Snickerdoodles have always been one of my favorite cookies to bake on a quiet afternoon. The mix of sweet sugar and warm cinnamon makes the whole kitchen smell wonderful.
A lot of traditional recipes rely on regular butter for their soft texture. I wanted to make sure anyone avoiding milk could still enjoy that same classic flavor.
That is why I created these dairy free chewy snickerdoodles. They turn out thick, soft in the middle, and perfectly sweet without any dairy at all.
Chilling the dough is the secret here because it keeps the cookies from spreading too thin while they bake.
You get that classic crinkly top and soft bite every single time. Let me show you how simple they are to make.
Why This Recipe Is a Keeper
Perfect Chewy Texture – The extra egg yolk and brown sugar keep every single bite wonderfully thick, soft, and chewy.
Authentic Tangy Flavor – Real cream of tartar gives these cookies that classic, irresistible snickerdoodle tang without any dairy at all.
Sweet Cinnamon Crust – Rolling the dough in sweet cinnamon sugar creates a delightfully crisp outer shell that crinkles beautifully.
No Dairy Needed – You get the rich flavor of traditional bakery cookies while using simple plant-based butter alternatives.
Here’s What You’ll Need
For the Cookies
- 1 cup Dairy Free Butter, Softened
- 1 1/4 cups Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Cream Of Tartar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
For the Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
How to Make It
Step 1
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Step 2
In a large bowl, beat the dairy free butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth.
Step 3
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour, which prevents spreading and gives you thick, chewy centers.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon for rolling.
Step 5
Roll the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls and roll each one generously in the cinnamon sugar. Place them about 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
Step 6
Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers look puffy and slightly underdone. The tops will crinkle beautifully as they cool.
Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.
Recipe Tips
Use Stick Butter Instead of Tub Spreads
You’ll get the best results if you use block or stick dairy-free butter rather than the spreadable kind from a tub.
Tub spreads contain extra water and oil that cause cookie dough to spread way too thin on the pan.
Sticks have the right balance of fat to flour, which helps your cookies hold their shape and stay soft in the middle.
Do Not Skip Chilling the Dough
From my experience, dairy-free butter softens and melts much faster at room temperature than standard dairy butter.
Letting the dough chill in the fridge for at least an hour firms up that fat so your cookies bake up thick instead of flat.
If your kitchen is warm, I recommend placing the dough back in the fridge between baking your batches.
Bring the Eggs to Room Temperature First
Cold eggs straight from the fridge will quickly harden the softened dairy-free butter when you mix them together.
I’ve found that setting the egg and extra yolk on the counter thirty minutes before baking keeps the wet ingredients silky and smooth.
This allows the dough to hold air during mixing, which gives you a lighter, chewier bite.
What to Make Next
- Dairy Free Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Dairy Free Chai Snickerdoodle Ice Cream
- Dairy Free Churro Cheesecake Bars
- Dairy Free Cinnamon Roll Blondies
- Dairy Free Peach Cobbler Cookies
Popular Questions
Which type of dairy-free butter works best for these cookies?
Stick or block-style dairy-free butter works best because it has less water than tub spreads.
Using tub margarine can make your dough overly soft and cause the cookies to spread too flat on the baking tray.
Dairy Free Chewy Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- electric mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dairy Free Butter, Softened
- 1 1/4 cups Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Cream Of Tartar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the dairy free butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour, which prevents spreading and gives you thick, chewy centers.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon for rolling.
- Roll the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls and roll each one generously in the cinnamon sugar. Place them about 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers look puffy and slightly underdone. The tops will crinkle beautifully as they cool. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.