Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles are a twist on the classic snickerdoodle, offering a gluten-free alternative without compromising on flavor and texture, and they are made in 20 minutes!
With their delicious sweetness and a hint of cinnamon, these cookies will become a favorite. The best part? You won’t even notice they’re gluten-free! This recipe combines simple, wholesome ingredients to create soft and chewy cookies that are sure to become a new favorite.
For more desserts that are kid-friendly, consider making No Bake Peanut Butter Bars, Saltine Toffee, No Bake Peanut Butter Balls or No Bake Cheesecake Bites.
These gf snickerdoodles are not only easy, but they use staples that you likely already have in your kitchen. Plus, we share ways to make these cookies in advance and have cookie dough on hand.
Plan a day with your young baker(s) to make these homemade cookies along with any other cookie recipes (we share our top 10 favorites below!). Together, you can learn everything from measuring and stirring to scooping and pouring.
To get started, gather the equipment and ingredients then follow the written instructions or printable recipe card. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 stick butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Gluten-Free Guide: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten.
How To Make
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the sugar and butter to the mixer bowl. Cream until well blended and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and blend until just combined.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl. Slowly mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just blended.
Add 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to a small mixing bowl and blend.
Scoop the dough with a cookie scoop and form the dough into balls with your hands. Place the cookie balls into the sugar mixture and coat well. Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Repeat for all the dough. Gently press the cookies flat with your fingers.
Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. Let cool.
Expert Tips
- Ingredient Temperature: For best results, use room temperature eggs and butter. This helps in achieving a smoother and more even batter. Take these ingredients out of the refrigerator a little before starting to allow them to come to room temperature.
- Creaming Butter and Sugar: Cream the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. This usually takes around 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure even mixing. The mixture should appear paler in color and have a light texture.
- Measuring Flour: When measuring flour, avoid packing it into the measuring cup. Instead, spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a straight edge. This prevents the cookies from becoming too dense.
- Mixing Dry Ingredients: When whisking the dry ingredients together, ensure that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. This prevents uneven flavor or texture in the cookies.
- Combining Wet and Dry Ingredients: Once you start mixing the wet and dry ingredients together, be careful not to overmix. Overmixing can lead to tough cookies. Mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Chilling the Dough: Consider chilling the dough for about 30 minutes before scooping and baking. Chilled dough tends to spread less during baking, resulting in thicker and chewier cookies.
- Consistent Cookie Sizes: Use a cookie scoop to ensure consistent cookie sizes. This helps the cookies to bake evenly and look uniform.
- Sugar Coating: When rolling the cookie dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture, make sure they are coated thoroughly but not overly so. Too much coating can cause excess sugar to melt and caramelize during baking.
- Baking Time: Keep a close eye on the cookies while they bake. Baking time can vary depending on your oven and the size of the cookies. The edges should be lightly golden, and the centers may still look slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven. They will continue to set as they cool on the baking sheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
While we haven’t tried to make dairy free cookies yet, Earth Balance butter is typically a great replacement for butter. To make dairy free, try swapping the butter with a 1:1 replacement of Earth Balance butter.
Cream of tartar is the ingredient unique to snickerdoodles that gives the cookie the tanginess it is known for. If you opt to leave it out, you can expect to make cinnamon gluten free sugar cookies.
Snickerdoodles will be flat after baking if you used expired cream of tartar and/or baking soda. Double check the dates on these ingredients before adding to the batter.
If you prefer extra soft cookies that are fluffy after baking, do not press the cookies flat with your fingers. Instead, scoop the dough onto the baking sheet and bake as is.
Instead of scooping the measuring cup into the bag of flour, use the spoon and sweep method for measuring. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup and then a knife to level out the top of the measuring cup once full. This will provide an accurate amount of flour to prevent crumbly and dry cookies.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Gluten-free snickerdoodle cookies can be stored at room temperature in a Ziploc bag, stasher bag or container for up to 1 week.
The raw cookie dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days if looking to make these cookies in advance.
Simply make the dough then place in the fridge. You could also scoop the dough balls onto a cookie sheet to keep in the fridge if space allows.
If looking to freeze raw cookie dough, we recommend scooping dough balls onto a baking sheet and setting in the freezer for at least 15 minutes to harden.
Then, transfer the dough balls into a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Don’t forget your freezer label!
When ready to bake, transfer the cookie dough balls to a baking sheet straight from the freezer (no thawing required). Add an additional 2-3 minutes to the baking time if cooking from frozen.
Kids In The Kitchen
Cooking tips and suggestions for kids making this recipe.
- For softer cookies, bake for 8 minutes and for crispier cookies, bake for 12 minutes.
- Using a cookie scoop can help create uniformed cookies that cook evenly. If you don’t own a cookie scoop then roll the dough in your hands, making each cookie roughly the same size.
- You can swap the vanilla extract with 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.
- A single batch will make approximately 24 cookies. Make a double batch if you want more.
The 10 Best Gluten Free Cookies
- Dairy Free Sugar Cookies Recipe
- Gluten Free Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- Gluten Free Cookie Cake
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Gluten Free Edible Cookie Dough
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
- Easy Christmas Cookies for Kids
- Christmas Oreos
CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 stick butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prep the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Blend the wet ingredients. Add the sugar and butter to the mixer bowl. Cream until well blended and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and blend until just combined.1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1 stick butter, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.3 cups gluten-free flour, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Blend the wet and dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl. Slowly mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just blended.
- Mix the cinnamon sugar mixture. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to a small mixing bowl and blend.1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Prep the cookies. Scoop the dough with a cookie scoop and form the dough into balls with your hands. Place the cookie balls into the sugar mixture and coat well. Place the cookies on the baking sheet. Repeat for all the dough. Gently press the cookies flat with your fingers.
- Bake. Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. Let cool.
Notes
How To Store Baked Cookies
Baked snickerdoodle cookies can be stored at room temperature in a Ziploc bag, stasher bag or container for up to 1 week.How To Store Cookie Dough
The raw cookie dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days if looking to make these cookies in advance. Simply make the dough then place in the fridge. You could also scoop the dough balls onto a cookie sheet to keep in the fridge if space allows.How To Freeze Cookie Dough
If looking to freeze raw cookie dough, we recommend scooping dough balls onto a baking sheet and setting in the freezer for at least 15 minutes to harden. Then, transfer the dough balls into a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Don’t forget your freezer label! When ready to bake, transfer the cookie dough balls to a baking sheet straight from the freezer (no thawing required). Add an additional 2-3 minutes to the baking time if cooking from frozen. CCK Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten. The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.Nutrition
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