BEST VEGAN SNICKERDOODLES
Simple and delicious, these cinnamon sugar coated Vegan Snickerdoodles can be made traditional with cream of tarter, or without. It’s an easy recipe that everyone with love!
Let’s make vegan snickerdoodles!
With everyone getting into the holiday spirit, this is one of the busiest times of the year. When you’re craving something sweet or need a little something to take along to holiday festivities, these vegan snickerdoodles are soft, chewy and easy to make, you’ll have plenty of time to include them into your busy schedule. This classic snickerdoodle cookie recipe is sure to be a hit with friends and family, they are the best!
What Is A Snickerdoodle?
Old-fashioned snickerdoodles are a type of sugar cookie rolled in a cinnamon-sugar mixture before baking. The batter is very simple and easy to make. Snickerdoodles typically have a cracked surface, and can be either soft or crisp, depending on the ingredients used. Once done, I especially love the sparkly cinnamon sugar top!
Sugar Cookie Vs. Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles and sugar cookies use the same basic ingredients – flour, butter, sugar, and sometimes vanilla. However, there is one specific ingredient that snickerdoodle cookies have that sugar cookies don’t, and that is cream of tartar, giving snickerdoodles their wonderful distinctive tang.
Cream of Tartar: Making Snickerdoodles With And Without
Cream of tartar adds a ‘subtle tang or underlying sourness’, giving the snickerdoodles its traditional tangy taste and also makes snickerdoodles chewy by preventing the sugar in the cookie dough from crystallizing into crunchiness.
But if you don’t have cream of tartar on hand, or prefer to make snickerdoodles without it, you can easily substitute the cream of tartar AND the baking soda with 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
So, for a traditional snickerdoodles cookie, use the cream of tartar. And if you just want a spectacular sugar cookie, without using cream of tartar, feel free to substitute with baking soda, as mentioned above, for a still great cookie that everyone will love!
How To Make Snickerdoodles
You’ll love how easy they are to make, it takes just a few simple steps:
- First cream together the butter and sugar. You can use a stand alone mixer, hand mixer or simply cream using a spoon and bowl (which is how do it). Then add in the applesauce (or its substitute) and vanilla, mix to combine. Add the flour mixture into the batter and mix just until the flour is incorporated.
- Dough should be firm and thick. If the dough is too soft, chill it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to 1 hour until it stiffens a bit. This will help keep them from spreading too much.
- Next, using a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon or 1 tablespoon scooper, you’ll roll the cookies into about 1 inch ball, and finish them off by rolling the balls in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Recipe will yield about 28 cookies.
- While baking, keep an eye on them after 8 minutes, they shouldn’t need any more than 10 minutes. Cookies are done when edges are slightly golden and center soft. They will be tender and puffy, but will flatten and harden slightly as they cool. My favorite snickerdoodles has a slightly crispy edge, and a chewy, soft center. The longer you bake the snickerdoodles, the crisper they will become.
Tips & Variations
The ingredients for these vegan snickerdoodles are so few, that I suggest buying the best ingredients possible!
- The Butter: I absolutely love and recommend sourcing Miyoko’s European Style Vegan Butter. It is the best and doesn’t leave any funny aftertaste.
- Added Moisture: In place of eggs that are typical in snickerdoodles, we’ll be using 1/4 cup applesauce. You can’t taste it and it will add the extra moisture needed. Feel free to substitute the applesauce with a flax egg (1 heaping tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water, let set for 10 min.) or use 1/4 cup of your favorite unsweetened non-dairy milk.
- The Sugar: I used organic pure cane sugar – and I only call for 1 cup in this recipe. Typically, most snickerdoodle recipes call for upwards of 1 3/4 cups, but that was a bit too sweet for me. Feel free to up the amount to 1 1/4, 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 cup to suit your sweet tooth.
- The Flour: I used King Author White Whole Wheat Flour, but you can sub in light spelt or all-purpose flour. Use a gluten-free flour blend to make these gluten-free.
How to Store + Freeze Snickerdoodles
Dough
- To refrigerate dough: You can always make the dough ahead of time and bake the snickerdoodles later as needed. Keep the dough covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When ready, roll the dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Alternately, you can roll the dough into balls ahead of time, chill, and before baking roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar.
- To freeze dough: After rolling the cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar, place them on a small baking sheet or plate that will fit in your freezer and freeze until solid. Once the dough is frozen, transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Baking from frozen: When baking frozen snickerdoodle dough, you do not need to thaw the dough. Simply place the frozen, cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet and bake for 2 – 3 minutes longer than the recipe recommends. Easy as can be!
Baked Cookies
- Counter: Store cooled snickerdoodles in an airtight container on the counter for up to three days.
- Refrigerator: The will keep in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
- Freezer: Snickerdoodles also freeze well and can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 months in a freezer safe bag or container. Let thaw on the counter for a couple of hours or in the refrigerator for a day before eating.
More Delicious Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
- Almond Butter Cookies
- No Bake Raw Ginger Snaps
- Almond Flour Thumbprint Cookies
If you try this easy cookie recipe or have a question, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintBEST VEGAN SNICKERDOODLES
Simple and delicious, these cinnamon sugar coated snickerdoodles can be made traditional with cream of tarter, or without. Easy recipe! Adapted from Food Network.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Makes approx. 28 cookies
- Category: Dessert, Cookie
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (350g) flour (spelt, white whole wheat or all-purpose flour)
- 2 teaspoons cream of tarter
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- generous pinch of mineral salt
- 1 cup (225g) vegan butter, at room temp (I love Miyokos)
- 1 cup (225g) organic pure cane sugar
- 1/4 cup (56g) unsweetened applesauce (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For rolling:
- 3 tablespoons organic pure cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper, or lightly grease with oil.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, using a spoon, mix together the sugar and butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. This can also be done with a stand alone mixer or hand blender (I usually just use a bowl and spoon). Then add the vanilla and applesauce, mix to combine. Add flour mixture and stir just until flour is incorporated. Dough should be firm and thick. If the dough is too soft, chill it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to 1 hour until it stiffens a bit. This will help keep them from spreading too much.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for rolling. Roll dough into about 1 inch balls. To keep them uniform, use either a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon or 1 tablespoon scooper.
Place cinnamon sugar rolled balls on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between balls. Bake in center of the oven for 8 – 9 minutes. For a little crispier cookie, bake for 10 minutes.
Let cool for a few minutes on the pan, they may be too soft just from the oven to move to a wire rack. Once cooled, enjoy!
Makes about 28 cookies
Store cookies covered on the counter for up to 3 days. Keep them fresher longer by storing them in the refrigerator for up 10 days. Freeze leftovers for up to 2 months (let thaw before eating).
Notes
If you don’t have cream of tarter on hand, or prefer to make snickerdoodles without it, you can easily substitute the cream of tartar AND the baking soda with 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
In place of applesauce, feel free to use a flax egg (1 heaping tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water, let set for 10 min.) or use 1/4 cup of your favorite unsweetened non-dairy milk.
Recommended Equipment: I love this silpat or parchment paper to line my baking sheets. And using a tablespoon trigger cookie scoop (affiliate links) helps keep the cookies uniform when scooping.
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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So so amazing! All my friends and family constantly ask me to make these or for the recipe. Best snickerdoodles I’ve ever had, and people are surprised when I tell them they are vegan.
Hi, Julie.
I am making these now. I used all purpose flour, and kept to the recipe exactly except that I realized after it was too late that I forgot the baking soda!
I can definitely taste the applesauce (which is not a bad thing).
I used a 1 tablespoon scoop to portion and got way more than 28 cookies. More like 56. (Again, not a bad thing)
The problem I had was that the first batch barely flattened out and I had to cook them about 16 minutes before they were baked through.
For the remaining batches, I flattened them with a glass before baking and needed about 12 minutes to bake through.
Could that be because of the forgotten baking soda?
They taste good, though, so the effort was not wasted.
Next time I’ll remember the baking soda and probably either try a substitute for the applesauce to remove the apple flavor or try adding more to boost up the flavor a little.
I’m so glad they tasted good, and surprised you got so many (I guess I used well rounded tablespoons so that’s why I under 30 cookies). Your issues with the cookies not flattening was not from the lack of baking soda. The baking soda gives the cookies a chewy texture. Not sure what could’ve happened, but I like the idea of flattening the cookies beforehand.
Loved these cookies! Best I ever have eaten! Will make these again and again!
I’m now looking for a cookie recipe that we can use with cookie cutters. Do you have a recipe you’d recommend?
Thank you Carol, so glad you loved these! I haven’t worked with a cookie cutter recipe so I can’t recommend one at this time.
My coomies didnt go flat. Im not sure why i double checked all the ingredients and got them all right.
I found this recipe on Pinterest while looking for holiday cookies. I work in residential support and wanted to make some for the guys at our home, some of which have animal product allergies. These cookies were super easy to make, and all the ingredients were things we already had on hand! Not only that, but they were super delicious and JUST the right texture. I had to bring a couple home for my family… and they asked me to make a batch for them, too! Thanks for the awesome recipe, it’s a keeper for sure.
Thanks for the letting us know Ian, I’m so glad the recipe was easy and everyone loved them! Makes my day, and I hope you enjoy them often with everyone! Cheers :)
Hi, I made these for my best friend and they’re really good!! Thanks!
Great, so glad you loved them Tony!
Hi I just wanted to say how much I loved your recipe! I loved how versatile it is that you could do pretty much anything LOL, not really, but pretty much. I know it sounds silly, but I have no soy milk on hand, and I wanted to make cookies! So I loved that with your recipe I was able to use applesauce, which I have a lot of, instead of soy milk! Thank you so much for all that you do hugs from Stockton California!
I’m so happy to hear that the variations worked for you! It makes is so much easier when you don’t have one thing and can use another. Makes my day, cheers!
Hi! I only have coconut sugar, would that work?
Thanks!
Yes, absolutely! I love coconut sugar, it will be delicious!
These turned out perfect! Thank you so much, the whole family loved them!
These look incredible! I definitely adding them to my vegan Christmas cookie baking list.