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Soft, chewy, crackly, and rolled in cinnamon and sugar, these Snickerdoodles are impossible to pass up. You don’t have to chill the dough either, so you can go from zero to Snickerdoodle in under thirty minutes.
I love rolling everything in cinnamon and sugar, from French Toast Sticks to Apple Cider Donuts and even Candied Pecans. And for dusting, cinnamon and sugar topping belongs on Rice Pudding, Tapioca Pudding, Coffee Cake Muffins, and even Pumpkin Pie.
Bring this magical combination (and some cream of tartar) to your favorite soft sugar cookie and you get Snickerdoodles, a puffy, magical cookie so tasty you’ll never stop at just one. Snickerdoodles are always the first to go at bake sales, and bring extra joy to your holiday cookie plate.
If you need to get ahead of the game, make the cookie dough in advance, scoop it into balls, and freeze it. No need to deal with the cinnamon and sugar topping until the dough is thawed and you’re ready to bake!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Cream of tartar: A leavening agent which changes the texture of the cookie from simply a sugar cookie into a Snickerdoodle. When used in conjunction with baking soda, Snickerdoodle cookies have a tangy taste and are chewier and slightly taller than a standard sugar cookie.
- Butter and shortening: This recipe uses both, for good reason. The butter keeps them tasting buttery, but the shortening helps the cookies hold their slightly taller, thicker shape, while keeping them super tender.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. To make the topping, combine ¼ cup sugar and a tablespoon cinnamon in a shallow dish. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment at medium speed, or using a hand mixer, beat butter, shortening, and remaining 1 ½ cups sugar together until pale and fully, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until evenly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beaters as necessary. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture slowly until just combined, about 30 seconds. Stir by hand for a few strokes to ensure flour is incorporated.
- Working with 1 heaping tablespoon of dough at a time, roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, then drop into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and toss to coat. Lay on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. (I use the OXO medium cookie scoop, a size 40 portioner, and do 12 scoops of dough per baking sheet).
- Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are starting to brown but the centers are soft and puffy, about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet after 5 minutes. (The cookies will look raw).
- Cool cookies on baking sheet 10 minutes, then serve or transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This Snickerdoodle cookie recipe makes about 24 cookies.
- Storage: Store extra Snickerdoodles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Make ahead: Snickerdoodle cookie dough can be made up to 2 days in advance. Wrap in parchment or waxed paper, place in an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to scoop and bake.
- Freezer: Yes, Snickerdoodle cookie dough freezes perfectly. Form them into balls and freeze before baking. When you are ready to bake, just dip in the sugar/cinnamon mixture and bake. Check out my how-to on freezing cookie dough for more information.
- Parchment paper: Always a good idea for easy clean-up and keeping the cookies from sticking to the baking sheet.
- Don’t over-bake: The cookies should still look a little underdone when you take them out. They’ll finish up on the hot baking sheet during the 10-minute cooldown. That’s the trick to keeping them soft.
Recipe FAQs
Cream of tartar is what separates a Snickerdoodle from a sugar cookie. The extra leavening adds that extra puffiness which leads to the crackling top. It’s a whole thing. If you can’t get your hands on cream of tartar, though, omit both the cream of tartar AND the baking soda and use 2 teaspoons baking powder instead.
According to Dave, a reader and devoted home cook, you can use a gluten-free flour mix in this recipe with no other adjustments needed.
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Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the cookies:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened (1 stick)
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- To make the topping, combine ¼ cup sugar and a tablespoon cinnamon in a shallow dish. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
- In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment at medium speed, or using a hand mixer, beat butter, shortening, and remaining 1 ½ cups sugar together until pale and fully, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until evenly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beaters as necessary.
- Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture slowly until just combined, about 30 seconds. Stir by hand for a few strokes to ensure flour is incorporated.
- Working with 1 heaping tablespoon of dough at a time, roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls, then drop into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and toss to coat. Lay on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. (I use the OXO medium cookie scoop, a size 40 portioner, and do 12 scoops of dough per baking sheet).
- Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are starting to brown but the centers are soft and puffy, about 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet after 5 minutes. (The cookies will look raw).
- Cool cookies on baking sheet 10 minutes, then serve or transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
Notes
- Cream of tartar: A leavening agent which changes the texture of the cookie from simply a sugar cookie into a Snickerdoodle. When used in conjunction with baking soda, Snickerdoodle cookies have a tangy taste and are chewier and slightly taller than a standard sugar cookie.
- Butter and shortening: This recipe uses both, for good reason. The butter keeps them tasting buttery, but the shortening helps the cookies hold their slightly taller, thicker shape, while keeping them super tender.
- Yield: This Snickerdoodle cookie recipe makes about 24 cookies.
- Storage: Store extra Snickerdoodles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Thanks for sharing your recipes!
This recipe says to roll in cinnamon before freezing but when I checked out the “how to freeze cookie dough site” it says to roll in cinnamon after defrosting Snickerdoodle dough. Which way have you found works best?
Hi Janice! Thank you for pointing that out, it’s definitely not consistent. I tested them both ways and baked them this morning, and I feel while the cookies came out the same either way, freezing the cookie dough balls first then rolling them in the cinnamon-sugar topping frozen was much easier since the dough balls were firm. I’m going to update the post. Thank you again! I hope you enjoy them! – Meggan
This recipe is absolutely fantastic!
Yep we needed a change from the sugar cookie I seem to make over and over again, great and delicious recipe! Everyone loved it