Easy AIP Snickerdoodle Cookies (Paleo, Gluten-Free)

Ingredients: 

Coconut Sugar- This gives the cookies just the right amount of sweetness and crunch. 

Palm Shortening- Palm shortening is a newer item in my pantry and I’m just newly experimenting with it. It is wonderful for cookies! It adds the perfect mouthfeel and texture. 

Pure Vanilla Extract– Vanilla extract can be a confusing ingredient when it comes to AIP compliance. If it is cooked to remove the alcohol, it is considered compliant. For foods that will not be cooked, you can use vanilla powder. It’s more expensive than the extract but you only use a tiny amount at a time (usually .5 to 1 tsp for recipes). Generally, the conversion is ½ tsp vanilla powder per 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Gelatin– Gelatin is very popular in the Paleo world for its ability to repair the gut and to replace eggs (which contain inflammatory proteins) in baked goods. Gelatin powder combined with a little water works great as an egg replacement in AIP baked goods. I’ve been using this brand. 

When buying gelatin, look for a product that is sourced from grass-fed, pasture-raised animals that have not been given hormones, antibiotics, or GMO grains. Also, look out for sneaky additives and preservatives which are usually not AIP compliant. 

In this recipe, you’ll combine the gelatin powder with lukewarm water to make  “gelatin eggs.” Just be sure not to get the water too hot as it can make the gelatin get clumpy. You’ll want to add the gelatin egg mixture to the other ingredients right away so it gets incorporated before getting too firm.

I know this recipe uses a comical amount of gelatin but give it a chance because it produces the perfect texture. 

One more note about the gelatin- it can be finicky when it comes into contact with acidic things like the cream of tartar in this recipe (it clumps up). For this recipe, I added things in a certain order to minimize the chances of that happening. If you do end up with a few little clumps though, don't panic- just remove them from the dough. 

Cassava Flour– Cassava flour, also made from tubers, is very similar to white flour. It’s pretty versatile as well, but I don’t like to use too much of it in any one recipe because it can be a little gritty. As long as you don’t use too much of it, you won’t notice this. Also, texture can vary from brand to brand. Otto’s Cassava Flour is very soft and fine. Anthony’s is pretty good too though and considerably cheaper. 

Coconut Flour– Coconut flour is pretty affordable and widely available in grocery stores. It is very soft and fine so it contributes some nice qualities to texture. This is also a good flour to use in blends with other flours for the best texture.

Salt- Go with pink Himalayan sea salt because it contains some healthy trace minerals. A little bit of salt is important in baked goods because it contributes to leavening plus it enhances the sweetness while also offsetting it a bit. 

Baking Soda- Another leavening agent. 

Cream of Tartar- Cream of tartar combines with the salt and baking soda to act as a leavening agent. It also adds a slightly tangy flavor which gives snickerdoodles their signature flavor. 

Cinnamon- This will be combined with some coconut sugar and used to “dust” the cookies with a cinnamon sugar topping. 

If you ever struggle with what to substitute for certain AIP ingredients, you can get a cheat sheet here for some suggestions. You can also check it out below.