Chewy, thick, and soft gluten-free snickerdoodles covered in cinnamon sugar. These snickerdoodle cookies are easy to make and do not require shortening.
The secret to chewy, thick, and soft gluten-free snickerdoodles is the kind of gluten-free flour used. The first time I made snickerdoodles cookies was before I started my gluten-free diet. I used to make Sally’s baking addiction snickerdoodle cookies, and they never disappointed me. However, finding a gluten-free snickerdoodles recipe was almost impossible. I tried several recipes and was never truly happy with the texture until now. The recipe I’m sharing with you has gone through multiple trials.
To make these chewy gluten-free snickerdoodles, you will need the following:
White rice, tapioca, and brown rice flour: Through trial and error, I found that the best combination of gluten-free flours for snickerdoodles is white rice, tapioca, and brown rice flour. I used corn starch instead of tapioca on my first attempt at these cookies, and it was a mess. The cookies were too crumbly. The use of tapioca provides structure and chewiness to the cookies making these gluten-free snickerdoodles perfect.
Xanthan gum: Since we are making our own flour mix, it only makes sense to add xanthan gum to help all the ingredients bind together.
Cream of Tartar: It is not snickerdoodles without cream of tartar. The cream of tartar provides the cookies with tanginess and chewiness.
Baking Soda: The baking soda will react with cream of tartar to create gas in the oven and help the cookies puff up.
Salt
Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon will be used. Make sure your cinnamon powder is labeled gluten-free, or just make it at home.
Unsalted Butter: The butter will provide the cookies with fat. I like to use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt I add to the recipe.
Cream Cheese: If you have tried my other cookie recipes, then you know I love to use cream cheese to make cookies. Cream cheese provides tanginess and chewiness to the cookies. It also offers gluten-free cookies with moisture.
Granulated White Sugar: You can use granulated white sugar or caster sugar. The sugar will be used to make the snickerdoodle dough and cinnamon sugar.
Eggs: I usually use one egg in my cookies; however, to provide these gluten-free snickerdoodles with structure, we will be using two eggs instead of one.
Making these cookies ahead of time
The beauty of snickerdoodles is that you can make them ahead of time and refrigerate the cookie dough. The cookie dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours. So if you have an event, you can prepare the dough the night or day before and bake some fresh gluten-free snickerdoodles on the day of the event.
Can you freeze snickerdoodle dough?
You can freeze gluten-free snickerdoodle dough for up to two months. Form the cookies but do not roll them in cinnamon sugar. Seal the cookies in a vacuum bag and freeze them. Before baking, allow the dough to thaw in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours. Heat up the oven, and roll the cookies in cinnamon sugar before baking them as per the recipe card.
Why are my cookies spreading too much in the oven?
Cookies can spread too much in the oven while baking due to three factors. The first being flour to butter ratio. Make sure that you weigh your ingredients instead of using cup measurements. Second, make sure that the butter is not too warm. You should be able to make a slight dent in the butter with your finger. However, if your finger slides through the butter, then the butter is way too warm. Finally, do not overbeat the butter and sugar when making the cookie dough. Beat the butter and sugar for only 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
How long do baked gluten-free snickerdoodles cookies last?
Baked gluten-free snickerdoodles can last in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to five days and for up to three days at room temperature of 20°C (68°C).
Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 187 grams of White Rice Flour (6.6 oz, 1 cup + 3 tablespoon)
- 112 grams of Tapioca Flour (4 oz, 1 cup)
- 75 grams of Brown Rice Flour (2.6 oz, ½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon of Xanthan Gum
- 2 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar
- 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 1 tablespoon of Ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of Salt
- 180 grams of Unsalted Butter at room temperature (6.3 oz, ¾ cup)
- 50 grams of Cream Cheese at room temperature (1.8 oz, 3 ½ tablespoon)
- 267 grams of Granulated White Sugar (9.4 oz, 1 ⅓ cups)
- 2 Large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon-Sugar
- 50 grams of Granulated White Sugar (1.8 oz, ¼ cup)
- 2 teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Combine the white rice flour, tapioca flour, brown rice flour, xanthan gum, cream of tartar, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Whisk the ingredients until combined.
- In the bowl of your stand-alone mixer, with the paddle attachment attached, or using a hand-held mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy ( about 1 - 2 minutes).
- Next, add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat at medium-high speed until combined (1 minute).
- Afterward, add the combined dry ingredients in step 1 and mix at low speed until the cookie dough has formed.
- In a small bowl, create the cinnamon sugar by adding the sugar and cinnamon and mixing it.
- Then remove one tablespoon of cookie dough and roll it to form a dough ball. Roll the ball in cinnamon sugar twice and make sure that all sides of the dough ball are covered in cinnamon sugar. Repeat until you are out of dough. By the end, you should have around 23-24 dough balls. Transfer the dough balls to a baking tray aligned with parchment paper and bake the gluten-free snickerdoodles for 7-8 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool in the baking tray for another 10 minutes. The cookies will further bake during this time. Then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow them to reach room temperature before serving or storing.
Julia says
I've always wondered what Snickerdoodles were - now I know. These were so easy to make and your instructions were really clear. Next time I may have to make a double batch as even with 24 cookies they disappeared in no time at all. I will be making these again/
Aya says
So glad they were a hit! 😀
Sage says
These snickerdoodles are the best. The kids loved it! We made a big batch and had some leftovers so we'll be turning it into ice cream sandwiches and freezing it for another treat tomorrow.
Shelby says
I am definitely drooling haha these cookies are the perfect pick me up!
Kayla says
Okay... snickerdoodle are my husbands favorite cookie! I made these this weekend and they were gone before Sunday hit!
Aya says
So glad you liked them, Kayla!
Anaiah says
Snickerdoodles are my favorite! Loving your gluten free cookie recipe. It's delicious!
Chrissaysnature says
Absolutely amazing! These cookies are perfection.