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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.
Just made cookies. The best I have ever tasted. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for saying that! I am so glad you like them 🙂
These were perfect!!
I am happy you think so!! Thank you for sharing that!
Just made these, super easy yet probably the most delicious Snickerdoodles I’ve had! They are the perfect consistency; slightly crisp on the outside and a little crinkled on top, yet soft and chewy on the inside. A few people that ate them had never had snickerdoodles before, so I’m glad I introduced them to the cookies with this amazing recipe!
I am glad you introduced them! Thank you so much for sharing that!
Hi Kristyn! Just wanted to say hi and tell you that I absolutely loved your snickerdoodles-recipe. as a matter of fact it was the best one I’VE EVER TRIED, so I made one or two tiny modifications and created a german version out of it. you can find it here: https://www.sweet-trolley.com/blog/snickerdoodles-weihnachtskekse-backen/
Of course i linked to the stunning original. Again: thanks a lot for this great recipe <3
best wishes from austria,
Katharina
Thank you so much for sharing that! I am so glad you tried them 🙂
I cooked this batch in 3 different cooking times: 10 minutes made the cookies very soft and (what i thought) was a little undercooked); 12 minutes was a little drier but still moist and chewy to the bite, and 13 minutes made the cookie with a crisp edge, mildly soft in the middle. i recommend cooking for 11-12 minutes and letting them cool completely.
i would not substitute cream of tartar – it’s what makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle!
Thanks for sharing that!! I agree about the cream of tartar 🙂
We use this recipe all the time and lOve it. Its a family favorIte.
Thank you so much!! I am so glad you like them 🙂
Can unsalted butter be used?
Yes, I only like to use unsalted when baking 🙂
Wanted my sister’s recipe for these! When she called me she said just Google Lil Luna Snicker doodles. She says its EXACTLY what my recipe is! Not sure if she’s kept this a sceret all these years! But oh babe They are the bomb!!! I added a little more cinnamon as it didn’t look like enough!!
Thank you
Well, tell your sister thank you for sharing my site 🙂 I am happy that you liked them!
Seriously, this recipe is perfection. I followed it exactly, except my cookie scoop was bigger than i realized so i ended up wih larger cookies needing an extra two minutes to bake. But, the texture and flavor are perfect- cheWy on the outside and soft on the inside. Thank you!!
Nothing wrong with bigger cookies!! Thank you for trying them 🙂
When you mix butter and sugar do you use mixer for dry ingredients and mix all
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, then cream the butter/sugar in the mixer. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer & mix. Hope that helps 🙂