It’s a holiday miracle: Guilt-free, gluten-free divine Snickerdoodles

Anyone who knows me knows I can’t pass up a good dessert. I’ve learned to embrace my sweet tooth over the years, and instead of restricting myself, I do my best to manage the quality of ingredients I put into my baked goods. I love developing recipes made with real ingredients so people can recreate them in their kitchens and enjoy delicious meals, snacks, and desserts that are made with nourishing ingredients.

These soft-baked snickerdoodles are one of my favorite recipes. Think dreamy, pillow-like cookies with a subtle but sweet cinnamon sugar topping. They’re gluten-free, sweetened without refined sugar, and they can even be made vegan, so everyone can enjoy them!

Ingredients

For the cookie

• 1/3 cup natural, creamy, raw almond butter (I use and love Trader Joes brand)
• 1/4 cup melted (then slightly cooled) coconut oil
• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg (substitute “flax egg” if vegan: 1Tbsp flaxseed meal, 2.5Tbsp water, whisk and let sit for about 10 minutes)
• 1 1/4 cup fine almond flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

For the sugar topping

• 2 Tbsp coconut sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

1. Make the cookie batter:
   • Melt the coconut oil (microwave or stovetop) and let it cool for a few minutes.
   • If vegan, make the flax egg and set aside.
   • In a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients for the cookie (maple syrup, almond butter, coconut oil, egg, vanilla, almond milk).
   • In a separate bowl, mix together the dry cookie ingredients with a fork (almond flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, sea salt).
   • Then, combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir until well-mixed.
2. Make the cinnamon sugar topping:
   • In a small bowl, mix together the coconut sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
3. Assemble:
   • Roll dough into about 8-9 balls and place evenly on the lined baking sheet*.
   • Don’t press cookies down flat.
   • Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar topping on top of each cookie, distributing evenly among all of them.
4. Bake:
   • Place cookies in the preheated oven, baking for about 11 minutes **.
   • Once 11 minutes is up, turn the oven to “broil”.
   • Remove cookies from the oven once they are slightly golden on top, which should be between 1 and 2 mins.
   • Watch them VERY carefully because they will burn quickly if you don’t.
5. Enjoy:
   • You can store them in the fridge and reheat them as you wish (I throw them in the microwave for a few seconds after taking them out of the fridge). I highly recommend eating/serving these warm!

Notes:
* I used an ice cream scoop to easily distribute the dough. If using your hands, get your hands slightly wet to help prevent them from sticking to the dough.

** Cookies will not look completely done at 11min, but they will finish cooking during the “broil” time.