Vegan Snickerdoodles – Soft, Thick & Puffy
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The BEST and most PERFECT vegan snickerdoodles ever! Soft, thick and oh-so puffy, these cookies are sure to be a hit! They are easy to make and turn out perfect every time.
Snickerdoodles have always been my favorite cookie. The soft, pillowy texture; the cinnamon sugar coating; they are completely irresistible! I actually prefer this cookie to my Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.
The one ingredient that makes a snickerdoodle different from a sugar cookie is cream of tartar. It’s what gives the cookies their traditional “tang” and soft chewiness. So don’t leave it out, or you will simply have sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar. Which doesn’t really sound all that bad, but they won’t be snickerdoodles.
How do you make vegan snickerdoodles?
- Cream together vegan butter (I used Earth Balance) and sugar until creamy and smooth.
- Add the flax egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Now add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir with a mixer or spoon until just combined.
- Roll into 2 tablespoon sized balls, coat in cinnamon sugar and place on baking pan. Bake for 11 minutes. The cookies will be very soft but will firm up as they cool.
Want more vegan cookies?
- Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Classic Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Shortbread Cookies
- The Best Vegan Sugar Cookies
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Vegan Snickerdoodles - Soft, Thick & Puffy
Ingredients
Flax Egg:
- 1 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 2.5 tablespoons water
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 cup earth balance vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly spray with oil.
- Make the flax egg: Combine ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and set aside to thicken.
- Make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and stir. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter and sugar for about 1-2 minutes using a handheld mixer, stand mixer, or even just a wooden spoon. Mix in the flax egg and vanilla, scraping the sides as needed.
- To the bowl with the wet ingredients, add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Turn on the mixer (or mix by hand) and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
- The dough will be quite thick and not too wet or dry. You should be able to roll the dough in balls. If you added too much flour and the dough is crumbly, add a tablespoon or two of non-dairy milk. If too wet for some reason, add a tablespoon of flour. This is a good way to troubleshoot any cookie recipe.
- Take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Repeat, and roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar topping. Place on baking sheets and bake for 11 minutes. The cookies will be very soft. Let them cool for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Cookies will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature.
- I have not tried these cookies with coconut oil or any other oil. For best results use vegan butter, such as Earth Balance or Miyokos.
- Don't leave out the cream of tartar unless you need to, or they won't really be snickerdoodles! It's what makes them soft, chewy and have that traditional "tang".
Nutrition
*This post has been updated with new photos and some improved writing. Was first published November 2018.
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86 Comments on “Vegan Snickerdoodles – Soft, Thick & Puffy”
I have never made snickerdoodles before and decided to give it a try today, thanks for an easy-to-follow recipe!
My boyfriend and I have never had snickerdoodles before. We liked these, but found them to be incredibly – almost TOO – sweet/sugary. Is this how all snickerdoodles are? If I made them again, I’d cut back on sugar in the batter by probably at least 1/3 of a cup. (When I was making them I did feel it was a LOT of sugar but wanted to test the recipe as it was).
One thing I did differently was to flatten the cookies with a fork when they came out of the oven. I didn’t see any mention of flattening the cookies at any stage in your post, but your cookies look so perfectly flat (while still thick and soft). My cookies did not flatten out like that on their own – they came out very rounded, even after cooling for a bit. My second pan full of cookies, which I fork-flattened almost immediately out of the oven, looked much more picture-perfect than the first pan. Do you flatten your cookies or they just come out like that?
Yes, snickerdoodles are a very sweet cookie for sure! You can cut back a bit if you want, but too much will affect the structure of the cookie. It sounds like yours had a touch more flour then they should have, so they wouldn’t spread in the oven. Mine do spread like that in the oven, unless I accidentally scoop too much flour. But you can flatten them if you need to, no problem. Thanks!
It was amazing!
What would you recommend as a replacement for cream of tartar? I live in Portugal and have yet to find it here.
You could use a little lemon juice or white vinegar instead for a little tartness. Thanks!
Yummy!!
Used aquafaba instead of flaxseed and turned out just as good.
Thank you!!
You’re welcome!
I love this recipe. I made these cookies with coconut oil instead of butter and they were so delicious. The second time around I made them at my boyfriend’s house and he doesn’t have cream of tartar so I omitted it. The cookies are still good, but definitely different. Love them still. 🙂
I’m so glad you love the recipe!
Any suggestions for a substitute for the flax egg? Thanks
You might be able to sub applesauce, but I haven’t tried it.
Is there an acceptable substitute for flax seed?
I haven’t tried them with anything else, but ground chia seeds would work the same, or another egg replacer (1 egg replaced). Hope that helps!
So good! This was my second time of making these. The first time, a bit lackluster. But I knew I had been the one lacking the luster. (Haha)
These are properly delicious. Lacking in nothing but eggs and are all the better for it!
Oh, I baked for 4 minutes over, so 15 mins, I like a crunchy cookie. They were perfect.
My family LOVED this recipe! I did not have cream of tartar, so I substituted 4 teaspoons of lemon juice out of the squeeze bottle instead. I will 100% be making these again.
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
DELISH! I ran out of cream of tarter and substituted about 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar to get the tang and even my non vegan son could not tell the difference between these and the traditional ones and this is his fav cookie!
Yay! That makes me so happy!
Nora cooks, I made these cookies for my vegan mom, and everyone LOVED THEM!
That’s so great!!
So delicious!
Thanks!!
Daughter has an egg allergy so use a ton of vegan recipes even though we eat dairy. These were amazing! Used real (dairy) butter. Did add a bit of dairy milk to make mixing easier at end. (We also have nut allergies so can’t use almond milk!) Turned out perfect – thank you! Easy to follow too. 🙂
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad they turned out amazing!
So good. I only baked half the dough thinking I would save the rest, not happening, my fam gobbled these up.
I love to hear that!! Glad they were good!
this recipe was perfect, thank you so much!
You’re so welcome!
Nora!!!!! I love you!!!!!!!!!!! I just made these delicious cookies! Can’t wait for my husband to try them….he’s been looking forward to trying them. I had to add non-dairy milk (I put a little too much flour) to my mix. It really worked! Thanks again. I look forward to trying all of your recipes. I’ve been Vegan since March and I’m loving it!
Thanks so much for the comment!! So glad you liked it!!
Oh Em Gee! These are AMAZING. Perfect pillowy (yet dense) cinnamon treat! Really tops on my cookie list. Thanks again, Nora!
You’re welcome!!
Wow, made these today and they are delicious. I had to use Naturli vegan spreadable as I couldn’t source the brands you recommended. Worked out really well. I had never heard of snickerdoodles before this.
I’m so glad you made them and they were delicious!!
Do you know if the recipe with work if I substitute apple sauce for the vegan butter?
A previous post indicated the recipe works with Bob’s 1:1 gluten-free flour and my family needs to be gluten-free so I was happy to read that comment.
I don’t think that will work, the cookies will just be very soft and mushy. Gluten free flour will work though!
Nora, you are a true baking miracle!
Every one of your cookie recipes turns out divine!
I did add 1/4 cup soy milk, after reading one comment here, as my dough was also too crumbly. But this probably happened because I substituted margarine for vegan butter.
The result was outstanding, though.
Thank you so much!
You’re so welcome!
Would the baking time and temperature change significantly if I wanted to use a medium cookie scoop on any of your cookie recipes? Curiously fascinated at the thought of doing so…
You wouldn’t need to change the temperature of your oven, but the baking time will increase for larger cookies. Perhaps 12-14 minutes, maybe a little longer.
Yummy! These were a hit!! One tweak i’ll make next time, though, is to simply dip the tops into the cinnamon sugar rather than roll the entire cookie in it– they’re plenty sugary to begin.
Thanks for posting!
You’re welcome!
I used Bob’s 1:1 gluten free flour and substituted coconut oil for the vegan butter! The dough was super crumbly, so I added about 1/4 cup of almond milk and they cane out perfectly!
Thanks for yet another awesome recipe, Nora!
You’re welcome! Glad it was great!
I’ve now made these 4 times and they are delicious every time. I shared a batch at my work place after letting everyone know they are vegan cookies Well…
3 ppl asked for the recipe. 10 out of 10 from me ??
Wonderful to hear! Thank you!