Snickerdoodle Recipe
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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 my peanut butter blossoms I’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 cool completely 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
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.
Pretty crackled tops are as signature to snickerdoodles as their tang, so its disappointing when they are missing. Cracking occurs from several chemical reactions during the baking process. If some of your cookies aren’t cracking, it could be because those dough balls were less round than others, the dough became too warm, your oven isn’t heating evenly, or (most likely) the cinnamon sugar coating wasn’t applied as thoroughly.
This snickerdoodle recipe can be made up to 3 days in advance; just cover and store in the fridge. You can also freeze the dough! Simply roll it into balls, wrap individually (don’t roll through the cinnamon/sugar until before baking), and store in an airtight container.
If you’re a fan of crunchy cookies or puffy, cakey cookies, I’m afraid these might not be for you. I like my snickerdoodle cookies soft, buttery, crinkly and chewy and these are just that, nearly melting in your mouth with each bite.
Enjoy!
And if you love this snickerdoodle recipe, try my snickerdoodle scones!
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
Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, (see my post on how to measure flour properly to avoid cookies that are dry)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For rolling
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
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.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract, stirring again until combined. Pause to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In separate bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground 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.¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
This snickerdoodle recipe was originally published 04/18/2016.
Can we use corn starch for sneakerdoodles chocolate as well? How much of it and what kind of adjustment should we done with other ingridients?
Hi, Ryma! You can, however, it is not needed. If you were to add it to the chocolate snickerdoodles I would add 1/2 teaspoon and mix with dry ingredients. 🙂
Hi! Have you every dried putting chocolate or butterscotch chips in this recipe?
Hi Rachel! I have not but it should certainly work. A traditional snickerdoodle doesn’t have those mixed in so I haven’t toyed with it. 🙂
I tried them with one cup of butterscotch chips last Saturday. Cooked perfectly with the chips and the cookies are fantastic!
I am so glad. Sounds delicious. I am happy that you have enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Can I use melted butter for this? Also, do you happen to have any recipes that don’t need brown sugar and call for melted butter? 🤔
Hi, Sheep! I actually have a Snickerdoodle Blondie recipe that uses melted butter and does not need brown sugar that you can try instead. As far as this recipe goes I have not attempted it with melted butter. If you do, be sure to let it cool before mixing in the sugars. I hope that helps. 🙂
Ms. Sam ~ We have a new favorite to add to our coookie list. Snickerdoodles are the BOMB! Only thing I had to change was the flour. Used King Arthur’s cup-for-cup gluten free flour and they came out perfectly. You were right about taking them out of oven before they ‘looked’ done. Husband even commented “they don’t look done to me”. I told him I was following directions (this being my 1st time for Snickerdoodles). Waited (barely) til they were cooled and OH-MY. Nice to have such a tasty change from the normal chocolate (altho still my personal fav). Many thanks to you for broadening my cookie horizon.
God Bless!
I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies, Kathy and that they were husband approved. 🙂
Sam , I’m making these right now . Wondering if I could make them smaller and how long in the oven 8-10 ???
Love everything I’ve tried of yours So Yummy 😋
Hello, Christine! Yes, feel free to make them smaller. Since I’m not sure the exact size, I recommend just keeping an eye on them. I hope that you enjoy the cookies! 🙂
This are the best cookies EVER! I just made a batch GF and they are absolutely delicious, so buttery and soft…
These are definitely going to be part of my Christmas cookie basket for friends!!
Thank you so much, Pilar! I am so happy that you enjoyed the snickerdoodles. Happy Holidays to you and thank you for commenting. 🙂
As I’m planning my baking for Christmas… can the dough be frozen, either as a whole or in little balls to cook straight away?
Hello, Pilar! Yes, it can. I recommend rolling the dough into balls prior to freezing and storing it in an airtight container. Happy Baking! 🙂
This is a Very Good & Tasty Cookie…Thxs Will k..
Thank you so much, William! I am so glad that you enjoyed the cookies! 🙂
My cookies didn’t flatten out and the dough was very crumbly? I weigh my ingredients, what could be the problem?
That’s very strange, especially if everything was weighed. My guess would’ve been that the flour was over-measured but that wouldn’t be the case if you weighed everything. You’re not at high altitude, are you? I’ve never had the dough come out crumbly like that.
Maybe my butter wasnt soft enough. I used splenda, could that be the problem?
Hmm, I’ve never baked with Splenda before so I’m wondering if that might be it! Also yes the butter not being soft enough could certainly contribute to the dough not being as soft as it ought to be.
I used Splenda as well and my cookies turned into dry balls that never flattened either. Quite disappointing.
For tartar, what can i substitute?
Unfortunately I don’t recommend a substitute. I talk about this a bit in my post, but the cream of tartar is critical to proper snickerdoodle flavor and texture.
Hey there, I took a bit of a risk making these cookies as I didn’t have any cream of tartar in hand. However, I did substitute 3 teaspoons of white vinegar (mixed in after adding the eggs) and my snickerdoodles turned out AMAZING!
Thanks so much for sharing your substitution with us, Dina! I am so happy that your snickerdoodles turned out amazing. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Every recipe is amazing!!! Keep bringing the good stuff!
I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes, Traci! 🙂
For corn allergies what would you suggest using instead of corn stretch? Or an it just not be used?
I would leave it out and replace with flour.
They are delicious
Thank you so much, Judy! I am glad that you enjoyed the cookies. 🙂
Can you freeze these cookies? They look delishious!
Hello, Joan! Yes, you can! Enjoy! 🙂
Can you use salted butter in these cookies
Hello, Carol! Yes, you can. If you do, I would cut back on the additional salt that is listed. I hope you enjoy your Snickerdoodle Cookies! 🙂
Hi Samantha! I just made the snickerdoodles and they turned out beautifully! I had to have one while they were still warm and wow!, so chewy and soft. Thanks for your great detailed directions and video. I made them for my grandkids who will be visiting soon. I also have made your vanilla cake recipe with the buttercream chocolate frosting. First cake from scratch that I have made that turned out perfect all thanks to your great directions and tips. I also have been checking out all your recipes and will be trying more of them in time. Thanks again.
Thank you so much, Barb! I am so glad you are enjoying all of the recipes. I can’t say I blame you for testing out a nice warm snickerdoodle. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t done the same. 😉 I hope everything you try is just as successful. Enjoy! 🙂