There are few things more comforting than freshly baked snickerdoodles dusted in cinnamon sugar. This version uses baking powder, which eliminates the need for cream of tarter plus baking soda)!
What’s So Great About Snickerdoodles?
These are my youngest daughter’s favorite cookie. And with good reason!
These homemade snickerdoodles are soft, yet firm, with a flavorful bite of vanilla sugar cookie and cinnamon sugar. Nothing beats enjoying one warm and fresh out of the oven!
They’re the perfect cold weather cookie and are made even better after dipping into a cold glass of milk or a warm mug of hot chocolate.
I love how simple and delicious these snickerdoodles are. You won’t find any dry oats, chocolate chips, or candy pieces in these beauts. Just a simple vanilla sugar cookie and a coating of sweet cinnamon sugar.
And the best part is that I'll share my method for preventing your cookies from spreading and flattening out in the oven.
Key Ingredients for Homemade Snickerdoodles
For the sugar cookie dough:
- Room temperature butter: Softened butter ensures a creamy, smooth butter-sugar mixture, which is key for achieving the texture we want for this dough.
- Sugar: White granulated sugar is best for sugar cookies because it is purely sweet instead of carmel-y sweet like light or dark brown sugar, and it won't change the color of the light yellow dough.
- Extra-large egg at room temperature: Like with the butter, it’s crucial to make sure your egg is at room temperature so it doesn’t re-chill the softened butter.
- Vanilla: If you're going to be particular about any ingredient, it should be vanilla. Opt for pure vanilla extract over imitation.
- Flour: I used bread flour and was happy with the result, but you could also use all-purpose.
- Salt: This helps balance out the sweetness of the sugar and cinnamon sugar dusting.
- Baking powder: Along with the egg, this serves as a leavening agent for the sugar cookie dough and it replaces the older versions, which have cream of tarter and baking soda.
And for the cinnamon sugar dust, simply combine ½ cup of granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, or more to taste.
Overview of How to Make the Cookies
Roll into balls and then coat with cinnamon sugar Place onto baking tray Gently flatten before baking
Tips for Preventing Flat Snickerdoodle Cookies
I’ve read that some people experience problems with spreading while making snickerdoodles and sugar cookies in general. I didn’t experience this problem, although I should mention that I didn’t bake the dough the same night that I made it. I believe baking with chilled dough was key in preventing the cookies from spreading.
I should mention that I took the snickerdoodle dough out of the refrigerator while the oven preheated. So, even though the chilled dough warmed up a bit before baking, the cookies still stood up well.
So, why do snickerdoodles spread out while baking, and how can we stop this from happening? Check out these tips to find out:
- You might be over-mixing your sugar and butter mixture. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after creaming these ingredients to ensure that they are sufficiently mixed, but don’t mix them too much. A minute or two should suffice.
- The issue may be your flour. Using a low-protein bread flour (10-12%) can also prevent spreading. I used King Arthur bread flour, and it worked out very well.
- You might be baking them at too low of a temperature. If you are using a home oven that is non-convection, try baking at 375 degrees instead of 350 degrees. Too low of a temperature can also dry out your cookies.
- Try chilling your dough until it’s firm, then slicing it before baking. I formed the dough into balls. Because I wanted a evenly baked cookie (not puffed up in the middle, I gently flattened by dough balls before baking). Just make sure the dough has been chilled before trying this method. I also like to make sure the dough balls are uniform in size (I use a cookie scoop). You can also form the dough into a log and sliced them at a thickness of about ⅜″, which is halfway between ¼ inch and ½ inch.
How Do I Know When My Snickerdoodles Are Done Cooking?
Everyone loves soft snickerdoodles, but it can be difficult to know when they’re cooked perfectly and not overcooked.
If they get too brown, chances are that they will be overdone, resulting in a dry, crumbly cookie. Cookies tend to set up a bit more after they are taken out of the oven, so make sure to allot your cookies time to continue cooking on the baking sheet until they’re firm enough to transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.
To test if your snickerdoodle cookies are done, try lifting the edge of a cookie slightly. If it lifts off the cookie sheet, chances are they’re done!
How To Store and Freeze Leftover Cookies
The chances of you having leftover snickerdoodles are pretty low, but if you do, here’s how to store and freeze them:
- To store leftover baked snickerdoodles, keep in an airtight container or Ziplock bag at room temperature for up to five days.
- To freeze baked cookies, store in a freezer-safe container or Ziplock bag for up to six months.
- To freeze raw dough, roll into a log using wax paper and store in a freezer-safe container or Ziplock bag for up to three months. You can also roll the chilled, raw dough into balls, roll them in cinnamon sugar, and freeze the same way.
Tip: Make some extra cinnamon sugar and keep in your pantry to use when making these cookies at a later time.
More Cookie Recipes To Try
If you liked these homemade snickerdoodles, then you’ll love these other cookie recipes:
- Ricotta Cookies
- Italian Wedding Cookies
- Pignoli Cookies
- Lilla’s Famous Peach Cookies
- Big, Soft Sugar Cookies
📖 Recipe
Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookie dough:
- 1 cup (227 g) butter (room temperature)
- 1.5 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 extra large egg (room temperature)
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2.5 cups (312.5 g) bread or all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the sugar topping:
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until combined (don't over-beat, as this will cause spreading), ensuring that you scrape down edges of bowl intermittently
- Add eggs and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture slowly and mix until combined
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder and then gently add to butter/sugar/egg mixture until combined.
- It is suggested that you refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Cover the dough in plastic wrap or in plastic bag (or keep in bowl and cover).
For the sugar topping:
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon and set aside until ready to bake.
To Bake Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 F (convection) or 375 F (nonconvection)
- Form balls (about 2 tablespoons per cookie) and roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar topping.
- Arrange cookie balls on parchment-lined cookie sheet and press slightly to flatten to achieve an even cookie (otherwise, they will puff up in center).
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Notes
- You might be over-mixing your sugar and butter mixture. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after creaming these ingredients to ensure that they are sufficiently mixed, but don’t mix them too much. A minute or two should suffice.
- The issue may be your flour. Using a low-protein bread flour (10-12%) can also prevent spreading. I used King Arthur bread flour, and it worked out very well.
- You might be baking them at too low of a temperature. If you are using a home oven that is non-convection, try baking at 375 degrees instead of 350 degrees. Too low of a temperature can also dry out your cookies.
- Try chilling your dough until it’s firm, then slicing it before baking. I formed the dough into balls. Because I wanted a evenly baked cookie (not puffed up in the middle, I gently flattened by dough balls before baking). Just make sure the dough has been chilled before trying this method. I also like to make sure the dough balls are uniform in size (I use a cookie scoop). You can also form the dough into a log and sliced them at a thickness of about ⅜″, which is halfway between ¼ inch and ½ inch.
Judy says
It was difficult to avoid overmixing and yet get all of the wet ingredients combined. Put in refrigerator overnight and the dough got very solid. Forever to be able to make beautiful small balls? We will just have to eat them and not share.
Marie says
I wonder if you left it sit at room temperature for a while? It should have reverted back to it's pre-fridge consistency? you can also make balls and flatten before baking
Atticus says
Delicious! I made these for my wife. She has covid. 🙁 they are purrrrrrfectly soft and aggressively yummy.
😛
xoxo,
Atticus
Marie says
Awe, feel better soon! Good project for when you're stuck at home and need some comfort 🙂
CiCia Ingleton says
It says 1 extra large egg (1 extra large egg) how many eggs are supposed to go in the recipe
Marie says
Just 1 egg total , the amounts in parentheses are supposed to be for metric. I’ll clarify thanks!
Gayla says
Marie,
Your recipe says Baking powder, your comment says soda? is it powder or soda?
Marie says
Sorry for the confusion, the baking powder replaces baking soda plus cream of tarter in older recipes. So short answer is baking powder as shown in recipe.
J says
Usually Snickerdoodles have cream of tartar - any reason it's omitted??
Thanks!
Marie says
the baking soda replaces the cream of tartar and baking soda used in older recipes 🙂Ella says
Actually there is a typo in Marie's answer to this question. The correct answer is that baking POWDER replaces the baking soda and the cream of tartar in this recipe. This is because baking powder is baking soda and cream of tartar combined. Hope this helps and clears up any confusion.
Sharon Deyton says
Thanks. My recipe said to cream the butter and sugar for 3-5 min. That is probably why my cookies flattened. I've made them before and they never came out flat.
Marie says
I'm glad this helps. It happens to the best of us!