Soft and Chewy Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookies
Fall in love with these soft, chewy, fluffy vegan snickerdoodle cookies! These snickerdoodles are so easy to make with simple ingredients.
This holiday classic cookie is one that I honestly enjoy year round. This snickerdoodle is easy to make with simple ingredients and has no chilling required so you can enjoy cookies faster.
Snickerdoodles are a classic holiday season cookie, just like vegan chocolate chip cookies or sugar cookies. Unlike other recipes, these vegan snickerdoodles are more like fluffy pillows! They aren’t thin and crispy, they are soft, buttery, and chewy cookies.
Why You’ll Love Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Soft, chewy, and perfectly spiced with cinnamon
- Quick to make
- Stays soft and chewy for days
- Easy recipe to make with simple ingredients – nothing weird!
- No flax egg or chia egg required
- Just like traditional snickerdoodles but dairy free and egg free
- Popular in the holidays but nice any time of year
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients from the grocery store to mix up these vegan snickerdoodles! Here is the quick rundown of what you’ll need.
- Cinnamon: Different cinnamons have different flavors. My personal favorite is to use Saigon Cinnamon. It is the most intense version of cinnamon. But, I love super spiced cookies!
- Vegan butter: Use your favorite vegan butter as long as it is in a stick formula. The tub version of butter has a different fat:water ratio which will throw off the balance of the cookies. Earth Balance makes one of my favorite vegan butters.
- Cream of Tartar: This is the secret key ingredient for delicious snickerdoodles! Cream of tartar gives the cookies a unique tangy flavor, as well as helping them to stay soft.
- Powdered sugar: In place of white sugar, I use powdered sugar in this recipe. It helps to make a softer cookie and the bit of cornstarch in the powdered sugar acts a bit like an egg replacer.
- Other ingredients you’ll need: Apple sauce, vanilla extract, all purpose flour, baking soda, salt
Instructions
Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.
First up is making the cinnamon sugar mixture that the cookie dough balls roll in. In a small bowl, mix the two together and set it aside.
Next, prep the baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Now, sift together the dry ingredients of flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and extra cinnamon. Set this aside.
In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the wet ingredients. Mix this on medium-high speed for about 3 to 5 minutes. You want the vegan butter and sugar to come together and get light and fluffy.
Next, add the dry and wet ingredients together. Give this a quick mix, using a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed. Don’t over mix this dough.
Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, portion out the dough. I typically get 22 cookies with this recipe. If you use a larger or smaller cookie scoop, you’ll get more or less final cookies.
Roll each of them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Then, place them 12 each on a cookie sheet to bake.
Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. You want them to be baked but almost underdone. That’s what makes them so chewy and delicious! They will be golden brown on the edges with a good cinnamon sugar crackle on top.
Let them cool on the hot tray for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack for the best results. And enjoy!
How to Store
These cookies stay soft for days!
Counter: Keep baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to a week.
Fridge: Keep unbaked cookie dough in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days before baking or freezing.
Freezer: Keep unbaked cookie dough balls in the freezer in an airtight and freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Let the cookie dough balls come to room temperature on the countertop for 2 hours before baking as directed. Baked and cooled cookies can also be kept in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight before serving after freezing.
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Equipment
- measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Mixing spoons
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Cookie scoop
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons applesauce unsweetened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Make the topping. In a small bowl, combine 2 teaspoons of cinnamon with 2 tablespoons of white sugar. Mix well and set aside.
- Sift the dry ingredients. In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set this aside.
- Cream the wet ingredients. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the vegan butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla with the applesauce for 3 minutes. Let this get light and fluffy.
- Add the dry ingredients. On low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients. It should come together quickly. You may need to use a spatula to help the ingredients combine. The dough will be thick.
- Shape the cookies. Using a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, roll out each cookie dough ball. Gently roll them in the already prepared cinnamon sugar mixture, before placing them on a cookie sheet. Put 12 cookies per sheet.
- Bake the cookies. Bake the cookies for 11 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. The cookies should be very puffy and have a good crackle of cinnamon sugar on top. Remove them from the oven and let the cookies rest on the hot tray for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a cookie rack. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to Store
- Counter: Keep baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for up to a week.
- Fridge: Keep unbaked cookie dough in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 days before baking or freezing.
- Freezer: Keep unbaked cookie dough balls in the freezer in an airtight and freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Let the cookie dough balls come to room temperature on the countertop for 2 hours before baking as directed. Baked and cooled cookies can also be kept in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight before serving after freezing.
