Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies
The popular cinnamon-sugar soft and chewy sugar cookie recipe. A recipe that has been in the family for over 30 years!
This was one of the first cookie recipes I made as a kid. As I have shared before, I was fully obsessed with cookbooks as a little girl. My Mom collected church cookbooks and I would go straight to the cookie recipes and beg my Mom to let me whip up a batch. I made this snickerdoodle cookie recipe 30 years ago and it is still the best I have ever tasted.
This is such a popular Christmas cookie because I have yet to find anyone who doesn't love snickerdoodle cookies! When I used to teach a cooking school for kids, it was the first cookie I taught them to make because kids love them. Whenever I make these cookies, they disappear so darn fast!
So what makes a perfect snickerdoodle cookie?
A snickerdoodle cookie has to be soft and chewy. No hard hockey puck cookies here! It has to be rolled twice in cinnamon-sugar to ensure that it is completely coated. It also has to have the signature tang from the cream of tartar.
How to make the BEST Snickerdoodle Cookie:
- Start by creaming butter and sugar for 4-5 minutes. This is an important step as the butter coats the sugar crystals and creates a smooth texture. It also whips air into the cookie dough.
- Use Cream of Tartar as a leavening agent. It gives it the signature tangy flavor and chewy texture. A touch of baking soda helps the cookies to rise as well.
- Double roll the cookie balls into a cinnamon-sugar mixture. This helps to make sure the cookies are completely coated in cinnamon-sugar before baking.
- Bake just until the edges begin to become a light golden color. These snickerdoodle cookies need to be soft and chewy so watch carefully. If you want them to be flat, press the balls down in the center before placing in the oven.
- My favorite baking tools for perfect Snickerdoodle cookies -- light-colored baking sheets, parchment paper sheets, KitchenAid mixer.
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Check out some more of my most popular cookie recipes:
Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
MJ's Top Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lemon Sugar Cookies
Soft Chewy Sugar Cookies
Grandma Geri's Gingersnaps
Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies
Mrs. Claus Peppermint Bark Chocolate Cookies
The Best Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter (softened)
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 2 ¾ cup Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture:
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Cream for 1-2 minutes longer.
- Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, just until combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon.
- If time allows, wrap the dough and let refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Roll into small balls until round and smooth. Drop into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and coat well. Using a spoon, coat for a second time, ensuring the cookie balls are completely covered. *To make flatter snickerdoodles, press down in the center of the ball before placing in the oven. This helps to keep them from puffing up in the middle. *
- Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool for several minutes on baking sheet before removing from the pan.
Video
I hope you love this snickerdoodle cookie recipe and it becomes a staple in your family for years! Happy Baking!
T
Fire ???? soooo good! I don’t need insomnia or tiffs treats anymore, I can make my own now:)
Jayden
My family and everyone else I know absolutely LOVES these snickerdoodles. Even my friend who hates cookies keeps asking for more ????. I’m constantly making them and seem to go missing at an insane rate! This is the only recipe I will use. It is perfect, fluffy, soft, and has the most amazing taste! Solid 12/10
Elizabeth
These are absolutely delicious. Daddy said Santa wanted snickerdoodles left for him this Christmas Eve, so my son and I went to work this morning on the dough. The only change I made was in using allspice since I was low on cinnamon. (I did sift the dry ingredients together out of habit, so maybe that's a change also.) In any event, we had a wonderful family dough rolling operation this afternoon to the tunes of a Christmas playlist, which yielded some of the best cookies I've ever had. Maybe the mood was right, maybe the stars aligned just so- but maybe, just maybe, this was simply a really fantastic recipe. I certainly intend to be saving this one! Thanks so much!!
Michelle
Everyone who tried these were saying how delicious they were!! I added cinnamon chips as well. This is the BEST snickerdoodle recipe I’ve ever used. Thank you!
Lori
Yummy, never heard of cinnamon chips. Going to have to look into this.
Damita Harrell
They were awesome, will make again.
geneva
Easy to make good taste but they did not flatten on their own???? I had to use a spoon but why are they flattening on their own?
Aaliyah
Absolutely delicious!! My mother typically doesn't like snickerdoodle cookies and my father had never tried them. This recipe was a hit (for all three of us).
Thanks so much for the recipe! This will definitely have a spot in my recipe book 🙂
Rory
Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie, so I was excited to try to make them myself for the first time! First, the dough was way too sticky. I had to put it in the fridge for about 40 minuets and even still it was hard to roll. When I finally got them on the baking sheet, they expanded a lot and became one huge cookie. Is there a way to prevent this? They are still amazing and taste great, just wish they were a little prettier.
Lori
Perhaps you measured one or the ingredients wrong, my bet would be not enough flour? I’ve certainly made this mistake once it twice as I was learning to bake. I’ve made these cookies twice and had no problem rolling them into a ball and the dough was not sticky at all. I pressed each ball down flat with a tablespoon and cooked them for exactly 9 minutes at 350 degrees and they were perfect. Maybe try the recipe again being careful to measure everything correctly? Good luck.
Samantha R Pierce
Hands down simple and Delicious ????
Sam Ragan
This is my first time making these and they are by far the best snickerdoodles I have ever had. I suspect that the ones I tried in the past didn't have the cream of tartar in them. Thank you for the simple and perfect cookie recipe. They were fun to make and fun to share!
Linda Jones
OMGosh these are no doubt the best I have ever tasted!!! Found the recipe by chance but now I have it wrote down! Thank you so much for posting! And I am following you now can't wait to try another recipe!
Orlanda
Yes hi I tried this and when I got the dough out of the fridge I couldn't even make a ball becuase of the texture. It was just kind of creamy still. What did I do wrong?
Linda Jones
OMGosh these are no doubt the best I have ever tasted!!! I wanted a easy recipe for our 3 year old would have fun making. Found the recipe by chance but now I have it wrote down! Thank you so much for posting! And I am following you now can't wait to try another recipe!
Cindy Moores
I easily made these vegan by eliminating the egg, using 3 tablespoons applesauce for each egg eliminated, and for leavening I increased the cream of tartar to 2 teaspoons and increased the baking soda to 2 teaspoons. Perfect.
Ll
This is the first and last snickerdoodle recipe I have tried. Like many, I flattened the dough so the cookies were thin. Only put sugar mixture on top of cookie. They are chewy and delicious and perfect. They can even withstand a slight over cooking in case you flub. Every time someone new tries one of these after I bake them their eyes widen and you can tell they are impressed.
Erin
These were delicious. I rolled and sugared, then refrigerated on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes. Gave each ball a quick flatten with the palm of my hand and baked for 9 minutes. I probably did heaping TBL sized balls and so I actually got about 3.5 dozen cookies and they were perfect.