Almond Flour Snickerdoodles are soft, chewy and have a cinnamon sugar coating. Made with less sugar, butter and almond flour for a healthier classic cookie!
During Holiday season we also enjoy baking almond flour sugar cookies and almond flour shortbread cookies.
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These almond flour snickerdoodles are super soft inside, chewy outside and simply so cute!
Perfecting a gluten free snickerdoodles recipe has been on my mind for years, and it was easier than I thought by using almond flour. It works really well in these pillowy soft cookies making them airy, chewy and at so delicious at same time!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthier swaps: Means less empty calories. I swapped white flour for almond flour, reduced butter in half, cut sugar by threefold and ended up with delicious snickerdoodles.
- Easy: No using a mixer or chilling of dough is required.
- Grain free: And gluten free. Perfect for those reducing carbs or avoiding gluten.
- Classic taste: All the taste your remember from your childhood, the buttery cinnamon flavor that melts in your mouth!
Ingredients for Almond Flour Snickerdoodles
- Almond flour: Use superfine almond flour, not almond meal. You can buy it at any grocery store or here is step-by-step tutorial how to make almond flour at home.
- Eggs: Gives an almond flour snickerdoodle structure plus the protein aids in the chewiness.
- Butter: Classic buttery taste, also helps keeps cookies tender. If using salted butter, skip adding additional salt. I have not tried using coconut oil and in my experience, it results in more crunchy cookies in general.
- Sugar: I used cane sugar, you can also use white sugar. Coconut sugar may be used but keep in mind cookies will turn out darker. Sugar helps cookies become crisper by absorbing moisture in the dough.
- Cream of tartar: Adds to the tangy flavor classic snickerdoodles are known for!
- Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla extract vs. imitation for best flavor.
- Cinnamon: A warming spice that is classic for these cinnamon sugar cookies.
- Baking soda: Helps leaven the dough, resulting in a soft texture.
- Salt: Enhances taste.
How to Make Almond Flour Snickerdoodles
- Make cookie dough: Whisk eggs with sugar until creamed a tiny bit. Then add melted butter, vanilla, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Whisk, add almond flour and stir until combined. No need to chill the dough.
- Roll cookies in cinnamon sugar: In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Scoop dough with small scoop, roll into 1 inch balls in your hands, then drop into the bowl with sugar and roll until coated. Use spoon, hands or simply shake the bowl.
- Shape snickerdoodles and bake: Place cookie dough balls 3 inches apart on baking sheet and flatten gently with fingers. Snickerdoodles do not spread or puff up much. You will have leftover sugar, which I recommend to sprinkle some on top of cookies before baking.
- Bake: For 10 minutes, let them sit on a baking sheet for another 10 minutes, then cool a bit longer on a rack.
Tips for Best Results
- Follow the recipe: In years of baking healthy cookies, I learned cookies have to be made with sugar and butter. That is what makes cookies chewy and soft, and “a cookie”.
- For uniform size cookies: I love to use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, so my cookies are uniform in size and bake evenly.
- Do not overbake cookies: It is important to remove cookies while they appear underbaked and pale.
- Let them cool: For not crumbly almond flour snickerdoodles, let them cool before enjoying. Otherwise cookies will fall apart on you!
- Use proper measuring techniques: Baking is a science and I cannot stress enough that ingredients need to be measured properly to ensure best results. Use the scoop and level method for measuring the flour. Scoop your flour from the bag into the measuring cup (adds air to the flour) and then level with a knife.
Variations
- Brown butter: For additional flavor boost, brown butter in saucepan when you are melting it.
- Other warming spices: Roll cookies in pumpkin pie spice, gingerbread spice, chai spice or apple pie spice for different flavor profiles.
- Eggnog snickerdoodles: Replace vanilla extract with rum extract and add in some nutmeg to both coating and dough.
- Snickerdoodle “kiss”: Perfect for holiday baking, right after baking, add a chocolate kiss to the cookie.
- Add “chips”: Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips or crushed peppermint for fun seasonal variations.
- Zest: A small amount of orange zest or lemon zest could be added to the the cookie dough.
How to Store
Storing: The best place to store snickerdoodles is in a cookie jar for up to 5 days. You can add a slice of bread to help absorb moisture from air.
If you find your cookies start to dry out, place them in an airtight container. I would not recommend doing so at the start because you don’t want cookies to get soggy and floppy.
Freezing: Freeze cinnamon sugar cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for a few hours. Cookies will taste like freshly baked.
How to Ship
Gift a few snickerdoodle cookies to friends and family wrapped in a plastic bag with ties.
To ship, I would let cookies get 1 day old first, for better shape. Then wrap 2 cookies bottoms to each other with plastic wrap, and place in airtight container where they don’t tumble around much, with a slice of bread. Ship to a not long distant destination, like 5 days maximum.
FAQs
Gluten free flours are very finicky, all flours are. I recommend using only almond flour, not even almond meal, for proper almond flour snickerdoodle.
While you can try another acidic ingredient such as lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, cream of tartar powder will work best and can be easily found in most grocery baking aisles. However, one reader reported in comments she used lemon juice and it worked great!
There are two possible reasons, you forgot to flatten them before baking or you added too much flour.
Yes, you can use monk fruit with erythritol or any other natural sweeteners. Just be sure you are replacing granulated sugar with a granulated dry sugar replacement.
I think it’s so cute, makes me think of dog puddles. As per Wikipedia, the word is of German origin – Schneckennudeln (“snail noodles”), a kind of pastry.
More Recipes to Try
- Almond flour snowball cookies
- Almond flour thumbprint cookies
- Almond flour skillet cookie
- Healthy gingerbread cookies
- Healthy gingersnap cookies
- Almond flour cinnamon bread
- Healthy pecan pie bars
- Healthy gingerbread loaf
You might also enjoy this list of 45 almond flour recipes and 21 healthy Christmas cookies!
Almond Flour Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup cane or coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 cups almond flour
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, add egg and sugar; whisk for 20 seconds. Add butter, vanilla, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar; whisk well until no lumps. Add almond flour and stir until combined.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon for coating.
- Using small cookie scoop, roll 1 inch balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on baking sheet and gently flatten with your fingers until sides "crack" a bit. Repeat with remaining dough. Sprinkle more coating on top of cookies.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
- Store: In a cookie jar for up to 5 days. You can add a slice of bread to help absorb moisture from air. If you find your cookies start to dry out, place them in an airtight container. I would not recommend doing so at the start because you don’t want cookies to get soggy and floppy.
- Freeze: In an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter for a few hours.
- Cream of tartar substitute: It makes cookies tangy and chewy and differentiates them from regular sugar cookies. You can try using lemon juice or vinegar instead. I personally have not tested.
- Do not overbake cookies: It is important to remove cookies while they appear underbaked and pale.
- Coconut oil: I have not tried using it to make snickerdoodles but in my experience, it results in more crunchy cookies.
- Any other flour: Gluten free flours are very finicky, all flours are. I recommend using only almond flour, not even almond meal, for proper snickerdoodle.
Simply and delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You’re so welcome, Pat! Glad this is getting added to the repeat list! I appreciate your review.
Hi! I make apple butter snickerdoodles often and am looking for a GF recipe. If I add apple butter to this is there anything I would need to change as far as ingredients or bake time?
Hmm…I am not sure it will work. I would add max 2 tablespoons and still not sure since it’s almond flour and it behaves very differently from regular flour.
I really appreciate the COOKING MODE PREVENT YOUR SCREEN FROM GOING DARK option that you include. I’m happy to find this recipe for GF cookies, and hoping that between the shortbread and these snickerdoodles I can do enough mix and match to make quite a batch of yummy Christmastime cookies!
Thanks for the kind words Krista! Enjoy the cookies and Merry Christmas!
These are so delicious!!! I didn’t have cream of tartar, so I substituted a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and they turned out great!!
Awesome!
Would you consider your healthy cookies good for diabetics I tried pumpkin oatmeal cookies they are very good and want to try more.
Hi Patricia! For each of my recipes, I include all the ingredients and nutritional info so that individuals can be informed. I cannot make recommendations for specific medical conditions.
I am always looking for gluten free, low glycemic recipes for my MIL, and ifoodreal has the best! These turned out perfect. I used coconut sugar for the coating as well and they turned out great!
Thank you so much Steffani!