Gluten Free Coffee Cake Cookies (Dairy Free)

These Gluten Free Coffee Cake Cookies combine everything you love about classic coffee cake in an easy handheld cookie. They're soft and tender, topped with a crunchy crumble, and finished with a simple dairy free icing. They're also gluten free, nut free, and refined sugar free, making them a delicious allergy-friendly treat to enjoy with your morning coffee or afternoon tea.

I'm obsessed with any sweet treat that has a crumble topping, it's why I put it on every dessert I can and am the self proclaimed crumble queen. Coffee cake is already packed with warming cinnamon flavor and golden crumble, so naturally I had to turn it into a cookie. I mean, who wouldn't want a batch of cinnamon crumble cookies?!

Despite the name, coffee cake doesn't traditionally mean a cake that tastes like coffee. It's called coffee cake because it's commonly served with coffee. These coffee cake cookies are essentially classic coffee cake transformed into a soft, handheld cookie. They have the warm cinnamon flavor and crumb topping you'd expect from coffee cake, but the cookie format makes them easier to serve, pack, and enjoy with coffee or tea.

Why You'll Love These Coffee Cake Cookies

• Allergy friendly: these coffee cake cookies are gluten free, dairy free, nut free, corn free, and soy free.
• Nut free: tigernut flour gives you the flavor and texture of almond flour without actual nuts (but you can use almond flour if tolerated and it's easier to access).
• Refined sugar free: these cookies are sweetened with pure maple syrup instead of refined sugar.
• Coffee cake in handheld form: all the cozy cinnamon-and-crumb flavor of traditional coffee cake in an easy grab and go snack or dessert form.
• Cinnamon crumble topping: every cookie gets a generous layer of crunchy cinnamon crumble for the perfect contrast to the soft cookie base.

Ingredients for Gluten Free Coffee Cake Cookie 

• Tigernut flour or almond flour: my favorite nut free flour alternative. Tigernuts are actually a tuber so if you have a nut allergy, you can eat them! I love using tigernut flour because it adds a natural sweetness to help us reduce the amount of added sugar needed and can be substituted 1:1 for almond flour in this recipe. If you tolerate nuts, you can feel free to use almond flour instead.
• Gluten-free flour blend: be sure to use a 1:1  gluten free all purpose flour blend with xanthan gum for best results.
• Tapioca starch: adding a little bit of starch to gluten free cookies helps keep the texture soft.
• Coconut oil: a dairy free alternative to butter.
• Maple syrup: an unrefined sweetener that pairs perfectly with the cinnamon in these cookies, just be sure to use pure maple syrup.
• Eggs: you'll need 1 large egg and 1 egg yolk at room temperature.
• Baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon
• Powdered sugar: this is for the icing. To keep these cookies completely refined sugar free, use homemade coconut sugar powdered sugar in the icing. Regular powdered sugar works if refined sugar isn't a concern. You can make refined sugar free powdered sugar by blending 1 cup of coconut sugar with 1 tablespoon of tapioca or arrowroot starch.
• Dairy free yogurt: used for the icing on top. Stick to a plant-based yogurt to keep this recipe dairy free.

How to Make Gluten Free Coffee Cake Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
3. Beat the oil, maple syrup, and eggs together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Alternatively, you can combine everything in a bowl of a stand mixer.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat on low (or use your paddle attachment) until just combined.
5. While the dough rests, make the streusel topping. Mix all the crumb ingredients in a small bowl until combined and the texture resembles wet sand.
6. Use a medium sized cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough onto the cookie sheet leaving room between each cookie. Use the back of a tablespoon measuring spoon to create a shallow indentation in the center of each cookie. This creates a little well for the crumble topping and helps keep it from sliding off as the cookies bake.
7. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the cookie base, filling the indent of each cookie, and gently press down so it sticks to the cookies.
8. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just golden brown. Let cool for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
9. Combine the powdered sugar and yogurt to make a simple glaze.
10. Drizzle icing over the top of the cooled cookies and enjoy!.

Substitutions and Variations

• Tigernut flour: you can use almond flour if tolerated.
• Coconut oil: dairy free butter will also work. With butter, the cookies tend to be a bit fluffier/softer and lighter in color.
• Maple syrup: I have not tested any other sweetener for this recipe. It is built around  liquid sweetener, so you can't substitute a granulated one. Agave syrup would probably work well.
• Crumble topping variations: add ¼ cup chopped walnuts, if tolerated. You may need to add some extra coconut oil to make sure the crumble holds together. Or add chai spice to the crumble topping instead of the cinnamon for more of a tea flavor cookie. 
• Looking for a fruitier cookie? Try my Gluten Free Blueberry Crumble Cookies

How to Make the Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake Cookies

• Measure flour properly! Scoop the flour into the measuring cup and level it off. If you use the measuring cup to scoop, you end up with packed flour and too much flour which result in dry cookies.
• Don't over-mix! When adding the dry ingredients, use a spatula to fold them in until the flour is just incorporated. Over-mixing can result in a tougher, denser cookie.
• Create the indentation without sticking: oil the back of the tablespoon measure you are using to create the indent in the cookies so that it doesn't stick. You may need to oil it after every few cookies.
• Keep the crumble topping from falling off: create the indentation in each cookie before adding the cinnamon streusel, then gently press the topping into the dough.
• Don't over bake them: it can be tempting to bake cookies until they look completely firm, but they'll continue cooking as they cool. For soft, chewy cookies, remove them when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly underdone.

Serving and Storage

Serve these gluten-free coffee cake cookies with a hot cup of coffee in the morning, some tea in the afternoon, or with some cinnamon or vanilla ice cream for dessert. They are excellent for any time of day!

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, unglazed. I recommend adding the icing just before serving. Because the icing contains yogurt, store any leftover icing in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature. If you store them in the fridge, bring to room temperature before serving.

You can freeze these cookies, unglazed, but they do taste best fresh. Freeze in a freezer-safe container and add the glaze after thawing.

FAQ

Looking for More Coffee Cake Recipes?

Paleo Coffee Cake (Nut Free)

Gluten Free Banana Bread Coffee Cake

Gluten Free Coffee Cake Scones

For seasonal recipes, try my Gluten Free Pumpkin Coffee Cake, Gluten Free Carrot Coffee Cake, Gluten Free Peach Coffee Cake, or Gluten Free Maple Pecan Coffee Cake.

If you try these cookies, please leave a rating and review below! Drop any questions in the comments and tag me on social media.