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Super soft and full of cinnamon, these are our FAVORITE Snickerdoodle Cookies that we’ve made and enjoyed for decades.
MEREDITH: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “These are delicious! Definitely the best snickerdoodles I have ever made! The recipe was easy to follow and they turned out perfect. I will be using this recipe for years to come!”
How to Make Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodle Cookies are a classic cookie recipe we have made our whole lives, and our family is obsessed with them!
We first published this recipe over a decade ago and although we haven’t changed the recipe, we have shared more tips and tricks to make sure it’s NO-FAIL and always turns out EVERY TIME.
Why we love SNICKERDOODLES
- It’s no-fail! We’ve tested this recipe time and time again!
- Perfectly sweet. It’s double-dipped in cinnamon + sugar!
- Made with ingredients in most kitchens.
- Easy to store and or freeze.
- Perfect for holidays and cookie plates.
- PREP TIME: 10 MINS
- COOK TIME: 10 MINS
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour
- Cream of Tartar – Why have cream of tartar? It’s a key ingredient that transforms the cookies into a tangy, chewy cookie, differentiating it from a typical butter sugar cookie.
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter – just softened! This is the key. Too soft, and the cookies will be flat, too cold and the cookies will be too puffy.
- Sugar
- Eggs – incorporate better than chilled eggs. To warm them up faster, place them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon Sugar Coating – Sugar + Cinnamon.
Need a Cream of tartar Substitution?
- Replace the 2 teaspoons cream of tartar AND the 1 teaspoon baking soda with 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- Mimic the tangy taste by also adding a splash of lemon juice or white vinegar
Step by Step: In Photos
STEP 1. DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
STEP 2. WET INGREDIENTS. Cream together the butter (barely softened) and sugar. Add the eggs until it is well blended.
STEP 3. SHAPE. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix well, and then shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll the dough balls into your cinnamon and sugar mixture.
STEP 4. BAKE. Place on an un-greased pan, bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.
to chill or not to chill?
Many Snickerdoodle recipes call for CHILLING the dough. Ours DOES NOT, but you can if you’d like. This image above shows you what each cookie looked like basked on chilling and flattening the snickerdoodle dough.
- First cookie – CHILLED. The result is usually a thicker cookie, without as many cracks as are usually found on the tops of Snickerdoodles.
- Center cookie – CHILLED + FLATTENED. This cookie was chilled, rolled into a ball, rolled into the cinnamon sugar mixture, then flattened a little bit with the bottom of a cup. If you like a more flat, chewy cookie, try this method.
- Last cookie – NOT CHILLED + NOT FLATTENED. This is our classic recipe. No chilling, no flattening, and baked to perfection. This is how we prefer our cookies, but use the above methods if you like your cookies more thick or flat.
Why is it called a Snickerdoodle? From Wikipedia: The Joy of Cooking claims that Snickerdoodles are probably German in origin, and the name is a corruption of the German word Schneckennudeln (“snail noodles”), a kind of pastry.
For more popular cookies, try:
Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Snickerdoodle Dough
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, just softened
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream together butter (barely softened) and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and blend well.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well.
- In a small bowl, combine remaining ⅓ cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.
- Use a small cookie scoop to scoop out dough, roll into a ball and then roll into the cinnamon sugar mixture- twice.
- Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Let sit on the cookie sheet for a few additional minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.
Video
Notes
- CHILLED. The result is usually a thicker cookie, without as many cracks.
- CHILLED + FLATTENED. If you like a more flat, chewy cookie, try this method.
- NOT CHILLED + NOT FLATTENED. This is our classic recipe. No chilling, no flattening, and baked to perfection. This is how we prefer our cookies!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Variations?
- CHOCOLATE. We love to dip half in white chocolate and add sprinkles for holidays like our White Chocolate Snickerdoodles and Christmas Snickerdoodles.
- CHIPS. Adding white chocolate chips or cinnamon chips is another great addition.
How to Store SNICKERDOODLES?
- Keep cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They should be soft and chewy for up to 3-4 days.
How to FREEZE?
- FREEZE. Store in a freezer bag, or air-tight container in the freezer for up to 4 months. When you’re ready to eat or serve them, let them thaw in their container on the counter.
- FREEZE the dough. Once you have shaped and coated the cookie dough balls with the cinnamon and granulated sugar mixture, line them up on a small baking sheet (one that will fit into your freezer). Place the dough balls in the freezer until they are solid, then transfer to a freezer Ziploc. Freeze for up to 2 months.
- To bake – line dough balls on a baking sheet and allow them to thaw for about 20 minutes before baking. You may need to add a minute or two to the bake time to compensate for the cooler starting temperature.
I was excited to try these, as I have been looking for a plump, soft, and chewy snickerdoodle. I followed your directions exactly, and sadly, my cookies turned out very flat! I am do disappointed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m sorry to hear that! Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try!
Dying to know where I messed up 🥴.
They completely flattened.
Butter was soft ✅
They chilled for at least an hour ✅
I rolled them in sugar/cinnamon after chilling.
All I can think is the flour. I poured instead of scooping 🤔. Do you happen to have it in grams?
It would be about 344 grams. I’m sorry to hear they flattened. You may need to add a Tbsp or so more of flour if they are flattening out too much for you.
This was a quick and easy recipe! I do like chewier cookies so I subbed 1/2 cup of white sugar for brown sugar. I’m also not into the traditional amount of tang so I only used 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar as well as a little less baking soda. Turned out great, thanks for sharing your recipe!
Thanks for sharing what you did. Glad to hear the cookies turned out delicious!
My great granddaughter and I made the Snickerdoodle cookies tonight. They were delicious!!! So easy to make and the ingredients are ones most people have on hand. The cookies were moist and chewy. The only problem I had with them was keeping everyone out of them. This cookie is a winner for sure!
Oh thank you! I’m glad you were able to give them a try and that they were a success!
I didn’t get to make them but as a 7th grader, I feel like they would be super super good!!! So if I get a chance I really want to make them. Thank you so much for being such an amazing ensperation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You’re welcome! I hope you get a chance to try them too!
I made these cookies using my own gluten free flour blend (its similar I believe to Bob’s Red mill mix) and they came out GREAT! I’ve noticed that when using my blend (or any GF flour) things tend to need a little more time to bake to be fully done, so I baked them for 12 minutes, then let them sit on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. I was very happy with the results!
It’s been an adventure trying to live with gluten intolerance–I was an avid baker before this happened–so have had my share of disappointments, but also some great successes. I make my own bread since the gluten free bread that one finds at the store is pretty awful. My GF bread is delicious, and my family that can eat wheaty stuff thinks so, too.
Thanks again for this recipe! I love Snickerdoodles!
I’m so glad to hear you were able to adapt this recipe to make it gluten free. And that is was a success!! Thanks for sharing your experience.
I made the Snickerdoodles to your exact recipe. They came out perfect. My wife said they looked like they came from a professional bakery and were delicious. I did not flaten them and only parked the dough in the fridge while the first batch was baking. I used a 1.5 tbs scoop and baked for a total of 10 minutes, rotateing the pan half way. My cookies came out with random cracks and measured 2.5 inches in diameter X about a half inch thick. They look just like your picture of them. Thanks for the recipe, and I’ll probably try your Chocolate Chip recipe next.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the cookies!! Hope you love the chocolate chip cookies too!
I made these cookies as well. While in the oven, they looked very puffy. Once I took them out, they fell flat. Not sure why, I wish someone could answer that comment. They tasted good, but they were not puffy like I wanted or expected.
This happened to mine as well, and I followed the directions exactly. I wanted to take them to my grandson’s birthday party, but they don’t look very good, so I probably will not take and share them. I am so disappointed!!!!!
So sorry to hear the cookies didn’t turn out for you. Thanks for giving the recipe a try!
Definitely have to chill this as the dough was way too soft and couldn’t even roll into a ball.
Mine came out completely flat, too. Was planning to bring them to an open house, but now I’m reconsidering that.
I may make them into sandwich cookies of some sort.
They taste good, though!