Snickerdoodle Recipe (2024)

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My Snickerdoodle recipe makes SOFT and chewy cookies in less than 30 minutes. It’s super easy to make, includes plenty of tips for success, and there’s NO chilling required. Recipe includes a how-to video!

The BEST Snickerdoodle Recipe

Christmas cookie season was always serious business when I was growing up (a tradition I’m happy to carry on in my own home). Every year, my mom would mass-produce the classics: Snickerdoodles, oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies and (of course) sugar cookies.

My mom is a fantastic baker and we devoured her cookies, but I always had a bone to pick with her snickerdoodle recipe. It would start off decent enough, but as soon as the cookies cooled they quickly became dry and crumbly. They always lingered longer than the other cookies (don’t worry, they still got eaten, my family hardly discriminates with sweets), but if you know how I feel about cookies, you’ll know this just didn’t sit right with me, and something had to change.

It took a lot of tweaking and taste-testing, but I’m so excited to share my tested and perfected (Mom-approved) snickerdoodle recipe. This one is made with butter instead of shortening (my mom’s used shortening, but if you recall from mypeanut butter blossomsI’m a butter kind of person!) and a few key tweaks that make the snickerdoodle cookies extra soft. I can’t wait for you to try this one.

Why use my recipe:

No chilling.
Ready in less than half an hour!
Perfected ingredients and technique for soft and chewy cookies.
Can be made in advance (and frozen!).
Yields soft, buttery, crinkly, cinnamon sugar-infused cookies that all but melt in your mouth and stay soft for days!

What You Need

My snickerdoodle recipe uses classic ingredients for that classic, subtly tangy flavor. Make sure yours are at room temperature before starting:

Butter. I use unsalted butter and add salt separately so that I have better control over the flavor of the cookies.
Egg + egg yolk. An extra yolk makes these snickerdoodles particularly soft and tender. Using two whole eggs would make them a bit too puffy and cakey.
Corn starch. This is my favorite secret ingredient for super soft cookies! It helps make the them tender while at the same time keeping them from spreading too much.
Cream of tartar. If you read my cream of tartar post, then you know this is a critical ingredient in any snickerdoodle recipe! Cream of tartar is what gives snickerdoodles their signature tangy flavor–don’t skip it, and unfortunately I can’t recommend a suitable substitute, either.

SAM’S TIP: When making cookies, I’m not as worried about over-beating as I am with cakes; however, I still recommend you avoid beating your ingredients too much or for too long as it can make for puffy, cakey, dry cookies.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Snickerdoodles

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
Stir together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually stir them into the wet ingredients.
Roll the dough into balls, then roll through cinnamon sugar before baking for 11-12 minutes.
Allow to cool before enjoying!

SAM’S TIP: When your cookies are finished baking they should have pretty crackly centers and they may also appear just a touch under-baked–this is good! You want to let your cookies coolcompletely on the baking sheet (they would be too fragile to move, anyway) and they will finish baking all the way there. If your cookies were to come out of the oven fully baked, they would continue to bake as they cooled, which actually leaves you with over-baked, dry, crumbly cookies. This method of cooling them and letting them finish baking on the cookie tray leaves you with soft, chewy cookies!

Frequently Asked Questions

How should snickerdoodle cookies be stored?

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. My snickerdoodle recipe makes cookies that will stay soft and fresh for up to a week this way.

Why did some of my cookies crack while others didn’t?

Snickerdoodle Cookies

You are going to LOVE these soft, chewy, buttery Snickerdoodle Cookies! With NO CHILLING required they are ready in under 30 minutes!

4.95 from 72 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup unsalted butter (226g) softened to room temperature
▢ 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
▢ 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
▢ ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour (see my post on how to measure flour properly to avoid cookies that are dry) (375g)
▢ 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
▢ 1 teaspoon cornstarch
▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For rolling

▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
▢ 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Recommended Equipment

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F¹ (175C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper
In stand mixer or with hand mixer cream butter and sugar together on medium-low speed until combined.
Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, stirring again until combined. Pause to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
In separate bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
With mixer on low speed, gradually stir flour mixture into your butter mixture until completely combined (the dough becomes fairly thick, and you will need to scrape the sides/bottom of the bowl several times to ensure it is well combined).
In a separate small bowl, stir together cinnamon and sugar for rolling.
Roll dough into 1 ½ Tablespoon-sized balls and roll in your cinnamon/sugar mixture.
Place on prepared cookie sheets and bake on 350F (175C) for 11-12 minutes, the centers may appear slightly under-done still and that is OK! Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet where they will finish baking without drying out or becoming hard or crumbly.

Notes

Never place cookie dough on hot cookie sheet, it will melt and you will have extremely thin cookies.

¹Recipe Update Note:

When I originally published this recipe I recommended baking the cookies at 375F (190C) for 10 minutes. That will still work (and work well!), but I’ve found that baking them at 350F (175C) for 11-12 minutes yields even softer, chewier cookies and now recommend that.

Nutrition

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

This snickerdoodle recipe was originally published 04/18/2016.

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Snickerdoodle Blondies

FAQs

What are the ingredients for snickerdoodles? ›

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar.
1/2 cup butter, softened.
1/2 cup shortening.
2 eggs.
2 3/4 cups Gold Medal™ All Purpose Flour.
2 teaspoons cream of tartar.
1 teaspoon baking soda.
1/4 cup sugar.

More items...

See Details ›

What is a substitute for cream of tartar in snickerdoodles? ›

You can either replace cream of tartar with baking powder at a 1:1.5 ratio (1 teaspoon cream of tartar : 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder), or you can replace cream of tartar with the combination of baking soda and either lemon juice or vinegar (as with this recipe).

View Details ›

Why are snickerdoodles called snickerdoodles? ›

A few cookbooks explain that snickerdoodles are German in origin. They state that the cookie's name comes from the German word shneckennudel (which is a kind of cinnamon bun). Others trace its origin to New England's tradition of whimsical cookie names.

Keep Reading ›

Why is snickerdoodle dough so sticky? ›

Cookie dough can be sticky for various reasons, such as using too much liquid, not adding enough flour, or not chilling the dough enough. It can also be affected by humidity and temperature.

Learn More ›

Why do my snickerdoodles come out hard? ›

Snickerdoodles might turn out hard if they are overbaked or if the dough is too dry. Be sure to keep an eye on them as they bake – when the edges are set but the centers are still soft and puffy, they are done. Also, make sure you're not adding too much flour.

Tell Me More ›

Can I leave cream of tartar out of a cookie recipe? ›

You can also simply leave out the cream of tartar from a recipe, which may result in baked goods that are not as fluffy, but will still work out and taste good.

Read On ›

Can I skip using cream of tartar? ›

In some recipes, you can leave out cream of tartar if there is no suitable replacement. You can simply omit cream of tartar from the recipe if you're making whipped egg whites, syrups, frostings, or icings.

Discover More Details ›

What is a good substitute for cream of tartar? ›

What is a Good Replacement for Cream of Tartar? A good replacement for cream of tartar in baking is 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice for every 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar.

How do you make homemade cream of tartar? ›

To make a cream of tartar substitute, you need to recreate the acidity it adds. Fresh lemon juice or plain white vinegar are the two best alternatives to use (and you probably already have them in your kitchen).

Learn More Now ›

Why did my snickerdoodles go flat? ›

Why are my snickerdoodles flat? Snickerdoodles can come out flat if 1) the leaveners you used (for this recipe, it's both the baking soda and the cream of tartar) are on the old side and no longer work, and 2) if you baked them at a lower temperature.

Can you use expired cream of tartar? ›

On average, cream of tartar retains potency four years after its manufacturing date, but this shelf life can be cut short by the usual culprits behind ruined pantry items: moisture and heat. Cream of tartar comes in various kinds of containers, from plastic to canned to paper and cardboard.