in an airtight container.
Slight Variations
While this is a classic cookie as it is - and I don’t fuss with it - there are a few ways you can customize it more to your preferences:
- Baking just until it’s done will give you a soft cookie. Baking for an extra few minutes will give you a crispier cookie - just keep an eye on them!
- If you want thicker cookies, don’t flatten them out at all - I’ll flatten just enough to prevent them from rolling, myself.
- If you want thinner / more crackled cookies, whack your pan of cookies down on your stove top or counter as soon as it comes out of the oven.
- Want extra cinnamon sugar? Once all the dough balls have been rolled in the cinnamon sugar mixture once, roll each one in the mixture a second time.
By the time you’ve rolled them all, some of the moisture will have absorbed into the sugar mixture, allowing some degree of a second layer to stick.
- Not really a cookie variation, but a technique variation: You can chill the dough for 2-3 days, once you’ve wrapped it in plastic. You don’t NEED to make them as soon as the hour is up!
More Gluten-Free Cookies!
Looking for even more recipes for fantastic gluten free cookies that *everyone* will love? Look no further!
Gluten-Free Candy Cane Cookies
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Cookies
Gluten-Free Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Gluten-Free Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gluten-Free Do-Si-Dos
Gluten-Free Fig Newtons
Gluten-Free Fruitcake Cookies
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
Gluten-Free Graham Crackers
Gluten-Free Imperial Cookies
Gluten-Free Oatmeal Butterscotch Cardamom Cookies
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Gluten-Free Pecan Pie Cookies
Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cookies
Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies
Gluten-Free Unicorn Poop Cookies
... and there’s even more - be sure to check out our Gluten-Free Cookies and Bars recipe section!
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @BeyondFlourBlog - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star review and a comment!
Gluten Free Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup Brown rice flour
- 1 cup Sorghum flour
- ¼ cup Coconut flour
- 2 tablespoon Tapioca starch
- 1 ½ teaspoon Cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Butter softened
- 1 ½ cups Granulated sugar
- 2 Large eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Whisk together flours, starch, cream of tartar, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt until well combined, set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream together butter and 1 ½ cups sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla extract, mix until well incorporated and smooth.
- Slowly add dry mix to the mixer bowl, and carefully mix until well incorporated and smooth.
- Wrap dough in plastic film, chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C), line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine remaining sugar with the cinnamon, set aside.
- Roll 1.25" balls out of the cookie dough, then roll in cinnamon sugar mix.
- Arrange dough balls on baking sheets leaving at least 2.5" between cookies - they flatten out a fair amount.
- Gently press the tops of each - flatten JUST enough to prevent the dough from rolling.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. Cookies will look puffy, but flatten out as they cool. Do not overbake!
- Allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes before removing from baking sheets.
- Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Nutrition
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