Vegan and Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

I've been interested in getting into some vegan baking for a little while now, but have had a lengthy "to make" list and got distracted working on some other recipes for a bit.  I have a couple of vegan coworkers who never get to try anything I make, so that added to my desire to give some new recipes a try so I could broaden my feedback circle.  I let a few folks know I was planning on baking some vegan cookies, and one of my co-workers told me she ate gluten-free in addition to sticking to a vegan diet.  I like a challenge, so the opportunity was clear: time to make some delicious vegan and gluten-free cookies.

I'd made Snickerdoodles before, and decided to make them again but this time use a recipe from an awesome vegan cookbook called La Dolce Vegan that a friend got me several years ago as a housewarming gift. When I first got it, I tried a couple of recipes from it but typically wouldn't go full vegan--I swapped out eggs for replacement a few times but would use regular butter. This time around I wanted to really try the full recipe.

The original recipe wasn't gluten-free, so I had to convert it.  I already had flax seeds on hand because I've kept them around as an emergency egg replacement, but went to Whole Foods and grabbed some gluten-free flour and vegan margarine (I learned recently that Coconut Oil is a great alternative to butter, but that is for another baking day).  After looking around at all the different flour options including coconut flour, almond flour, and bean flour, I settled on a Bob's Red Mill all-purpose variety that seemed fitting.

The first thing I needed to make was an egg replacement.  I mixed 1 tablespoon of flax seeds and 3 tablespoons of water together in a small bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, I stirred together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  The gluten-free flour was easy to swap since I got a general purpose variety that required no adjustments to the quantity.  I also swapped out the white sugar for brown sugar to add that extra flavor I love so much.

Next, I added the vegan margarine and flax seed mixture and stirred well.  I tossed in some vanilla extract since I researched it enough to determine it was truly vegan-friendly.  The dough was soft and easy to work with.

I rolled the dough into balls then rolled them in the cinnamon sugar then set them on a parchment-lined baking tray.

After 10 minutes, the cookies were ready for eating.

Yum!  They turned out soft and chewy and very flavorful.  I got superb feedback when I brought these into work--one guy said he almost didn't believe they were vegan because they were so good, and asked me to give him a copy of the recipe to try!  There's sometimes a stigma attached to vegan food--people don't always understand the choice and assume the food isn't as good.  I'm proud to say that these cookies may have changed an opinion or two at my office, as not everyone who tried them was vegan but still enjoyed them just the same.  I'm excited to get some more accomplished from this cookbook and really sharpen my baking and cooking skills.  Becoming a well rounded cook is the way to go!

Vegan and Gluten Free Snickerdoodles Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup gluten-free flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a mixing bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir until well combined.  In a small bowl, mix the flax seeds and water.  Add flax seed mixture, vegan margarine, and vanilla to the larger mixing bowl, then stir to combine.  In another small bowl, mix cinnamon and sugar for the topping.  Using a cookie scoop or your hands, form dough into small balls, then roll in the cinnamon sugar and set on a parchment-lined baking pan.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.