Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles
This is, hands-down, the best recipe for snickerdoodles you’ll find! They are super soft and chewy with a gorgeous crinkly topping perfect for holding in pockets of delicious cinnamon. Included below are a few quick tips for recreating these beauties time and again!
Snickerdoodles are a cookie classic – soft, tender butter cookies with a slight tang and chewy texture that are rolled in cinnamon-sugar and baked. A holiday staple, for sure, but also an every day, any day kind of cookie, as well!
Everyone and anyone has a recipe for snickerdoodles, but I’m here today to tell you that these are the absolute best of the best. They puff in the oven and then settle back down while cooling into a soft, thick, supremely chewy cookie with a gorgeous crinkly top. They’ve received nothing but rave reviews!
Snickerdoodle is sort of a strange name, yes?
I’ve often wondered how the name originated and when I started doing some research, it seems there are a few different theories. All seem to agree that the name is German in origin; the cookies seem to have surfaced in New England in the late 1800s, likely from someone of either German or Dutch descent.
The cookies have also been called snipdoodles or cinnamon sugar cookies, but no direct German translation seems to make sense, so it may just be a little bit of a whimsical spin on a couple of different words.
Snickerdoodles vs sugar cookies
Some think of snickerdoodles as simply drop sugar cookies that have been rolled in cinnamon-sugar, but this oversimplification is far from accurate.
While both cookies have the same basic list of ingredients (butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and baking powder/soda), there is one key ingredient in snickerdoodles that turns them into something altogether different:
Cream of Tartar
This magical little ingredient does two things to make snickerdoodles, well… snickerdoodles:
- It is an acid, so its presence gives the cookies that ever-so-slight tangy flavor.
- Also because it’s an acid, it helps to create a more tender texture, keeping the cookies both soft and chewy, which is a texture combination you don’t find in traditional sugar cookies.
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A few quick tips!
- Chill, chill, chill! – Be sure to follow the chilling instructions for the pan and dough. It helps the cookies hold their shape and not spread.
- Baking Pans Prep – I recommend using parchment paper to line the pans to eliminate any possibility of the cookies spreading.
- Cream of Tartar – This is a key ingredient in snickerdoodles, but if you find yourself in a serious pinch, you can use 2 teaspoons baking powder and omit BOTH the cream of tartar AND the baking soda. Just remember the flavor will be slightly different.
- Cinnamon – Use your favorite, high-quality cinnamon since you’ll be getting a heft taste of it. I keep Simply Organic ground cinnamon in my pantry.
- Scoop – I like to use this cookie scoop for uniform cookies.
- Make-Ahead – You can prepare the dough and store it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before scooping and baking.
- Storage – Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezing – You can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw at room temperature then enjoy!
More cookie classics
And might I suggest a snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich because, why not?
Watch How to Make Snickerdoodles:
If you make these snickerdoodles and love them, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️
Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
- 2¾ cups (330 g) flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, (2 sticks )
- 1½ cups (298 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a baking mat and put in refrigerator to chill.
- Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
- Gradually stir in the flour mixture, beating on low speed just until the flour is blended.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Scoop 1-inch balls of dough and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat.
- Place on chilled cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes.
- Chill the dough and cookie sheets between batches.
- Let cookies set on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Notes
- Chill, chill, chill! – Be sure to follow the chilling instructions for the pan and dough. It helps the cookies hold their shape and not spread.
- Baking Pans Prep – I recommend using parchment paper to line the pans to eliminate any possibility of the cookies spreading.
- Cream of Tartar – This is a key ingredient in snickerdoodles, but if you find yourself in a serious pinch, you can use 2 teaspoons baking powder and omit BOTH the cream of tartar AND the baking soda. Just remember the flavor will be slightly different.
- Cinnamon – Use your favorite, high-quality cinnamon since you’ll be getting a heft taste of it. I keep Simply Organic ground cinnamon in my pantry.
- Scoop – I like to use this cookie scoop for uniform cookies.
- Make-Ahead – You can prepare the dough and store it, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before scooping and baking.
- Storage – Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezing – You can freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw at room temperature then enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Originally published in 2009, this has been updated to include new photos and more in-depth recipe tips.
[Photography by Dee of One Sarcastic Baker]
This is the old Betty Crocker recipe! (with the 1 difference being that her’s calls for salted butter). Been baking these since I was about 5 years old. Only you’ve beenb aking them at 350 when the original calls for 400 for 8-10 minutes. Why wait until Christmas? These are a “daily” cookie at our house. And it’s the first recipe I teach any kid that wants to learn (because the dough can be successfully refrigerated forup to 3 weeks). Congratulations on finding a Snickerdoodle recipe that works well! Best with Constant Comment tea or works great as a sandwich cookie using buttercream frosting. ;)
I just made these and they are so awesome…I did make a couple of alterations…I added about two tablespoons of cinnamon to the dry ingredients and 1/8 tsp. almond extracts to the butter/sugar mixture. And since I am a soft cookie person and like larger cookies, I made the balls about 2-2 1/2 inches and cooked for 10 minutes…they made bigger, softer cookies. They are so good, my son ate 9 of the 1 inch cookies and my mother-in-law, who was here visiting, stole a dozen of the cookies to take home. Great recipe. Thank you!!!!
Mmm. I love soft snickerdoodles! I used this recipe to make mine, and they were so good! I also tried baking the same recipe at 400F to see the difference, and I found that the higher temperature actually gave soft AND chewy cookies. Both are delicious, but I hope you try it this way next time! :D
Here are some pictures to show the difference in the textures!
http://thekitchenkook.blogspot.com/2013/01/classic-snickerdoodle-cookies.html
Michelle, another difference I noticed is that snickerdoodles are usually baked at 400F so your recipe uses a relatively lower temperature. Hmm. I wonder if that’s the difference. I’ll have to try both temperatures and report back!
I’ve updated below!
Seems to be a great recipe, but my cookies did not flatten out nearly as much as the ones shown in the picture.
I just made a double recipe of these today. They are THE BEST snickerdoodle cookies I have ever tasted!!! Thank you so much for your awesome recipes!! I can’t wait to make a few of the other cookie recipes later this week! :o)
argh i just made snickerdoodles using the betty crocker recipe (exact same ingredients above, but no chlling) which is the recipe my mom uses and her cookies always come out perfect. BUT…mine came out super flat and crunchy. Sigh. But the flavor is great.
The thing is that I live at over 9,000 feet in altitude, and I didn’t adjust for it in the recipe, I was hoping it would turn out alright. Do you think if I added less baking soda next time they would be puffier?
Christine
Hi Christine, Unfortunately I wouldn’t have a clue as to how to alter the Betty Crocker recipe, as I’ve never used it. For high altitude baking, I’d follow whatever adjustments you typically make for other recipes.
Love these snickerdoodles!!! I make them for my husbands work and they are always asking for more! Thanks for the awesome recipe :)
Best cookies EVER! Everyone loves it when I make these cookies!! Yes it takes longer to make BUT we’ll worth it:)
Happy Tasty Tuesday! We love this snickerdoodle recipe and it is featured on our Christmas Cookie recipe round-up this week! Thanks!
http://4virtu.com/2012/12/tasty-tuesday-christmas-cookie-recipes/
Oh oh ohhhhhhh my goooeness! These cookies were perfect. Addictive. I ate the whole first round by myself except for 1 and a half. My hubby who is not a cookie lover said these taste better than the ones I get from the store and had a good taste to them (just the right amount of crunch and chewy gooeyness (I made up a word for this cookie). I have been looking for years for a recipe to mimic my favorite snicker doodle cookie that I get from the ” great American cookie” and this is it. Those other recipes that say they are copy cat ( fall short). This is it. I was excited that any time I had a craving for my favorite cookie I could just bake it ( I moved states and only get this cookie when I go back and visit my hometown). But now thanks to this recipe I can have them any time I want. The only down side is that having this recipe is dangerous for me, because I will bake them and keep.going back for more and eat them all which can’t be good. I added cinnamon to the dough. I recommend a tsp or two depending on how.much you like the cin flavor. Thanks bunches for the awesome recipe.
This is the best “sugar cookie dough”-based recipe I’ve tried. I’m so glad a co-worked turned me onto your site. She told me that anything I chose would be a hit. She was right. I’ve now made these cookies a few times, and I cannot emphasize the difference chilling the baking sheets make. I learned the hard way :-/ Thanks for recipe and keep them coming :)
I know! I love Brown Eyed Baker. Whenever I’m looking for a recipe, I hit this website first! Michelle hasn’t failed me yet :)
Hi Danielle,
I actually have halved this recipe many times and (like Michelle expected) they come out exactly like they do when I’ve made the whole recipe!
Do you think I can halve this recipe? My waistline and I don’t need 4 dozen cookies laying around!!!!
Hi Danielle, Although I haven’t done it, I think you could halve this recipe without a problem. Enjoy!
Just let these cookies cool but it was hard to wait. They are perfect! I took your advice and kept everything cold before baking. They are so good! Can’t wait to give them out to my daughter’s softball team. Thank you. So far ALL of your recipes have been flawless. You are now my Go TO Girl for baking.
I’ve actually never had a problem with Snickerdoodles, and I’m using The Bake Sale Cookbook.
The recipe I use states that you need to use either all margarine, or use half margarine and half butter. I do the half and half thing, and everyone loves my cookies.
Your blog is my new “go to” place for recipes. After trying several of your recipes I now trust that whatever I choose to make from browneyedbaker will be fantastic! Loved the snickerdoodles, this recipe is fantastic. Since the recipe has so much emphasis on keeping everything cool, I rolled and dipped the dough balls and placed them in a tupperware bowl set over another bowl with ice cubes/water. This helped to keep them cool until I was ready to remove the baking sheets from the fridge.
Kathy I read your comment before trying these and used your bowl over ice trick. Cookies were wonderful. Great recipe and your tip was helpful as well.
Wow, these cookies are amazing! I’ve never ever heard of or eaten a snickerdoodle before, but I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna try any other snickerdoodle recipe except for this one :D
Mine came out puffy then flatten greatly when cooled. Any suggestions?
Hi Grace, Well, this sounds like most snickerdoodles. These cookies, as you can tell from the pictures, are fairly thin. They should still be chewy though (not crunchy).
Oh and by the way I loved them so much I shared the recipe on my blog: learnasyougocook.blogspot.com
I tried these and they are delicious! I stuck them in my freezer and just heated one up when I needed it. These will be made again:)
These were delicious! My only problem is that sticking the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes (actually longer) still resulted in super stick dough that sucked to roll into balls. Freezing it for 30 minutes helped for the first few balls on the pan until they thawed out.
Still, the end result was amazing and now I’m having to guard the cookie jar so my husband doesn’t eat them all. :)
I had the same problem – even after putting them in the freezer, the dough was unusually sticky and difficult to roll in the cinnamon-sugar. The flavor was there, but I disliked how thin these cookies were. Going back to my old snickerdoodles recipe. I should have paid more attention to the photos. I like my snickerdoodles puffy – soft in middle and crispy on the edges.
im new at these stuff of making cookies :( so i have a question, what is cream of tartar?? how do they sell it??
Cream of tartar functions a bit like baking soda and baking powder, and is a very common ingredient in snickerdoodle cookies. You can usually find it in the baking aisle, with the other herbs and spices – where you would find the cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.
I tried looking through the comments but didn’t see it, maybe I missed it, but the recipe says 1-1/2 cups sugar. Then step 3 says cream butter and sugar, and step 6 says combine cinnamon and sugar. Guess I’m just wondering how much to use for the dough itself, and how much to use to coat the dough?
Ignore me! It’s been a long week. I found the 3 tbsp sugar at the bottom of the recipe. Going to try making these tonight for my dad, an avid snickerdoodle lover always looking for the perfect snickerdoodle but never finding it, lol. I’m hoping this is the one that does it for him! :)
what is that brown stuff?? sugar and cinnamon??
oooh…it was sugar and cinnamon hahaha sorry :/
I made these the other day and they turned out amazing! The texture was perfect, crisp on the outside with a soft and chewy interior and the flavor had a hint of tang to it from the cream of tartar, which complemented the sweetness and cinnamon flavor perfectly! Thanks so much! This will definitely be my new go-to snickerdoodle recipe!
heh. Sorry…! I just saw it yields 4 dozen! I read too fast sometimes! :)
I’m about to make these tomorrow! :) Any calculations on approx. how many this recipe makes?
Thanks!
~Wendy
I’ve tried making these twice now and both times I have had to throw out all the dough! The dough itself tastes great, but something is off with the texture. They stayed flat, but completely crumbled apart when I tried to scoop them off the pan. Does anyone know what I could be doing wrong?
Hi Jenn, Did you make any alterations at all to the ingredients or technique? The other problem might be oven temperature – do you use an oven thermometer to ensure an accurate temperature?
I just made these this weekend. Mine did not lay as flat, but they are soft, chewy, and just all around good! Thanks!