Soft and pillowy gluten-free snickerdoodles. With a slightly crisp cinnamon-sugar coating and the classic cracked tops, this gluten-free snickerdoodle cookies recipe makes the perfect cookie to dress up any holiday cookie plate.

What was your favorite cookie growing up? In truth I liked all cookies (unless they had sweetened shredded coconut in them, in which case, get out of here). But my one true love was snickerdoodles. I don't recall ever making them at home, so every time I ate a snickerdoodle it felt like a rare treat. That soft pillowy cookie enveloped in a cinnamon-sugar coating is pure bliss. I've been honing my gluten-free snickerdoodle recipe since last January and now that cookie season is in full force again, I'm finally sharing the recipe.

What is the difference between a sugar cookie and a Snickerdoodle?

There will be purists that insist these are not snickerdoodles and instead just sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Classic snickerdoodles must have cream of tartar, they say. It's what gives the cookies their soft texture and unique tang. And while that may be true for traditional snickerdoodles, I've made this gluten-free recipe many times, both with and without cream of tartar. All my taste testers unanimously agree that this non-cream of tartar version is the best.

The only perceivable difference is the texture, with this version softer and fluffier, more like classic snickerdoodles, without any flavor compromise. My best guess is that gluten-free flours are just more flavorful than all-purpose flour, which masks the taste effect of cream of tartar. You can add a teaspoon of cream of tartar if you insist, but your cookies will be thinner.

Here's my favorite recipe for soft gluten-free sugar cookies!

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Recipe

This gluten-free version is soft and pillowy with the classic cracks on top and every-so-slightly crisp cinnamon-sugar blanket. They'll dress up any holiday cookie plate, becoming a fan favorite of all your neighbors.

Gluten-free snickerdoodles almond flour

This recipe uses a combination of almond flour, millet flour, and tapioca flour. 

• Superfine Blanched Almond Flour: offers a subtle sweet nuttiness and is one of the most neutral gluten-free flours to capture that classic cookie flavor and texture. If you can't tolerate nuts, use the oat flour version below
• Millet Flour: is a neutral flour here to balance the others out so the cookies are neither too gummy nor too crisp. 
• Tapioca flour: Tapioca flour offers chewiness and adds to the fluffiness of the cookies. It's what keeps the cookies from being too dense.  
  • Sub in by weight: While I haven't tested it, I would recommend substituting by weight with arrowroot starch. 

Nut-Free Option for simple gluten-free snickerdoodles

Now that both my kids attend nut-free schools, I've developed a nut-free version of this recipe that's just as delicious. Replace the measurements for almond flour, millet flour, and tapioca starch with these quantities below and reduce the baking time to just 10 minutes.

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) gluten-free oat flour
• ½ cup + 3 tablespoons (110g) sweet rice flour (also called Mochiko and is different from "white rice flour" or "brown rice flour")
• ½ cup (74g) millet flour
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (103g) tapioca flour

Make head gluten-free cookie dough

After you roll the cookie dough in cinnamon and sugar, freeze the balls in an airtight container for up to 6 months. Bake directly out of the freezer, adding 1-2 minutes to your bake time. 

I've been keeping a permanently refilled batch of gluten-free snickerdoodles cookie dough balls in my freezer for midnight cookie emergencies. 10/10 would recommend this practice. 

FAVORITE GLUTEN-FREE COOKIE RECIPES

• Soft Lofthouse Style Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
• Chewy Gluten-Free Lemon Cookies
• Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gluten-Free Thumbprint Cookies
• Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies with Easy Icing
• Homemade Gluten-Free Oreos
• Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
• Matcha Macarons with Mango Buttercream
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Pecan Shortbread Cookies
• Chocolate Hazelnut Gluten-Free Slice and Bake Cookies
• Gluten-Free Teff Chocolate Chip Date Cookies
• Hazelnut Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Peppermint Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies
• Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

Yield: About 2.5 dozen 3-inch cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 21 minutes

Soft and pillowy gluten-free snickerdoodles. With a slightly crisp cinnamon-sugar coating and the classic cracked tops, this gluten-free snickerdoodle cookies recipe makes the perfect cookie to dress up any holiday cookie plate.

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Ingredients

Cookies

• 1 ¾ cup (210g) super fine blanched almond flour (see nut-free version below)
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (172g) millet flour
• 1 cup + 1.5 tablespoon (132g) tapioca starch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used Rodelle Organics)

Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar (I use organic cane sugar which is coarser)
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, millet flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a medium bowl with a hand mixer or wooden spoon*, cream the butter and sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla to the creamed butter and beat on medium speed until just combined.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, beating until the flour is just completely combined.
5. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon coating together.
6. Roll 1-2 tablespoon-sized balls of dough into a ball, roll each cookie ball in the cinnamon sugar, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you've used all the cookie dough. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer while you preheat the oven (or, if you don't have room in your freezer, chill for 30 minutes to an hour before preheating the oven).
7. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
8. Bake the cookies 2-inches apart on a baking sheet for 11-13 minutes, until set, but still very soft. (See note below). For nut-free version, bake only 10 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes on the baking pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

No mixer, no problem: I've made these cookies by hand without a mixer of any sort and they work just great!

Baking time: For me, 12 minutes is perfect. I've had my oven calibrated, but every oven is slightly different, so if you've got the time, I recommend baking one test cookie and letting it cool for a few minutes. The cookies will look and feel under-baked when they first come out of the oven and will firm up as they cool. If you cook them too long, they won't be as soft and chewy and will quickly become cake-like and then crispy. After over-baking them a few times while testing, I put in my notes "TRUST 12 MINUTES!"

Nut-Free Version: For a nut-free version, replace the measurements for almond flour, millet flour, and tapioca starch with these quantities below and reduce the baking time to just 10 minutes.

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) gluten-free oat flour
• ½ cup + 3 tablespoons (110g) sweet rice flour (also called Mochiko and is different from "white rice flour" or "brown rice flour")
• ½ cup (74g) millet flour
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (103g) tapioca flour