This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These gluten free snickerdoodles are the classic, super-soft cookies you remember, with that classic, crisp cinnamon-sugar crackle outside. The perfect cookie!
Why this recipe works
The cinnamon-sugar on the outside is kind of crunchy, and the inside is a bit chewy and almost cakey but smooth. The trick is to get the cookies to crackle, but not to brown much at all.
You want the color to come mostly from the cinnamon-sugar mixture. This gluten free snickerdoodles recipe gets the job done.
Ingredient notes
Keep these notes in mind as you gather the ingredients to make these cookies at home:
- Butter – Adds moisture, tenderness and flavor. Take it out of the fridge about an hour before starting this recipe so that it's at between 68°F and 70°F when you're ready for it.
- Sugar – Adds sweetness and tenderness because it locks in moisture. The cinnamon-sugar blend on top of the cookie also creates a crispy shell.
- Pure vanilla extract – Adds depth of flavor. Artificial vanilla has more intense vanilla flavor, but the pure kind made from vanilla beans has more complexity.
- Gluten-free flour blend – Be sure to choose a blend with finely ground rice flour as its base, like Better Batter's classic blend or Nicole's Best multipurpose, and only add xanthan gum to blends that don't contain it. If you're using Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 in the blue bag, it will work but add another 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum since it has too little. For information on making your own blend, see the all purpose gluten free flour blends page.
- Salt – Brings out the other flavors and balances sweetness.
- Ground cinnamon – Adds a warm spicy flavor and lots of rich aroma.
- Baking soda – Reacts with cream of tartar to create rise, and helps the cookies brown in the oven.
- Cream of tartar – Reacts with baking soda in the oven, plus adds a tanginess that's unique to snickerdoodles.
Expert tips
Measure the gluten free flour correctly
When people ask me why their gluten free baked goods didn't come out right, I usually point to the gf flour. Typically, they used the wrong kind or they used too much. The latter is actually easier to do than you might think.
When measuring your gluten free flour blend for these gluten free snickerdoodles, I always recommend that you use a kitchen scale rather than the scoop and dump method. Measuring your flour by weight is so much more accurate than assuming you've scooped enough (or wondering if you've scooped too much).
Don't skip the cream of tartar
Whatever you do, don’t skip the cream of tartar in this recipe. It gives the cookies their iconic tang and chewiness, transforming them from butter cookies to, well, snickerdoodle cookies.
Cream of tartar is a dry, white acidic powder that’s made when grapes are fermented into wine. You’ll find it in the spice aisle of most regular grocery stores, and it’s super useful for lots of things like stabilizing beaten egg whites instead of using lemon juice.
Use a cookie scoop for easy portioning
To ensure even baking, you want your raw cookie dough balls to be as close in size as possible. This can be hard to do by eyeballing them, which is why I recommend you use a cookie scoop.
With a cookie scoop, you can be sure that each cookie dough ball bakes into a perfect, medium-sized cookie.
Coat the dough completely
A proper snickerdoodle has a thick layer of cinnamon sugar that caramelizes slightly in the oven as the cookies bake and crackles as they spread. The key to getting that thick-enough layer of cinnamon sugar is the double coat.
Simply toss the disks of raw cookie dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture once, and chill the dough. Some coating will absorb into the cookies. Toss them again, and that extra layer of goodness is insurance that it’ll crackle in the oven.
For thicker cookies
Rather than flatten your cookie dough balls on the baking pan, leave them rolled. The dough will naturally flatten as it bakes, but it will retain some of its girth so that you can enjoy extra-thick, chewy cookies.
You can also shape the dough as directed in the recipe, but chill the shaped and dipped dough before baking it. They'll bake up way thicker that way.
Bake longer for extra crispiness
For extra crisp outsides, leave them in the oven for just another minute or two. Watch them carefully as they bake as it's a thin line from extra-crispy to overcooked.
Storage instructions
Keep them in an airtight glass container at room temperature and they'll stay fresh and maintain their texture for up to 3 days.
You can also prepare the raw dough ahead of time, shaped and coated, in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week before baking. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking, and consider coating again in cinnamon sugar in case any has fallen off during storage.
For longer storage of finished cookies, place them in a freezer-safe zip top bag, squeeze out as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
At one point or another in their young lives, 2 of my children have had to be dairy free. For that reason, I’ve made these cookies with Earth Balance buttery spread in place of the butter.
I made a gram for gram substitution of the dairy free buttery spread, and the recipe worked perfectly. I did find that they didn’t brown as quickly, so the cookies turned out more pale.
I’d recommend, instead, using vegan butter in place of butter in this recipe for a more perfect result. My favorite brands are Melt and Miyoko’s, and Trader Joe's own brand works well, too.
Egg free
I haven’t tried this recipe with an egg substitute, but there’s only one egg. I think the recipe would work fine with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel).
FAQs
No, almond flour is not the right flour for this specific recipe. This recipe calls for a rice flour-based all purpose gluten free flour blend for a softer, lighter cookie — almond flour is just too heavy for a recipe that isn't developed to be made with it.
For a softer cookie, you want to remove the cookies when they're still pale with just a hint of a golden coating. For crisper cookies, bake a few minutes more or until you've got crispy edges.
There are two reasons why your gluten free snickerdoodles may have gone flat while baking: Your dough wasn't chilled so it lost its shape faster while baking or you used out-of-date baking soda or cream of tartar.
Puffy cookies typically result when you don't flatten your cookie dough balls, when you've used too much flour, or when the dough is too cold.
Assuming you used the right amount of each ingredient, dry snickerdoodle cookies are probably the result of overbaking. Remember, baking for a moment longer will give you a crisper cookie, but anything beyond that will give you a dry, hard cookie.
Gluten Free Snickerdoodles Recipe
Equipment
- Hand or stand mixer
Ingredients
For the cookie dough
- 6 ½ tablespoons (91 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (175 g) all purpose gluten-free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
For the cinnamon sugar mixture, for rolling
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, place the butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat with a handheld mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add the flour, xanthan gum, salt, 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, baking soda, and cream of tartar to the wet ingredients, mixing to combine after each addition.
- Divide the dough into 18 pieces of roughly equal size. Roll each piece of dough between your palms until it forms a ball, and then press into a disk.
- Combine the cinnamon and sugar for the rolling mixture in a small bowl. Toss each disk in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until it is well-coated. Allow the dough to sit for 5 minutes to absorb the coating.
- Roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture once more, and arrange them about 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets.
- Place the rimmed baking sheets in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or they are either pale but flat (8 minutes), or a tiny bit crisp around the edges (10 minutes).
- Cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! They are tender on the inside, a bit crispy on the outside and they stayed nice and puffy! My snickerdoodles always used to go flat on me. Not these! I couldn’t be more thrilled with this recipe. I followed it to the letter with no subs. Perfection!
Delicious! Just made a batch and they’re now my son’s favorite cookie of all time.
Love to hear it, Pam! Your son has good taste. :)
Merry nice crisp on the outside chewy in the middle
These are amazing, maybe one of the best cookies I’ve made! Will definitely keep these in rotation. I made the dough about 48 hours ahead and kept the dough in an airtight container in the fridge. I wanted large, thick, chewy cookies so I made 9 dough balls and cooked them a few extra minutes (I’m also at high altitude). Next time I will flatten them just a little because they rolled in the oven and came out a little wonky. Otherwise, no notes (and I am normally one to tweak recipes)!
So glad you loved them, Kirsten! Thanks for sharing your experience, and it’s always helpful to hear from someone who is baking at high altitude since I can’t recreate that condition.
What happened to the brown butter snockerdoodle recipe?😕
I’m afraid that isn’t available on the site any longer, Elizabeth. So sorry!
Am I rolling them back into a ball after they have been flattened, coated, and sat for 5 minutes –
“Roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture once more”
Yes, LInda. I’m not sure if you’re asking a question, but you roll the cookies in the cinnamon sugar mixture twice to ensure a thick coating.
I was wondering if you ever tried these with a sugar replacement. I know, sugar replacement on a sugar cookie! but I have friends who can’t have sugar. Which substitute would work best?
I’m afraid I can’t say which substitute would work, if any, since I’ve never tried and it’s impossible to really predict, Helen, but I like Lankato brand monkfruit alternative sweeteners. They do tend to be drying, though, so you’ll have to add some water by the drop until you match the dough consistency you see in the photos and video. But it’s just a guess!
I’ve successfully used Truvia blend in these cookies and nobody noticed the difference – but it’s 1/2 sugar, 1/2 stevia.
That’s rally good to know, Angela! Thanks for sharing that.