Hundreds of reviewers agree these cookies are the most delicious almond flour snickerdoodles around! They are crisp, chewy and easy-to-make!

This tried-and-true recipe was originally published in 2013. It was republished with new photos in 2023, but the same reader-favorite recipe!

almond flour snickerdoodles stacked on top of each other, and a hand reaching for the top cookie


 

After the huge success of my almond flour chocolate chip cookies, I was excited to try more almond-flour-based cookies!

My friends and family tell me all the time that they like my almond flour chocolate chip cookies even more than traditional chocolate chip cookies made with regular white flour.  I’d say that’s a win!

Like I’ve said before, almond flour is wonderful for baking.

It is even healthier (with more fiber and protein) than whole wheat flour, and bakes up beautifully. In cookies, quick breads, cakes, and muffins it is easier to use than complicated grain-based, gluten-free flour blends.

These snickerdoodles are absolutely delicious! I had high expectations for this classic cookie, and the end result did not disappoint. They are crispy on the outside and soft in the center. They’re the real deal!

These sugar cookies are definitely a welcome addition to our regular repertoire of recipes.

Try making these for your friends and family any time of year. They’re great for the holiday season, cookie exchanges, birthday parties, and summertime alike. And I’m willing to bet your guests will never guess these are gluten-free. They really do taste just as delicious as traditional snickerdoodle cookies!

Table of Contents

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Easy to make
  • Chewy center and crisp edges
  • Paleo and gluten-free
  • Delicious cinnamon sugar flavor

For more almond flour recipes, try these almond flour sugar cookies, almond flour blondies, and almond flour oatmeal cookies.

You also might like these gluten-free snickerdoodles, gluten-free almond cookies, gluten-free ginger snaps and gluten-free biscotti.

Ingredients You’ll Need

almond flour snickerdoodles ingredients on a countertop
  • Almond flour: Any almond flour will work for this recipe. It gives these cookies a delicious chew and flavor, and it’s easy to bake with! *Note that almond meal is slightly courser than almond flour and will not give you quite the same texture. Look for a label that specifically says almond flour!
  • Butter: I like to use a combination of salted butter and palm shortening for this recipe. It makes all the difference in giving these cookies a perfectly chewy texture!
  • Eggs: Use large eggs for this recipe. Room temperature is best!
  • Organic Shortening: If you’re like me, when you hear palm shortening you probably think of regular shortening with trans fat. Do not be scared off though! Palm shortening has no trans fat and has some of its unsaturated fat removed. It helps these cookies hold their shape, making them a bit crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. I like this brand!
  • White/brown sugar: Brown and white sugar are both important for achieving the desired consistency of these cookies. I like to use Domino brand white granulated sugar.
  • Cinnamon: Cinnamon is what makes snickerdoodles so unique and delicious, so don’t skip this ingredient! The cookies have cinnamon in the dough and a cinnamon-sugar coating.
  • Salt: I like to use fine sea salt for these cookies.
  • Baking soda: Baking soda helps the cookies rise when baking, so they’re nice and chewy!
  • Vanilla: I like to use real vanilla extract for all of my baking.

For the Sugar Topping

Sugar for snickerdoodles on a countertop
  • White sugar: I like to use Domino brand white granulated sugar for rolling over the cookie dough balls.
  • Cinnamon: Cinnamon is what gives snickerdoodles their familiar and classic flavor!

How to Make Almond Flour Snickerdoodles

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Butter and sugar in a mixing bowl
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the butter, shortening, white sugar and brown sugar until very creamy.
eggs and vanilla added to butter and sugar in a mixing bowl
  • Add the vanilla and eggs, mixing until well incorporated.
almond flour snickerdoodles ingredients in a mixing bowl
  • Mix in the dry ingredients, including the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the almond flour, 1 cup at a time, into the wet ingredients. Beat well after each addition.
almond flour snickerdoodle dough on a baking sheet
  • Mix together the remaining sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl or shallow dish. Roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon rounds in the palm of your hand, or using a large cookie scoop. Then roll to coat in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Drop the coated dough onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.
almond flour snickerdoodles on a baking sheet
  • Bake cookies for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Allow the almond flour snickerdoodles to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Storage Instructions

Store almond flour snickerdoodles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days, or store in the freezer for up to three months.

an almond flour snickerdoodle with a bite taken out of it

FAQs

What can you use almond flour for?

Almond flour is a key ingredient in French macarons, and it can be used as an alternative to all-purpose flour in other baked goods, including cookies, cakes, biscuits, and muffins. You can also use almond flour as a gluten-free breading for chicken, fish, and more.

Can I substitute gluten-free flour for almond flour?

Yes, you can substitute gluten-free flour for almond flour. Just keep in mind that gluten-free flour and almond flour have different properties, and may result in a slightly different texture. The general guideline is to substitute one cup of gluten-free flour for every two cups of almond flour.

What do you add to almond flour to make it rise?

Almond flour doesn’t contain a leavening agent, so it’s important to add one to help your baked goods rise and have a fluffy texture. Baking powder or baking soda are common leavening agents for almond flour, or eggs can also be used to help almond flour recipes rise and bind the dough together.

almond flour snickerdoodles laid on a countertop

Expert Tips & Tricks

  • These almond flour snickerdoodles turn out best when you allow them to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet. They will continue cooking a bit, so it’s okay if they aren’t fully set up. Then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  • Note that almond meal is slightly courser than almond flour and will not give you quite the same texture for these almond flour snickerdoodles. Look for a label that specifically says almond flour!
  • Organic palm shortening gives these cookies an amazing texture. I like to use it in combination with some butter for flavor.
  • Brown and white sugar are both important for achieving the desired consistency of these almond flour snickerdoodles. I like to use Domino brand white granulated sugar.

MORE ALMOND FLOUR RECIPES

I hope you love this cookie recipe as much as we do! If you try these almond flour snickerdoodles, be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!

almond flour snickerdoodles stacked on a countertop
4.92 from 25 votes

Almond Flour Snickerdoodles (Grain-Free)

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 24 cookies
Hundreds of reviewers agree these cookies are the most delicious almond flour snickerdoodles around! They are crisp, chewy and easy-to-make!
This tried-and-true recipe was originally published in 2013. It was republished with new photos in 2023, but the same reader-favorite recipe!

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1/4 cup palm shortening or regular shortening
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups blanched almond flour see note below

For the Topping:

  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the butter, shortening, white sugar and brown sugar until very creamy. Add the vanilla and eggs, mixing until well incorporated. Mix in the baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the almond flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Mix together the remaining sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl or shallow dish. Roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon rounds, then roll to coat in the sugar mixture. Drop the coated dough onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.
  • Bake 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown around edges. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Notes

RECIPE NOTES
  • These almond flour snickerdoodles turn out best when you allow them to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet. They will continue cooking a bit, so it’s okay if they aren’t fully set up. Then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  • Note that almond meal is slightly courser than almond flour and will not give you quite the same texture for these almond flour snickerdoodles. Look for a label that specifically says almond flour!
  • Organic palm shortening gives these cookies an amazing texture. I like to use it in combination with some butter for flavor.
  • Brown and white sugar are both important for achieving the desired consistency of these almond flour snickerdoodles. I like to use Domino brand white granulated sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 132mg | Potassium: 11mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 139IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg

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Hi, I’m Erin!

BS Food Science,

MS Nutrition

I believe you can make amazing, gluten-free food with everyday ingredients that everyone will enjoy. I’m here to share my tried-and-true recipes with you!

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s wonderful! I used Lakanto Monk Fruit sweetener and they turned out great. Very tasty cookies!!

  2. 5 stars
    Excellent cookies! The dough was very very soft but they baked just perfectly. Everyone was impressed (as was I) that such a delicious Snickerdoodle could be made from almond flour. Thank you!

  3. I ended up adding almost an extra cup of almond meal. The dough was still wet, but at that point, the “wet hands” trick worked. They’re in the oven now and they smell GREAT! They look vaguely similar to the picture, but more bubbles and fewer cracks. I suspect that the issue with the way they look is the ratio of butter to shortening. That’s often the case when the original wheat-flour snickerdoodles have that problem.

  4. 5 stars
    These cookies turned out amazing! I have tried so many paleo cookie recipes (granted, I used cane/brown sugar for this recipe) and most of the time I’m disappointed in the texture. I was quite worried how these would turn out because the dough was super wet and didn’t want to roll into a ball. I added another 1/4 cup of almond flour and it helped slightly. I honestly thought they wouldn’t bake properly die to the wetness of the dough but they turned out wonderful! I made my cookies larger I guess because I got exactly 24 cookies, and baked them quite a bit longer to get the crisp edges (around 18 minutes). I let them cool completely on the pan. They taste like the real deal! We’ve been gluten free for years and my husband said he liked these better than his mom’s gluten snickerdoodles (she’s an avid baker)! They have that classic light crunch on the exterior and are soft and fluffy on the inside. These will be a repeat in my house for sure.

    1. 5 stars
      Amazing cookies. Have not had an over wet issue, the recipe is perfect. Used coconut oil (not melted) in place of shortening, works everytime. I have even been asked to bake them for a fee.

  5. 4 stars
    Hello, I made your snickerdoodle recipe, I used coconut oil rather than palm oil, it’s such a small amount that it left no coconut taste and did not affect the cookie quality. They were nice and brown on the outside like yours and had a chewy outer shell and soft inside. Quite tasty. HOW EVER like a few of the comments I read in regards to how wet the dough is and hard to handle, I quite a agree. Your solution to them was wet your hands first and see if that works. It did not, nor did I really expect it to, based on how sloppy the cookie dough was. I figured I had nothing to loose by refrigerating the dough overnight. That and a cookie scoop was the trick to a nice round, easy to manage cookie dough. I only gave this recipe a 4 star because I felt that after several comments on the wet dough issue for myself and a few other bakers, you should have taken the time to figure out the solution and pass it along to them.

  6. 5 stars
    I’m doing low carb and I’ve made 4 batches of these cookies, substituting Swerve Granular for the sugar and Swerve Brown for the brown sugar, no other changes. Every time they’ve turned out beautifully. I size them to make 24 cookies and the net carbs for each cookie is about 1 gram. I love this recipe. Thank you so much!

  7. 5 stars
    Fantastic! I used truvia for all the sugar and added about 2 TBL molasses. Rolled them in truvia/cinnamon mix. Flattened with a flat glass before baking. Mine were not crispy, more cake like., but had amazing taste! Didn’t mind losing the crisp for the added calories from sugar.! Definitely going into my recipe book!

  8. HI Erin, I came across your company when looking for a snickerdoodle recipe and I have a question. These healthier ingredients are new to me so I am just learning. I plan to order palm shortening (is Amazon the best price?) and they all seem to have coconut oil in them. Is that the norm and the one I should buy? Nutiva is the brand name.

  9. 5 stars
    I made these cookies and that were AMAZING. I love to bake and I just found a new recipe for me to enjoy! I think that this will make a perfect gift for others that enjoy my baking!

  10. 5 stars
    Love these cookies! One suggestion – place dough in the refrigerator for about 30 to 45 minutes after mixing. Then proceed with rolling into balls and dredging in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

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