Recipe: Paleo Snickerdoodle Cookies

I love Snickerdoodles. Seriously. I loved it in the winter time when my mom would bake all the holiday cookies, bars, fudge, etc…and we’d have a literal smorgasbord to choose from each night for dessert. One treat. So…make your decision wisely.

Never failed. I wanted the Snickerdoodles.

It has been years since I have had my mom’s homemade Snickerdoodles. And she will probably never make them again, sadly, since she has since had to go gluten-free as well and has switched over to eating paleo.

Lo and behold…I came up with a solution. You see, one of my running buddies is also on the paleo diet. And I love, love, love to bake goodies for my run group. I’ve been craving Snickerdoodles for awhile now, so today I decided that’s what I would make for my fellow runners. But, I wanted everyone to be able to enjoy them, so I did a little searching on the Internet.

And with a little guidance from various blogs, especially The Urban Poser, I was able to make Snickerdoodles tonight that are paleo, vegan, egg/grain/dairy-free. Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles.

They aren’t my mom’s specialty…but they are good. So, go ahead and give this recipe a spin.

Recipe: Paleo Snickerdoodle Cookies

Servings: 15-16
Time: Prep 10 minutes; bake 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups blanched, fine ground almond flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons coconut oil, softened or liquid (5 for a softer cookie)1/4 cup mild honey (like clover) or vegan alternative (such as agave)
1 tablespoon gluten-free vanilla extract

Cinnamon coating:

1 tablespoon raw coconut crystals (I used Coconut Secret)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the over to 350 degrees F and line and grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a medium sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients; mix together well. (When measuring almond flour, use the dip & sweep method for best results. Dip the measuring cup into the loose almond flour and drag the flat edge of a knife over the top. Pouring the flour directly into the measuring cup can result in too much or even too little almond flour in the recipe).In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, honey and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the almond flour mixture and stir until combined.

In another small bowl, combine the coconut sugar crystals and the ground cinnamon in a small bowl.

Using a rounded tablespoon, scoop out the dough, then gently form into a ball. Roll the dough in the cinnamon mixture.

Place the balls of cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet, about 3 inches apart.

Using a mason jar or your hands, slightly flatten each cookie.

Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet while cooling. They may seem under-baked at first, but they will firm up to just the right texture as they cool.

Dig in and enjoy!

~*~*~

So, they aren’t my mom’s Snickerdoodle cookies…but these do come out sweet, thin, crackled and chewy. Not cake-y, which so many Snickerdoodles tend to be when sold in stores. These remind me of how my mom’s used to cook up. They don’t taste the same…but they are totally Snickerdoodles in their own right.

And yeah…they are amazingly good!