Snickerdoodle Cookie Makeover, gluten free, lower sugar and healthy fats

It's been a long time since I used my old Betty Crocker cookbook, but I was missing my favorite Snickerdoodle cookie recipe and thought it was time to haul it out and give it a skinny gluten-free makeover! Opening my beat up cookbook was like visiting an old friend. Notes on the pages and spots, broken spine and many happy memories of years baking for my loved ones. Until I saw the amount of sugar and fat in the recipe..

Oh my goodness! Did we really eat all of that? Well, I knew I wanted to cut back on the calories a lot but remaking a cookie recipe is tricky. The sugar and fat make a cookie crisp and moist.  If you don't replace the moisture and bulk you'll have a dry cake consistency. I removed 3/4 of a cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of fat and added back 1/3 cup of bulk with the coconut meal. The honey gives them the moisture they needed and they turned out wonderful! Crisp on the outside, soft inside and they taste so good.

Circa 1975 and well loved!

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In the past, it was difficult to know which gluten free blend of flours would work in a standard recipe. We all have our favorites, but these days I love using gfJules gluten free All Purpose Flour. It's NON-GMO and it works great. Click the link above to check out her products and specials! 

Betty Crocker Original Recipe

Here's the original recipe from Betty Crocker. You can make it this way or see my Skinny Makeover changes below!
Note: If you don't need gluten-free you can still make healthier cookies! Just use regular flour and my changes.

Note: Made these again but I was running low on gluten-free all purpose flour so I used 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 Sweet Rice and they turned out awesome! Even chewier! Enjoy

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup organic unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/4 cup local honey
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/3 cups gluten free all purpose flour, I use gfJules and love it. 
• 1/3 cup organic coconut or almonds, ground to meal (not flour) in a coffee mill, measure after grinding
• 1 1/2 teaspoons gluten free cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• For rolling- mix in a small wide bottomed bowl 
• 1/4 cup cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon, or more to taste

Instructions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, coconut oil, sugar, honey for a minute with a hand mixer. Add the eggs and beat for a minute. 
2. Add the flour, coconut meal, cream of tartar, soda, salt and beat for a minute more or until blended. 
3. Dough should be very soft and sticky but not runny. Add a tablespoon more flour at a time if too thin. Not too much though, if it's too firm it will bake up dry. 
4. Mix the rolling sugar in a bowl with a wide bottom. Using a teaspoon, drop a ball of dough into rolling sugar and toss with the spoon to coat well. Or wet your hands, roll the ball and drop into cinnamon sugar. Set coated ball on prepared baking sheet and gently pat down.
5. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until set and bottom starts to brown. Don't overbake.
6. Remove from baking sheet and cool on rack.