Thursday, May 7, 2026

Simple Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe

I’ve examined this snickerdoodle recipe extra occasions than I can rely. Many individuals really feel nostalgic for these cookies, and I wished them to be excellent: comfortable, chewy, and stuffed with cinnamon-sugar goodness. Actually, I’m just a little obsessed now.

The cream of tartar is my secret weapon. It offers the cookies their signature tang and tender texture that makes snickerdoodles so irresistible.

I like that these cookies are simple to make with easy, on a regular basis elements, but really feel particular sufficient for vacation treats. The cinnamon-sugar coating creates a basic crackly prime that makes you need only one extra chunk… after which one other. That is my go-to recipe for the very best snickerdoodle cookies once I desire a cookie that’s each comforting and just a little magical.

Baked snickerdoodles on a wire rack.

Right here’s what I like about these snickerdoodles:

  • Gentle, chewy facilities: Due to the cream of tartar and just a little brown sugar, these cookies keep comfortable inside whereas nonetheless holding their form.
  • Traditional cinnamon sugar crackle: Rolling them in cinnamon sugar offers that nostalgic crackly prime I can’t resist.
  • Fast and straightforward prep: Despite the fact that the dough wants to relax, the precise mixing and rolling is easy.
  • Excellent for any event: I like snickerdoodles as Christmas cookies in vacation tins, after-school snacks, or as just a little deal with with my espresso. These at all times hit the spot!

Right here’s what I exploit to make my favourite chewy snickerdoodle cookies, together with a couple of notes on why every ingredient issues:

  • All-purpose flour: I persist with simply all-purpose flour as a result of it retains the cookies gentle, fluffy, and chewy, precisely the feel I would like in a basic snickerdoodle.
  • Cream of tartar: This little white powder is what makes a snickerdoodle style like a snickerdoodle. It offers the cookies that signature tang and helps them keep comfortable and puffy.
  • Baking soda: This helps the cookies rise simply sufficient with out spreading too skinny and crispy.
  • Salt: A pinch brings out all of the flavors and balances the sweetness.
  • Unsalted butter: Utilizing room temperature butter permits it to cream simply with the sugar and provides the cookies a young, chewy texture. Unsalted as an alternative of salted butter lets me management the salt within the recipe, and it additionally supplies just a little calcium enhance.
  • Mild brown sugar: I like a lighter colour for these cookies. The brown sugar additionally provides a little bit of chewiness and delicate caramel notes.
  • Granulated sugar: I like sprinkling just a little granulated sugar into the dough and within the cinnamon-sugar coating. It helps create that glowing crackle on prime.
  • Vanilla extract: This provides heat and depth that makes the cookies really feel richer.
  • Giant eggs: I at all times go together with actual eggs. They offer construction and moisture that flax eggs simply can’t replicate, and are supply of protein and vitamins like vitamin A and potassium.
  • Floor cinnamon: This ingredient is the star of the cookie. I combine some into the dough and a few into the sugar coating for that excellent cinnamon taste. For the coating, I combine 2 elements granulated sugar to 1 half cinnamon for that iconic snickerdoodle crackle.
Snicker doodle ingredients in small bowls.

Cream of tartar is what offers snickerdoodles their signature tang and comfortable, chewy texture. It really works as a leavener, serving to the cookies puff up excellent whereas conserving them tender inside. When you skip it, your cookies will nonetheless bake, however they’ll be lacking that basic snickerdoodle taste and just a little of that comfortable, pillowy texture I like. You will discover it within the spice part of most grocery shops!

I’ve examined this recipe numerous occasions. Right here’s my step-by-step strategy to excellent snickerdoodle cookies:

  1. Measure and blend the dry elements. Earlier than I begin mixing, I prefer to measure every little thing out first. (Use a kitchen scale for probably the most correct measurements!) It makes the method a lot smoother and prevents mid-recipe surprises. Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt so the leavening distributes evenly.
  2. Cream the butter and sugars. Beat the room-temperature butter with the brown and granulated sugar till the combination turns into pale, fluffy, and barely ethereal. This step provides air to the dough, which helps give the cookies their comfortable, tender texture.
  3. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine within the eggs and vanilla simply till every little thing is mixed. I at all times cease mixing as quickly because the batter comes collectively. Overmixing could make cookies more durable as an alternative of soppy.
  4. Mix moist and dry elements. Gently combine the dry elements into the moist elements till no flour pockets stay. The dough ought to look comfortable and really feel barely sticky however nonetheless simple to scoop.
  5. Chill the dough. Refrigerate the dough for no less than 2 hours. (In a single day is even higher!) Chilling corporations up the butter so the cookies don’t unfold an excessive amount of within the oven, and it additionally offers the flour time to hydrate for a greater texture.
  6. Preheat the oven and prep the cinnamon sugar. Warmth the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. I like a 2:1 sugar-to-cinnamon ratio for the very best taste and snickerdoodle crackle.
  7. Kind and coat the cookies. Scoop the dough with a tablespoon and roll it into balls. Roll each within the cinnamon sugar till absolutely coated. For an additional sugary end, I generally roll them twice.
  8. Bake the cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes, simply till the tops begin to crack. Don’t overbake! I like pulling them out when the facilities nonetheless look barely underbaked. They’ll proceed setting as they cool.
  9. Cool and serve. Resist the urge to seize these immediately. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for two minutes earlier than shifting them to a wire rack. This helps them set with out breaking and retains the facilities comfortable. When you skipped the double roll earlier, you may also dip the nice and cozy cookies in cinnamon sugar right here for additional sweetness.
Snickerdoodle cookie dough in a bowl.

The basic cinnamon-sugar model is tough to beat, however this recipe can also be simple to customise. If you wish to change up the flavour, texture, or elements, listed here are a few of my favourite methods to tweak these snickerdoodles:

  • Enjoyable add-ins: Raisins add chew, and cinnamon chips soften barely and add little bursts of heat spice. Chocolate chips work nicely for a sweeter twist. For one more basic, attempt my recipe for the very best Wholesome Chocolate Chip Cookies!
  • Larger and thicker: If I would like bakery-style snickerdoodles, I make bigger cookie scoops with my dough. Larger cookies might have an additional minute or so within the oven.
  • Brown butter model: For a nuttier taste, brown the butter earlier than mixing the dough. Simply let it cool earlier than creaming it with the sugar so the dough doesn’t get too comfortable.
  • Gluten-free: A 1:1 gluten-free baking flour normally works nicely as an alternative to the all-purpose flour on this recipe. When you’re on the lookout for lightened-up treats, browse my wholesome cookie recipes for extra desserts for each weight loss program!
  • Dairy-free butter: For a cholesterol-free, dairy-free choice, vegan butter can work nicely. Simply select one designed for baking with an honest quantity of saturated fats so the
Snickerdoodle cookie dough with a cookie scoop in the bowl.

I like serving these snickerdoodles once I need one thing easy and assured to make individuals joyful. They’re excellent recent from the oven with a chilly glass of milk or a heat mug of espresso. The comfortable, chewy facilities and cinnamon-sugar coating make them nice for dunking.

These cookies additionally make an amazing addition to vacation cookie platters or as edible items for neighbors, academics, or pals. I like pairing them with a couple of totally different cookie flavors, like my Maple Sugar Cookies or my Swedish Spritz Cookies, for selection. 

If you wish to get just a little artistic, use 2 snickerdoodles to make an ice cream sandwich. Simply add a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream within the center and gently press the cookies collectively. Love cookie sandwiches? Strive my Ginger Molasses Whoopie Pies subsequent.

In fact, they’re simply nearly as good as an on a regular basis deal with. I typically bake a batch for after-school snacks, weekend baking tasks, or anytime I’m craving a basic do-it-yourself cookie.

Snicker doodles on a baking sheet.

Let the snickerdoodles cool utterly earlier than storing them. That approach, they keep comfortable and chewy. I preserve them in an hermetic container within the fridge for 7-10 days.

oatmeal in bowls.

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A hand holding a snickerdoodle cookie.

What’s the key to comfortable snickerdoodles?

For me, the important thing to comfortable snickerdoodles is a mixture of cream of tartar, the correct quantity of butter and sugar, and chilling the dough. The cream of tartar offers the cookies that slight tangy taste and tender chew. 

Creaming the butter and sugar collectively provides air, which makes the cookies comfortable and barely fluffy, whereas the sugar additionally helps preserve the facilities chewy. Chilling the dough prevents the cookies from spreading an excessive amount of, so the facilities keep thick and comfortable.

Why are my snickerdoodles flat?

If my snickerdoodles prove flat, it’s normally as a result of the dough was too heat or didn’t chill lengthy sufficient. Chilling the dough helps agency up the butter so the cookies unfold extra slowly within the oven. I additionally ensure my cream of tartar and baking soda are recent, since these assist the cookies puff up barely. 

Can I make snickerdoodles with out cream of tartar?

You may skip the cream of tartar, however they received’t have that basic snickerdoodle tang or the identical comfortable, puffy texture. You may substitute a small quantity of baking powder to assist the cookies rise. They’ll nonetheless style like cinnamon sugar cookies, simply lacking that little one thing particular that makes snickerdoodles such a basic cookie recipe. 

Can I make snickerdoodles with out a stand mixer?

You may make these with a hand mixer, however a stand mixer with a paddle attachment makes this recipe a lot simpler. I’ve examined these cookies with each, and whereas a hand mixer works completely high-quality, it takes extra effort to correctly cream the butter and sugar. When you go that route, simply be prepared for an arm exercise!  

A snickerdoodle cookie with a bite taken out of it.

  • Begin with the dry elements. Add the all-purpose flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt to a big bowl. Whisk all the elements collectively till nicely mixed. Put aside.

  • Add the butter, brown sugar, and ½ cup granulated sugar to a standing mixer bowl. Beat on medium pace for 3-5 minutes till the combination turns gentle in colour and is creamed and fluffy. You should definitely scrape the edges of the bowl all through the beat time.

  • In the meantime, add the eggs and vanilla to a separate bowl and gently whisk the eggs collectively so the egg yolk, egg white, and vanilla are mixed.

  • Slowly add the egg combination to the creamed butter and sugar and beat till the egg combines with the sugar and butter and turns into gentle and fluffy.

  • Add the dry elements to the moist elements and blend till simply mixed. Ensure there aren’t any flour clumps on the backside of the blending bowl.

  • Switch the cookie dough to an hermetic container and refrigerate for no less than 2 hours, or in a single day for finest outcomes.

  • Take away the cookie dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  • Whereas the dough is sitting, add the cinnamon and a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar to a bowl and blend.

  • Use a tablespoon scoop to scoop a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough into your palms and roll the dough right into a ball.

  • Roll the dough within the cinnamon-sugar combination till the ball is totally coated.

  • Place the dough on the lined cookie sheet and repeat till you’ve got rolled all of the dough in cinnamon sugar.

  • You should definitely house the cookie dough balls far sufficient aside; these cookies do unfold just a little bit.

  • Bake at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes. The snickerdoodles ought to start to crack on the tops when they’re nearly finished.

  • Take away the cookies from the oven and switch them to a cooling rack.

At all times measure the elements earlier than beginning. Utilizing a kitchen scale offers probably the most correct outcomes, although scooping the flour into measuring cups works too. 
When you find yourself creaming the butter and sugars, be sure you beat them lengthy sufficient that the colour lightens. 
Chilling the dough is a should. It corporations up the butter so the cookies unfold much less and lets the flour hydrate, giving comfortable, moist facilities. When you’re in a rush, half-hour within the freezer works, however I’ve discovered that 2-3 hours within the fridge or in a single day offers the very best outcomes.

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”XAHsznWY” upload-date=”2021-12-04T00:00:00.000Z” name=”Easy Snickerdoodles” description=”This easy snickerdoodle recipe comes out so soft and delicious. It’s made with simple ingredients and a holiday cookie favorite.”]

Energy: 97 kcal, Carbohydrates: 19 g, Protein: 2 g, Fats: 2 g, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 5 g

Diet info is routinely calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.

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