Chocolate Snickerdoodles are a warm and cozy twist on the classic. My recipe makes soft and chewy cookies with no mixer and no chilling! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Sweet, Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies
These chocolate snickerdoodles are a chocolatey take on my classic snickerdoodle recipe that you’ll love (maybe even more than the original!). The flavor is warm and slightly spiced, with perfectly textured, crackly outsides and rich, chocolatey interiors. They’re like a cup of hot cocoa on a snowy Christmas night–so festive!
Chocolate and cinnamon is a somewhat unusual, but stellar combination (think Mexican hot chocolate!). The chocolate is rich and decadent while the cinnamon is sharp and bright. Both work together beautifully to create a cozy holiday flavor.
These are thick, soft, chewy cookies made with NO mixer and NO chilling! You’ll love how simple the recipe is (just 11 ingredients!), and it can easily be doubled for lots of cookies.
What You Need
If you’ve made snickerdoodles before, some of these ingredients won’t surprise you. There are a few others worth nothing though:
- Cream of tartar. If you’re a snickerdoodle fan, then you already know that cream of tartar is essential in any snickerdoodle recipe! It adds that classic tang and is truly what makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle. It can typically be found in the spice section of your local grocery store. Don’t leave it out or your cookies won’t actually be chocolate snickerdoodles.
- Cinnamon. We’ll add a pinch of cinnamon to the dough for flavor in addition to the rolling mixture, just enough to make sure it doesn’t get lost among the chocolate flavors.
- Cocoa powder. I recommend using natural cocoa powder for best results. You could get away with substituting Dutch process cocoa, but the flavor profile will be quite different.
- Egg + egg yolk. Adding an extra egg yolk makes these chocolate snickerdoodles nice and tender. Leaving out the second egg white means the dough can bake right away without chilling first and they will be perfectly thick without spreading too much.
SAM’S TIP: Typically snickerdoodles are rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture, but we’re adding a bit of cocoa powder into the mix to play up the chocolate flavor.
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 Chocolate Snickerdoodles
- Whisk together the melted butter and cocoa powder, then stir in the sugars.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until combined.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Whisk together your cinnamon, cocoa, and sugar mixture.
- Roll your cookie dough balls through the cinnamon mixture before placing on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then let the cookies cool completely on their sheets before enjoying.
SAM’S TIP: If you prefer thinner/flatter chocolate snickerdoodles, use 2 whole eggs (instead of 1 egg + 1 yolk) and chill the dough for a minimum of 30-60 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
This dough is designed to be rolled and baked immediately after preparing. You can make it in advance, but please know that chilling the dough will make it a bit dry and will make your chocolate snickerdoodles even thicker and less likely to spread. Make sure to cover your dough tightly before chilling and chill for no more than a few days.
While not traditional, this does sound delicious! I’d add about a cup or so of chocolate chips once your dry ingredients are about 50% incorporated.
To really play into the Mexican hot chocolate flavor, you can add some cayenne pepper. I’d start with ⅛ teaspoon (this is how much I add to my soft & chewy gingersnaps!) and go from there, depending on how spicy you want them.
If you’re a fan of these chocolate snickerdoodles, give my pumpkin snickerdoodles a try!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Chocolate Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted (226g)
- ¼ cup natural cocoa powder (25g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ½ cup light brown sugar firmly packed (100g)
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk room temperature preferred
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (340g)
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For rolling:
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter and cocoa powder and whisk until smooth.
- Add sugars and stir until combined.
- Stir in eggs and vanilla extract.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. I like to do slowly, in 4-5 parts, as this makes a stiff dough and adding all of the flour at once will make it difficult to absorb and could leave you with a crumbly, unworkable dough.
- In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder for rolling.
- Scoop dough into 1 ½ Tablespoon sized scoops and roll between your palms to form a smooth ball. Roll evenly through cinnamon sugar, then transfer to prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2” apart. For flatter cookies, gently press down to flatten them before baking.
- Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) oven and bake for 8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before enjoying.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.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.
I originally published this recipe in 2016. I’ve updated it to give the cookies a richer chocolate flavor and to make the recipe more straightforward.
Robin
Hi Sam,
I got a request today for cookies and you are my go to when I am looking for something new and different! Todays trick was finding something I could whip up with ingredients on hand given we are social distancing and avoiding the grocery store. These chocolate snickerdoodles were the winner. I am wondering if the butter called for is intended to be salted or unsalted.
Thanks for all of your delicious recipes.
I hope you and yours are healthy and well.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Robin! I typically use unsalted butter (unless indicated) for all of my recipes. This allows me to really control the taste. If you only have salted butter on hand, that is ok. You will just omit the salt. I hope that you enjoy the cookies. 🙂
Stacy
I was wanting to add a little cayenne to them to spice them up a little. Would you know how much to add and if I should add it to the cookie or the rolling mixture? They are sooooo good!!!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Stacy! I have not added cayenne pepper to this recipe so I am not certain how much to add without trying it myself. I do use cayenne pepper in my soft ginger snap cookies and use 1/8 tsp. You may just need to add little by little until you get the desired level of heat. Keep me posted on how they turn out! 🙂
Stacy
Thank you!!
Caryl
Can you make these cookies 🍪 sugar free? Replace the sugar with Splenda and the light brown sugar with light brown sugar Splenda blend. Would that work? Can you let me know?
Sam
Unfortunately I’m not familiar with sugar free baking so I can’t say for sure how they would turn out, I’m sorry Caryl! If you try them I’d love to know how they turn out for you.
Jillian
I just finished making them for Valentine’s day. I think the recipe is very tasty. Only thing I’m wondering next time is I may add a little bit of vanilla extract. I will see what my boyfriend says tomorrow. He is pretty blunt and will tell me the truth! If he ends up falling in love with him I will add that to my comment. He will be the real test. Thanks for sharing! Great idea.
Sam
Hi Jillian! Adding vanilla extract would be fine. Hope your boyfriend loved them! 🙂
Jenine
I do not have cream of tartar. Can I substitute it with something else?
Sam
Hi, Jenine! Unfortunately, I do not have a good substitute for the cream of tartar. It adds that signature snickerdoodle flavor.
Tori
This recipe is AMAZING! So soft and tasty. I did the chill steps and got the perfect “crack” on the top of my cookies.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Tori! ☺️
Nancy
Hi Sam!
I have made other cookies with the secret ingredient in them (maple syrup) – do you think the Chocolate Snickerdoodles would benefit from this little flavoring?
Thanks for all the great recipes- I have gone cookie “crazy”.
Keep up the great work!
Nancy
Sam
I think it would make them too soft and they would spread too much.
Susan Young
Can I make these without the cinnamon?
kelly
I just made these cookies last night. My husband isnt a cookie person so I am left eating cookies…Yikes. But these cookies are wonderful and he even loved them! Such a wonderful flavor and the hint of cinnamon with the chocolate is outstanding. Thank you for a special cookie recipe! It makes alot of cookies and I enjoyed making them. They turned out just like the picture. Soft inside with just a bit of crunch on the outside. Outstanding flavor and they look so pretty! Merry Christmas:)
Sam
Kelly I’m so glad that both you and your husband enjoyed the cookies! These are one of my favorites, too, thank you so much for coming back and commenting how you liked them! Merry Christmas!! 🙂
Steph
These are the best, we like them better than regular snickerdoodles!
Mary Frances
I’ve always loved snickerdoodles, and I’ve heard of chocolate versions but I never take the plunge. This holiday season I may have to change that, these look too good!
Sam
I bet you would love them, Mary Frances! Thanks so much! 🙂
Denise @ Sweet Peas & Saffron
These look like my kind of cookies! I am a total cookie snob when it comes to that chewy texture and these guys definitely look like they are nice and chewy! YUM!
Sam
They are so perfectly chewy, I bet you would love them! Thanks, Denise! 🙂
Medha @ Whisk & Shout
These snickerdoodles look amazing! Chocolate and cinnamon are such a great combination 🙂
Sam
Thanks, Medha!!
Amanda
I love chocolate and cinnamon together! It always gives chocolate a nice little kick.
Sam
It really does! Thanks, Amanda!
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction
A chocolate version of snickerdoodles – yum! These look so soft, chewy and delicious!
Sam
Thanks, Marsha!!