The Best Healthy Snickerdoodles (Vegan And Gluten-Free)

These healthy vegan snickerdoodles are the perfect wholesome twist on a classic favorite. Soft, chewy, and coated in just the right amount of cinnamon and (natural) sugar, they deliver all the cozy flavor you love, without any of the guilt. Guaranteed to be a hit at every holiday gathering!

Snickerdoodles are the ultimate nostalgic Christmas Cookie. It's taken me years to perfect a healthy snickerdoodle that is both easy to make and delicious. Luckily, I have quite a bit of experience creating healthy classic cookie recipes after creating my Healthy Vegan Gluten-Free Monster Cookies and my Healthy Gluten-Free Samoa Cookies.

I am so excited to bring you this tried-and-true healthy vegan snickerdoodle recipe!

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Vegan Snickerdoodles Ingredients:

This recipe features clean and wholesome ingredients. You'll be able to find most of these ingredients at your local grocery store.

Dry Ingredients:

• Gluten-Free Flour: I've linked my favorite gluten-free flour blend. It works great for cookies like this and my Soft and Chewy Cranberry Orange Cookies. If you are not gluten-free, you can use all-purpose flour if you prefer that.
• Maple Crystals: Maple crystals are a natural sweetener derived from maple syrup that works just like granulated sugar. They contain some minerals like manganese and zinc and have a lower glycemic index compared to refined sugars, which means they have a milder impact on blood sugar levels.
• Baking Soda and Salt: Serves as a leavening agent in this recipe.
• Cream of Tartar: Activates the baking soda, contributing to the leavening process and providing a distinctive light and fluffy texture to the snickerdoodles.
• Ground Flaxseed: When combined with water, ground flaxseed becomes a "flax egg" and acts as an egg substitute for this vegan recipe, providing binding properties to the dough.
• Cinnamon: This will be mixed with the cinnamon sugar mixture to give the cookies their signature taste.

Wet Ingredients:

• Coconut Butter: Coconut butter is used as a healthy, oil-free substitute for vegan butter in this recipe. It contains fiber as well as healthy fats. It's perfect for creating a chewy cookie without using any oil.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor profile of the cookies.
• Water: This will be used to create the flax egg.

See the recipe card for quantities.

How To Make Them:

This healthy snickerdoodle cookie recipe.

1. Preheat: Heat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Make flax egg: Mix ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl; set aside to thicken.
3. Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, maple crystals, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
4. Mix wet ingredients: In another bowl, combine warmed coconut butter, vanilla, flax egg, and water until smooth.
5. Combine: Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until a sticky dough forms. Add a little water if needed.
6. Coat: Mix maple crystals and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Take the cookie dough balls and roll in cinnamon sugar until they are completely coated.
7. Shape: Place coated dough balls on the baking sheet, spacing them apart.
8. Bake: Bake 12-14 minutes, until edges are golden.
9. Cool: Let cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
10. Enjoy: Store in an airtight container and enjoy your healthy vegan snickerdoodle cookies!

Hint: If you want perfectly round vegan snickerdoodles, you can use the ring from a mason jar to swirl the cookie around when it's fresh out of the oven. This trick works like a charm for any cookie recipe. 

Substitutions: 

There are plenty of great substitutions that can be made to this gluten-free snickerdoodle recipe. Here are some of the common ones. 

• Sugar: You can use brown sugar or coconut sugar as a 1:1 substitute for maple crystals. You will still achieve a perfect cookie; it may just be slightly darker in color.
• Electric Mixer: You can use an electric mixer, like a stand mixer or hand mixer, to speed up the process. 

Variations:

My favorite thing about this classic snickerdoodle cookie recipe is that it's easy to mix up. Here are some of my favorite variations.

• Chocolate drizzle - You can melt some vegan chocolate chips and drizzle the chocolate over the top of the cooled cookies, similar to my Vegan Peppermint Mocha Cookies. This gives the perfect chocolaty crunch to these pillowy vegan snickerdoodles. 
• Extra Chewy Cookies - You can add a teaspoon or two of cornstarch to the cookie dough to make the cookies extra chewy.
• Ice Cream - You can chop these cookies up and add them to my Snickerdoodle Ice Cream for the perfect holiday dessert. 

Equipment:

Here's what I recommend having on hand when making these cookies.

• Mixing Bowls - You will need a couple of mixing bowls to make these healthy snickerdoodles.
• Whisk - A whisk is handy for mixing dry ingredients thoroughly.
• Rubber Spatula - A rubber spatula is the best tool you can use to mix the cookie dough together.
• Baking Sheet - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent the cookies from sticking and for easy cleanup. You can also spray the pan with oil.
• Cookie Scoop or Spoon - Use a small or medium cookie scoop or a spoon to portion the cookie dough and create uniform-sized cookies.
• Wire Rack - After baking, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. This helps them cool evenly and prevents them from becoming too soft on the bottom.

You can find more of my go-to equipment on my shop page.

Storage:

I recommend storing these cookies in an airtight container for the best results. I also recommend keeping them in the fridge rather than at room temperature. This will ensure that they stay fresh the whole holiday season.

Top Tip :

These vegan snickerdoodles take slightly longer to cool than other cookies. Therefore, I recommend letting them sit on the cookie sheet for an extra minute or two for the best results.

Recipe FAQs:

More Healthy Vegan Cookie Recipes:

Looking for more vegan Christmas cookies to make this holiday season? Make sure to check out some of the other vegan cookie recipes on my website.

If you try this Healthy Vegan Snickerdoodles Recipe, I'd really love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I'd also really appreciate a recipe card rating! Make sure to share it on social media and tag @theallnaturalvegan to be featured! Thank you for supporting The All Natural Vegan!

More Holiday Recipes:

Need some more vegan holiday recipes? Make sure to check out the other ones on my website!