Vegan & Gluten Free Snickerdoodles

Stop it! I can feel it already. The judgement. "Another gluten free recipe", "Oh, vegans!" Well, guess what? I'm not a vegan. The reasons why are a story in itself, so let's focus on the fact that you don't have to follow a strict vegan diet to enjoy a plain old fashioned good cookie. The reasoning behind this recipe was partially that a few colleagues never got to enjoy my steady stream of baked goods due to intolerance and their own dietary choices, but also because I love a good challenge. Trust me, I've had my share of healthy cookies that taste like a cross between a rock and burnt tree bark. Food like that takes the fun out of cooking, at least for me. Flavor matters. It is an emotional part of food, and one I like to keep involved in the relationship.

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 the book, 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. That's where the challenge comes in!  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 (coconut oil is another great alternative).  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.

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. Like I said before sometimes it just isn't. But don't let that hold you back.  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.