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These vegan snickerdoodles are soft, slightly chewy, and rolled in cinnamon sugar, with no eggs or dairy. The dough needs no chilling, so they’re ready in about 40 minutes and perfect for your holiday cookie tray. For more festive baking ideas, check out my vegan Christmas cookies.
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Snickerdoodles taste a lot like a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar, but they have a crackly top, a soft and pillowy middle, and a little tang from cream of tartar. This version is 100% vegan, made with a flax egg and vegan butter, and nobody will guess. If you love these, try my pumpkin snickerdoodles in the fall or my snickerdoodle muffins for breakfast.
They’re great for potlucks, parties, bake sales, and holiday cookie boxes, and just as good the rest of the year. Planning a cookie tray? They look beautiful next to my vegan chocolate crinkle cookies, vegan chocolate chip peppermint cookies, triple ginger vegan cookies, and raspberry jam thumbprint cookies. For a chewy cookie with oats and molasses, add my gingerbread oatmeal cookie recipe to the lineup. For a soft cookie with a crackly powdered sugar coating, bake a batch of my gingerbread crinkle cookies too.
Quick Glance
- Recipe Name: Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Why You’ll Love It: Soft, chewy cinnamon sugar cookies with no eggs, no dairy, and no chilling.
- Time and Difficulty: 15 minutes of prep, 10 to 12 minutes of baking, and 15 minutes of cooling. Easy.
- Main Ingredients: Flax meal, vegan butter, sugar, vanilla, flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Method: Make a flax egg, cream the butter and sugar, mix in the dry ingredients, roll the dough in cinnamon sugar, and bake.
- Texture and Flavor: Crackly cinnamon sugar outside, soft and pillowy inside, with a little tang.
- Quick Tip: Use room temperature vegan butter so it creams up light and fluffy.
Table of Contents
What Makes These Vegan Snickerdoodles So Good
Snickerdoodles are a classic holiday cookie, and this eggless version keeps everything you love about them. A simple flax egg takes the place of eggs, and vegan butter keeps them rich and soft.
- No chilling: Mix, roll, and bake right away.
- No eggs or dairy: A flax egg binds the dough, so everyone at the cookie swap can enjoy them.
- Pantry staples: Flour, sugar, cinnamon, and a few baking basics.
- That classic tang: Cream of tartar gives them the soft, chewy texture and flavor snickerdoodles are known for.
- Freezer-friendly: Freeze the baked cookies or the coated dough balls for later.
- A reader favorite: It has a 5-star rating from 33 readers, and one reader said it’s their new favorite snickerdoodle recipe.
Vegan Snickerdoodle Ingredients
You only need a handful of simple baking ingredients for these eggless snickerdoodles. You’ll find the full amounts in the recipe card below.
- Flax meal and water: Ground flax meal mixed with water thickens into a flax egg, a simple vegan egg replacer for baking. Ground chia seeds work too.
- Vegan butter: Use unsalted vegan butter at room temperature so it creams up light and fluffy. Salted vegan butter works in a pinch; just skip the added salt.
- Sugar: Sugar gives these cookies their classic texture. I haven’t tested raw cane sugar or coconut sugar in this recipe yet.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract gives the best flavor.
- All-purpose flour: Spoon it into your measuring cups and level it off, so the cookies stay soft.
- Cream of tartar: The secret to snickerdoodles. It keeps them soft and chewy, helps control the spread, and adds the signature tang.
- Baking soda: Gives the cookies a little lift.
- Cinnamon: Goes in the dough and the coating. Fresh cinnamon makes a big difference.
- Salt: Sea salt or kosher salt balances the sweetness.
- Cinnamon sugar coating: A simple mix of sugar and ground cinnamon for rolling the dough balls.
Add-ins and Flavor Variations
- Pumpkin spice snickerdoodles: Replace ½ to ¾ Tablespoon of the cinnamon in the coating with store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice.
- Vegan cream cheese snickerdoodles: Chill the vegan cream cheese first, then tuck a little into each cookie.
- Salted caramel snickerdoodles: Roll vegan hard caramels into small balls and add a sprinkle of salt.
- Peanut butter or Biscoff snickerdoodles: Freeze teaspoon portions of the spread first, so they’re easy to wrap in dough.
- Chocolate stuffed snickerdoodles: Use small squares of vegan chocolate or a few vegan chocolate chips.
PRO TIP: To make stuffed snickerdoodles, flatten two separate Tablespoon portions of dough and place a teaspoon of filling on one. Top it with the other piece and pinch the edges to seal. Roll it into a ball, coat it in cinnamon sugar, and bake.
How to Make Vegan Snickerdoodles
Before you start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. You’ll find the full instructions in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Make the flax egg. Stir the flax meal and water together in a small bowl and set it aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugar. With a mixer, beat the vegan butter and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Step 3: Add the flax egg and vanilla. Add the flax egg and vanilla extract and mix for 1 more minute.
PRO TIP: Fluff the flour in the bag, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it with the back of a knife. Scooping straight from the bag packs in extra flour and makes dense, dry cookies.
Step 5: Make the dough. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined.
Step 6: Mix the cinnamon sugar. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon for the coating.
Step 7: Roll and coat. Scoop 2 Tablespoon portions of dough with a cookie scoop, roll them into balls, and coat them in the cinnamon sugar.
Step 8: Flatten and bake. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheet and gently flatten them with a spatula. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden and the centers still look soft. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack.
PRO TIP: For slightly thicker cookies, skip flattening the dough balls.
Toni’s Recipe Tips
- For smaller cookies: Use a 1 Tablespoon scoop and bake them for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Give them room: The cookies spread as they bake, so keep them 2 inches apart on the tray.
- Pull them out early: They should look slightly underbaked and soft when they come out of the oven. They keep baking on the warm tray, and the longer they bake, the crisper they get.
Serving and Gifting
Snickerdoodles are perfect with a warm mug of my vegan hot chocolate, and they hold up well in holiday cookie boxes. For a festive dessert spread, serve them with cinnamon chocolate chip cookies, vegan gingerbread cake, Biscoff brownies, or a slice of vegan fruit cake.
Storage Instructions
- Room temperature: Let the cookies cool completely, then keep them in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days.
- Fridge: Store them in an airtight container for up to 10 days. Let them come back to room temperature for the best texture.
- Freezer: Flash freeze the cookies on a tray for a couple of hours so they don’t stick together, then move them to a freezer bag or Stasher bag for 2 to 3 months.
Vegan Snickerdoodles FAQs
Technically yes, but they won’t taste like classic snickerdoodles. Cream of tartar gives them their soft, chewy texture and signature tang. Without it, they turn out more like cinnamon sugar cookies. I haven’t tested a swap for it, so I recommend sticking with cream of tartar.
I haven’t tested it, but the dough should keep covered in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. Add 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time if needed. You can also shape the dough balls, roll them in cinnamon sugar, and flash freeze them for up to 3 months. Bake them from frozen, adding a few minutes to the baking time.
I haven’t tested it, but a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour should work. If you try it, let me know how it goes in the comments!
Yes, ground chia seeds work in place of the flax meal. Mix them with the water and let them sit until thick, just like a flax egg.
More Vegan Holiday Cookies
Vegan Christmas & Hanukkah
Vegan Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies
Vegan Desserts
Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Vegan Desserts
Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
Vegan Desserts
Snowball Cookies Without Nuts
If you tried these vegan snickerdoodles or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks!
If you’re loving my recipes and would like a more comprehensive resource, check out my cookbooks!
Easy Vegan Snickerdoodles
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Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons (14 g) flax meal
- 5 Tablespoons (75 ml) water
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted vegan butter room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flax meal and water. Set it aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Using a mixer, beat the vegan butter and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add the flax mixture and vanilla extract and mix for 1 more minute.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon for the coating.
- Scoop 2 Tablespoon portions of dough and roll them into balls.
- Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar until fully coated.
- Place the balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet and gently flatten them with a spatula.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are slightly golden and the centers still look soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife, so the cookies don’t turn out dense or dry.
- For smaller cookies, use a 1 Tablespoon scoop and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
- For slightly thicker cookies, don’t flatten the dough balls.
- The cookies keep baking on the warm tray, and the longer they bake, the crisper they get.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 to 5 days, in the fridge for up to 10 days, or in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
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I love snickerdoodles and this easy vegan recipe is my new favorite! Thanks for the recipe.
Gotta love a veganized cookie recipe!
Perfectly sweet!