Do you need a recipe for gluten-free snickerdoodles that is also vegan and nut-free? Look no further! These deliciously tasty snickerdoodle cookies are completely allergy-friendly! They’re free from all top 8 food allergens – no wheat, eggs, dairy, or nuts here!
And they’re soo good! Many gluten-free cookies are dry and crumbly and truthfully, just not very good. But there ones are soft and chewy – just the way you want them! They’re bursting with that good ol’ classic snickerdoodle cinnamon flavor. MMM. I love cinnamon.
And can we talk about the way they make me house smell? YUM!
Allergy Friendly Recipe for Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
Can you really have allergy friendly cookies? Six years ago I didn’t think it was so. If you don’t think so either then I’ve got great news – you totally can have a delicious allergy-friendly cookie. Like these Chocolate Chip Cookies.
It’s so sad to me that I once thought that food allergies meant we could never eat a normal tasting cookie again.
Cookies are my favorite treat. I’d much rather have a good cookie than a piece of cake, a slice of pie, or a bowl of ice cream. Cookies are my jam.
Six years ago when my son was diagnosed with 5 different food allergies, I didn’t know I could make a safe cookie for him that tasted just like a normal cookie. So, I stopped baking typical cookies. An unnecessary travesty. I didn’t know I could make a recipe for gluten-free snickerdoodles or a vegan chocolate chip cookie so I tossed cookies out the door.
Instead, I started making cookies out of almond butter, oats, and honey. There is of course nothing wrong with that! They are much healthier. My son and I ate them happily. My husband? Not so much. He missed normal cookies.
Recipe for Gluten Free Snickerdoodles to the Rescue
Since my husband missed normal cookies so much, I tried making them for him a couple times. But, I always felt bad when my toddler wanted to eat a cookie with his dad and couldn’t. Thankfully, I learned the error of my ways and I learned how to make cookies that we could ALL eat safely and that we could ALL enjoy.
Snickerdoodles are my husband’s favorite cookie, so naturally, they are the first cookie I started with. Even above my beloved chocolate chip cookies. True personal sacrifice there.
This recipe for gluten-free snickerdoodles went through a couple revisions, but eventually I nailed it down. My husband can now eat a cookie that tastes just like his beloved snickerdoodle and it’s perfectly safe and allergy friendly.
How do you make cookies without wheat, eggs, and diary?
Wheat, eggs, and dairy are staples in cookies. So how do you make a cookie without all the ingredients in cookies? I’ll tell you. Thanks to all the gluten-free all purpose flour blends these days, making a cookie gluten-free is relatively simple. I don’t always use a gluten-free flour blend in my baking. It can be expensive when you bake as often as I do. Instead, I often go the harder route and mix up my own gluten-free flours and starches. However, in this recipe I do think it works better to use a gluten-free 1:1 flour replacement.
Despite the simplicity of making a cookie gluten-free, it doesn’t always turn out super delicious. Gluten-free can be dry and gritty. This is why I use a combination of plant butter and palm oil shortening in my dairy-free/vegan cookies. I think the combination of the two helps make the cookies nice and soft!
There are lots of alternatives to using butter but the combination of plant butter and palm oil shortening is my favorite.
I think the hardest part of making a cookie gluten-free and vegan is replacing the eggs.
The EGG-LESS REcipe for Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
There is a reason eggs are traditionally used in cookies. It’s because they make cookies, COOKIES. Eggs give cookies structure and in turn hold them together. In addition, they also give cookies their nice spread, act as a leavening agent, and give the cookie dough the proper level of moisture. Furthermore, eggs also add flavor and richness. But are they essential to a cookie? Nope! There are ways you can get around adding eggs to your cookies.
Baking is a science and when you bake cookies without eggs, well you get to play scientist. In order to bake egg-less cookies, you need something to hold the cookies together, something to leaven the cookies, and something to add moisture.
And it be different for different recipes! Some recipes work great with applesauce as an egg replacement while with other recipes you can just add water for moisture and add some extra baking powder.
I tried a few different substitutions for these snickerdoodles and found that using flax-eggs gave the best results.
NOTE: Since there are no eggs in these cookies they will not spread in the oven. To get a nice round cookie, simply press down on them gently before baking.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make these soft and chewy snickerdoodle cookies!
- Plant butter
- Palm oil shortening
- Sugar
- Ground flax seeds and water
- Vanilla extract
- Gluten-free flour
- Cream of tarter
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
How to Make A Flax Egg
Making a flax-egg is pretty simple. Here’s how you do it:
- Add 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed to a small bowl.
- Add 3 tablespoons of water and mix thoroughly.
- Set aside for 4 to 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes and egg-like consistency.
- Use to replace one egg in just about any recipe.
This recipe for gluten-free snickerdoodles uses two flax eggs, so you’ll just need to double the amount listed above.
Since the flax egg needs to sit for a few minutes, I like to mix it up first. While it is doing it’s thing, I begin adding the plant butter, palm oil shortening, and sugar to the mixer. I mix it up and by the time I’m done the flax egg is usually ready.
Enjoy these tasty snickerdoodle cookies! I know we will be!
Other Gluten-Free and Vegan Desserts
If you’re looking for other gluten-free dessert recipes that also happen to be vegan and allergy-friendly, then give these ones a try!
- German Chocolate Cake
- Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies
Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles (And Vegan!)
Ingredients
- ½ cup plant butter or other butter substitute
- ½ cup palm oil shortening
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 2 tbsps ground flax seeds
- 6 tbsps water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cup gluten free flour
- 2 tsps cream of tarter
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Topping
- 4 tbsps white sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnammon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together ground flax seeds and water. Stir together and set aside for 4 to 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together plant butter, palm oil shortening, and sugar. Add flax eggs and mix gently.
- Mix together dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate into sugar mixture.
- In a small bowl, mix together 4 tbsp white sugar with 1 tbsp cinnamon.
- Roll cookie dough into small balls. Roll through cinnamon sugar until lightly coated. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Gently press the cookies down to slightly flatten as these cookies will not spread the way typical cookies will.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Did you make this recipe? If you did, I would love to see it! Please share a picture of it and share it on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag me, @allergyalamode, and hashtag it #allergyalamode.
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All Free From Wheat, Eggs, Dairy, Peanuts, and Cashews!
