Perfect vegan snickerdoodles with a soft, chewy middle and crispy cinnamon exterior. It's fall in a cookie!
It's been FAR too long since I published a classic vegan snickerdoodles recipe on this blog! Snickerdoodles are in my top 3 cookies and I think the pressure of getting it right has stalled me out a little. But guess what? It's here and they're INSANELY good. Here's what's amazing about them:
- Chewy inside and caramelised/cinnamony outside, just like a snickerdoodle should be!
- They require ZERO weird ingredients. No weird egg replacements required! And yet the texture is PERFECT!
- The dough can be frozen and baked WHENEVER you need them! Ideal for Christmas or thanksgiving prep!
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🧈 Vegan Snickerdoodles Ingredients
So let's jump right in and DEMYSTIFY the perfect vegan snickerdoodles by investigating those ingredients. Take this list to your pantry/supermarket before you get baking! As always, full ingredients with quantities are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page!
Vegan butter (block variety works best, at room temperature)
Granulated sugar
Soft silken tofu (or unsweetened apple sauce if you'd prefer)
Vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
Plain white flour (aka all purpose flour)
Cream of tartar
Bicarbonate of soda (aka baking soda)
Fine sea salt
Ground cinnamon
As always, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page, so check there for quantities.
🥣 Method
The ingredients are important, obvs, but when it comes to vegan snickerdoodles, the main trick is to get the method right. Here are my top points for guaranteeing that soft chew and that crispy outside.
1. Cream the vegan butter properly! It's important to use a stand mixer or electric mixer to cream your vegan butter and sugar together. This incorporates air from square one and helps your cookies to be light. Oh and vegan butter must be room temp otherwise it will split!
2. Chill the dough! This dough for these vegan snickerdoodles is SUPER soft. That's what helps them to spread and stay soft. In order to form the cookies into balls though, you'll need to chill it in the fridge. Make sure it's covered too, otherwise it'll dry out!
3. Use a cookie scoop! When portioning out your dough into balls, it can be tempting to form them in your hands, by rolling into a ball. But you MUSTN'T! This compresses the dough and stops the cookies from turning out light and fluffy.
4. Underbake the cookies slightly! To guarantee soft chewy insides, underbake your cookies slightly! Just 10-12 minutes in the oven will do it. They'll continue cooking on the baking sheet after you remove them from the oven and end up the perfect texture.
Hint!
If your cookies look puffed up when they come out of the oven, just tap the tray lightly on the counter to deflate them, while still hot. This will cause them to deflate and turn extra chewy!
🔄 Subs and swaps
What good are vegan snickerdoodles if only a few people can eat em?? Let's make them as friendly as possible, regardless of your dietary requirements!
- Gluten Free - Are you gluten free? Just swap the flour for a gluten free blend. These cookies work great with Freee or Bob's Red Mill 1:1 blends, but be sure to use a brand you trust!
- Soy Free - I use silken tofu in this recipe as an egg replacer. If you're soy free though, be sure to swap out for unsweetened applesauce! Be sure to check your vegan butter for soy too!
Let me know in the comments on instagram if you try this recipe! I'd love to hear if you made any swapsies!
🍪 Vegan Snickerdoodles Variations
Ooh we love a versatile fall cookie! Here's how to swap up some bits and make an entirely new exciting vegan snickerdoodle variation!
- Pumpkin snickerdoodles! - Replace the silken tofu for firmly-packed canned pumpkin and add a teaspoon pumpkin spice to the dry ingredients for a fall classic!.
- Christmas Snickerdoodles! - Instead of cinnamon sugar, toss the balls of cookie dough in a blend of granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and allspice.
- Sandwich version! - These vegan snickerdoodles work great with a layer of vegan buttercream in the middle. Whip up a batch and pipe it in!
And hey, if these cookies aren't doing it for you, don't worry! Why not try my vegan shortbread cookies?! They're very delicious! If you're more of a classic cookie fan, why not bake a batch of Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies? Fancy something rich and layered? Try my vegan millionaires shortbread!
🔪 Equipment
OK, we're nearly ready to dive in and start making vegan snickerdoodles! Here's all the kit you'll need to get things started!
- 1 x stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- 2 x small bowls
- 1 x sieve
- 2 x baking sheets
- 1 x cookie scoop
- 1 x wire cooling rack
💅 Make Ahead Tip!
If making these vegan snicklerdoodles ahead, you've got two options.
1. You can make the dough, scoop into balls and arrange on a baking tray. Place in the freezer until solid then transfer to an airtight container and freeze. Before baking, defrost on a lined baking sheet.
2. Make the dough and bake the cookies then allow to cool fully. Once room temp, stack all the cookies in a row, wrap in cling-film/saran wrap and freeze for up to a week. Defrost before serving - they'll still be soft inside and crispy outside.
🤷♀️ Vegan Snickerdoodles FAQs
A: Yes, cream of tartar is vegan and can be used in vegan snickerdoodles and other bakes!
A: The easiest vegan egg replacer for snickerdoodles is silken tofu! The naturally high lecithin contentin soy products helps to act as an emulsifier and keeps the cookies soft and chewy. Alternatively you can use unsweetened apple sauce.
Vegan Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- 1 x stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- 2 x small bowls
- 1 x sieve
- 2 x baking sheets
- 1 x cookie scoop
- 1 x wire cooling rack
Ingredients
For the Vegan Snickerdoodles
- 130 g vegan butter (block variety works best, at room temperature)
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 50 g soft silken tofu (or unsweetened apple sauce)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
- 180 g plain white flour (aka all purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (aka baking soda)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
To Make the Snickerdoodles
- Place the vegan butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream them together on high speed until smooth and fluffy (minimum 3 minutes). Alternatively use an electric hand mixer in a medium bowl.130 g vegan butter, 150 g granulated sugar
- Add the silken tofu or apple sauce and vanilla bean paste and beat again until smooth.50 g soft silken tofu, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- In a separate small bowl, sieve together the plain white flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda, and fine sea salt. Add to the stand mixer bowl and beat on slow until just combined.180 g plain white flour, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl, cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the dough cools, preheat the oven to 160 °C and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Place the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.2 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Once the dough is cooled, remove from the fridge. Use a cookie scoop to scoop a heaped tablespoon of dough. Drop the ball of dough into the cinnamon sugar and roll gently to coat. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough, spreading the cookies out across the baking parchment and the two baking sheets to make sure they don't touch as they bake.
- Place the first tray into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. The dough will spread and crisp up around the edges slightly but will still look slightly under-done in the centre. Don't worry - this is correct and will help the cookies to stay soft and chewy in the centre. Remove the cookies and repeat with the second tray while the others cool.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then place on a wire cooling rack to cool completely before serving.
Jeroen
Love it!
Alli
Very very tasty! The recipe is easy to follow and uses mostly on hand ingredients. Also love the layout with the quantities after the instruction, makes for less scrolling.