Featured Comment
From Kelly: “I’m obsessed with these cookies and also love the pumpkin version! Definitely a crowd pleaser even for my non-gluten free family.”
From L: “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?? How am I supposed to not eat the whole batch of cookies if you keep creating these wonderful delicious recipes? Oh my goodness. I don’t even like snickerdoodle cookies but these were so good. I only made them since this is my daughter’s favorite cookie. She isn’t even gluten free and she loved them too. These are just incredible and so easy to make. Thank you!”
Recipe Overview
⏱️ Time to Taste: About 1 hour 30 minutes (including chilling and cooling)
✨ Texture: Soft, chewy centers with crisp, cinnamon-sugar coated edges
🥣 Ease: Easy to make, with browning the butter adding extra flavor
🌾 Flour Used: Gluten-free measure-for-measure flour and almond flour
❄️ Freezer Friendly: Freeze the baked cookies or unbaked dough balls for a homemade treat anytime
Gluten-free cookies are my most popular recipes, and these homemade chewy snickerdoodles are the perfect addition to the collection. Like my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, brown butter gives this gluten-free cookie recipe an extra-rich, nuttiness that goes so well with the classic cookie flavors.
For the chewiest cookies, shortening is a must! I love how it helps create the soft, tender texture that makes these snickerdoodles so irresistible.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these gluten-free snickerdoodles. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: I love the combination of gluten-free measure-for-measure flour (containing xanthan gum) and a little almond flour for the best texture and golden brown finish.
- Butter: In my opinion, browning the butter is a quick, extra step that’s so worth it! It adds a caramelized, nutty flavor that complements the cinnamon sugar for rich, one-of-a-kind snickerdoodles!
- Shortening: I like to use organic palm shortening but any kind will work. It’s needed for moisture and stability so that the cookies have a chewy, tender texture.
- Cream of Tartar: Don’t skip this! Cream of tartar is a classic snickerdoodle ingredient that adds a slightly tangy flavor and ensures the cookies end up light and chewy.
How to Make Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
Here’s an overview of how to make these cookies. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Brown the Butter: I love the rich, nuttiness that brown butter adds to cookies. Once the butter has browned, make sure you pour the butter into a glass mixing bowl so that it doesn’t burn!
Build the Dough: I firmly believe these cookies aren’t the same without shortening either. Cream it with the sugar, then add in the other wet ingredients, followed by the dry. This dough is so simple!
Chill the Dough: Make sure you plan ahead! This dough needs at least 1 hour to chill so that the flour has time to hydrate. Since it can chill for up to 2 days, I tend to make the dough when I have time, then pop it in the fridge until I’m ready to bake!
Roll and Bake: Coat the dough balls in cinnamon sugar, then bake. Like most cookies, they’ll set a little more as they cool.
What Do Gluten-Free Brown Butter Snickerdoodles Taste Like?
These gluten-free brown butter snickerdoodles have the classic cinnamon-sugar flavor you love, with a nutty, caramelized flavor from the browned butter. They’re sweet with a hint of tang from the cream of tartar for the perfect balance of flavors.
When I want a fall twist on this recipe, I make these gluten-free pumpkin snickerdoodles. They use the same brown butter technique plus cozy warm spices for a fun seasonal treat.
Can I Skip Browning the Butter?
You can use melted butter instead, but the flavor won’t be quite the same. If you’re using dairy-free butter, most brands won’t brown so I recommend skipping this step when making these cookies dairy-free.
Make-Ahead, Storage, & Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: The chilled dough keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days. I also like to freeze the dough balls for longer storage. Freeze them on a lined baking sheet until firm, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. I bake them straight from frozen and just add a couple extra minutes to the baking time.
To Store: Once cooled, the cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
To Freeze: The baked cookies freeze well too! Freeze them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. I separate the layers with parchment paper to avoid sticking. They’ll thaw at room temperature in about 30 minutes.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles (Brown Butter)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113g) butter
- 1/2 cup (98g) shortening
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (107g) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (319g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1/2 cup (50g) almond flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For Rolling:
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Brown the butter: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted start to whisk constantly. First the butter will begin to foam, then after a couple of minutes it will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan. Turn off the heat as soon as the solids turn brown and the butter gives off a nutty aroma. Pour into a glass mixing bowl to prevent burning.
- Add the shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar to the bowl with the butter and mix until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until well-combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
- Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl for rolling. Shape the dough into rounded 1-inch balls. Roll the dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until set. Let cool for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in June 2020. It was updated with new instructions in August 2026.
These were the best snickerdoodles I have ever made. I’m lactose intolerant so I subbed Country Crock Plant Butter. I had never browned butter before and burned my first attempt — it went from “wow I’m doing it!” to “oh that is very burned” in 2 seconds, so be careful. I’m not entirely sure if I fully browned the second attempt because I was scared, but they turned out great regardless!
Delicious I didn’t have almond flour just Namaste blend and I used less of it. I will make them again! My gluten eating husband loved them!
These taste delicious, but mine really flattened out. I’m not sure if my oven was too hot, I did something wrong along the way, or what. But they didn’t look like a traditional snickerdoodle. Don’t worry. we’ll still eat them.
I made this recipe GF Snickerdoodles cookies for my daughter-n-law that has the celiac disease, and my granddaughter text me today to make more, the whole family loved them. I’m going to make your chocolate chips cookies also. I have made other GF recipes and yours was the BEST!
Thank you for sharing,
Mary K.
Warsaw,Mo.
I’m so glad to hear that! Happy you’re enjoying the recipes 🙂
These sound so delicious! I’m really excited to try this recipe, but as it states in the notes, the cookies are only good for two days in the fridge after baking, and I wonder why they would spoil so quickly? Please enlighten me of the reason if possible. Thank you! 🙂
Whoops! That was actually a typo – these cookies will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. They might last for even longer! No reason why they wouldn’t last longer than typical snickerdoodles.
It would so helpful if you added the xantham gum to your recipe! I used Namaste Flour and my cookies are so flat…didn’t realize I needed to use a blend with xg as it’s not in the recipe. They taste amazing, just don’t look so great. ❤️
Yes it’s very important to use a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum! Otherwise you need to add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum so the cookies don’t spread too much.
Hi. Thank you so much for this recipe. I loved the crustless pumpkin pie recipe so much I thought I would give some cookies a try. I was wondering if you have tried alternative sugars for this recipe? I have the King Arthur alternative baking sugar, monkfruit sugar, allulose, and a few others… and was going to purchase a brown sugar alternative too. Any tips? I might also make my next batch of the crustless pumpkin pie with an alternative sugar too… baby steps, gluten free flour was my first step, lol.
I’m so glad you liked the pumpkin pie recipe! I wish I had better advice here but I haven’t experimented much with sugar alternatives. Let me know how it turns out if you try it though!
Any advice on making these in high altitudes
Want to try these again this year, but they were really flat because I’m at high altitude. Any suggestions?
Can I replace the shortening with coconut oil?
You can try that but the cookies might spread a little more!
Thank goodness for this amazing recipe! Snickerdoodles are my son’s favorite. Then he had to go gluten free 🙁
But hooray! I found this recipe! The cookies have a great taste and texture and my son loves them! I made these for other members of the family who can eat gluten and they don’t even know the difference.
Thank goodness for this amazing recipe! Snickerdoodles are my son’s favorite. Then he had to go gluten free 🙁
But hooray! I found this recipe! The cookies have a great taste and texture and my son loves them! I made these for other members of the family who can eat gluten and they don’t even know the difference.
Mine came out very flat (but with good flavor). What did I do wrong??
What kind of flour did you use? Be sure to use a high quality 1:1 flour that has xanthan gum in it for best results 🙂
I just made my first batch of these Snickerdoodle cookies as they are a favorite with my family of 6. 2 of our family are gluten free for health reasons, so going into the holiday I wanted to have recipes that were gluten free, but tasted amazing so that our entire family would want to eat them. Do you think the dough would freeze as well as non gluten cookies??
I’m so glad you like the recipe! Yes the dough freezes great. I would scoop it into balls before freezing.
The brown butter really makes these. We made them for my GF neighbor and they’re some of the best cookies I’ve ever had GF or not. Thank you!
Omg!,!! These are amazing. Probably one of the best snickerdoodles I’ve ever had
I’m so glad you liked them! Thanks for the comment!
Hello! I love your recipes! I have a weird maybe even dumb question. Can I use regular flour in place of the gluten free flour? I ask because I don’t need it to be gluten free but didn’t know if there’s something in the gluten free flour or something removed that would make the recipe come out different than intended. Thank you!
Hi Jen, yes you can use regular flour in place of the gf flour. We hope you enjoy the cookies!