If you are in search of the quickest, simplest, and yummiest Homemade Snickerdoodle Cookie recipe, you've come to the right place! These cookies are thick, soft, chewy, and bursting in cinnamon sugar flavor. Made in less than 30 minutes with easily accessible ingredients, these are the perfect treat to whip up in a pinch... your friends and family will be thanking you!
Why You NEED This Simple Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Quick Preparation: These cookies take 10 minutes to prep, as there are only a few simple steps! You'll have these cookies ready to eat within 30 minutes!
- No-Chill Dough: Unlike most cookie doughs, this dough does not need to be in the fridge before baking! They still come out soft, chewy, and flavorful without time in the fridge or freezer!
- Incredible Cinnamon Flavor: These cookies have a touch of cinnamon in the batter and are rolled in cinnamon sugar twice, creating a deep cinnamon flavor!
- Easy to Store: Snickerdoodles can be stored at room temperature for 5 days, covered, or in an airtight container. These are easily freezable too- simply put them in a freezer container or bag for up to 4 months.
Snickerdoodle Ingredients
All Purpose Flour: Simply enough, all purpose flour works wonders in these cookies. However, make sure to measure the flour properly by using a kitchen scale or spooning flour into your measuring cups before using a knife to sweep and level the tops.
Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is one of the most important ingredients in snickerdoodles. It helps create the classic flavor and chewy, soft texture.
Baking Soda: Baking soda is what gives these cookies their rise. Because of baking soda, you end up with puffy, thick cookies!
Salt: Salt is more important than you might think. Even though there is only ¼ teaspoon, it helps bring out the sweetness in these cookies!
Cinnamon: Cinnamon. Ground cinnamon is likely the most important ingredient in this homemade snickerdoodle cookies recipe. In this recipe, you'll use a dash of cinnamon in the batter and a cinnamon sugar mixture coating.
Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter at room temperature is key for these cookies. To bring your butter to room temperature, cut your stick of butter into tablespoon-sized pieces and heat them face-down for 10 seconds. Then, flip the butter pieces over and heat for another 10 seconds.
Granulated Sugar & Light Brown Sugar: Both granulated sugar and light brown sugar create flavor, moisture, and texture in these cookies.
Egg: For this recipe, you'll need one large egg at room temperature. If you forget to leave the egg out ahead of time, simply place the egg in a bowl of hot water for 5-10 minutes before using.
Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds extra flavor and truly completes these cookies!
How to Make Soft & Chewy Cookies
*PLEASE READ FULL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE RECIPE CARD BELOW
- Step 1: Preheat your oven and prepare your pans by lining them with parchment paper.
- Step 2: Combine your dry ingredients. To do this, use a whisk to stir flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.
- Step 3: Then, cream your butter and sugars together for at least 3 minutes until light, fluffy, and shiny. Add your egg and vanilla extract to the batter.
- Step 4: Next, add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients over low speed. Do not overmix, but ensure that there are no parts of the flour mixture that have not been incorporated into the dough.
- Step 5: Roll the dough into 1 ½ tablespoon-sized (35g) balls. Roll the dough in cinnamon sugar twice for best flavor.
- Step 6: Then, bake the cookies for 7-10 minutes or until puffy, light golden brown in color, and set and shiny in the center.
FAQ
Snickerdoodles are similar to sugar cookies, though these have cinnamon in the dough and are coated twice in a cinnamon sugar mixture. They have cream of tartar which creates a more tangy flavor, and helps to create a slightly cracked appearance on the tops of these cookies.
Cream of tartar creates the signature, slightly tangy flavor in snickerdoodles. It interacts with the baking soda to create the soft, chewy cookie texture.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Cream the Butter and Sugars for 3 Minutes: Regardless of whether you are using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, mix the room temperature butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium speed for at least 3 minutes to really whip air into the mixture. This creates a lighter, softer texture in this homemade snickerdoodle cookies recipe.
- Roll the Cookies in Cinnamon Sugar Twice: This may seem simple or even unnecessary, but I promise that it makes all the difference. After rolling every cookie in the cinnamon sugar, roll them all an additional time to truly coat them in flavor.
- Slightly Underbake: This homemade snickerdoodle cookies recipe creates cookies that are best when they are just slightly underbaked. As soon as they are puffy and the centers look shiny but fully set, take these babies out of the oven. If you use a spatula to lift a cookie off of the tray, the bottom should look light golden brown in color.
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Simple Homemade Snickerdoodles
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 16 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Fall Desserts, Christmas Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft, chewy, and flavorful Snickerdoodle Cookies are the best for any occasion. They take 30 minutes to make, are made with simple ingredients, and are sure to impress friends and family!
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cup (233g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5g) cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon (3g) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (2g) salt
- 1 teaspoon (4g) cinnamon
- ½ cup (110g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (110g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (34g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg (50g), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (55g) granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon (6g) cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure the cookies come off of the pan cleanly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk all purpose flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together until combined.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat room temperature butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar together for about 3 minutes until pale in color, slightly shiny, and puffy in texture. This is incredibly important to beat air into the batter.
- Add the room temperature egg and vanilla extract to the batter, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure the mixture is properly combined.
- Slowly, add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients over slow speed. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk granulated sugar and cinnamon together to create the the topping.
- Roll batter into about 1 ½ tablespoon sized balls, about 35g of batter per cookie. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on prepared baking sheets. After rolling each of the balls in the mixture, roll them one more time in the cinnamon sugar.
- Bake the cookies for 7-10 minutes or until the tops are puffy, shiny, and fully set. The cookies should look light brown in color under the cinnamon sugar and the bottoms should be light golden brown when lifted up with a spatula from the cookie sheet.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about 2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack or plate. Then, use the back of a spoon to tap the tops of the cookies to slightly flatten them and create a more cracked top.
- Store tightly covered or in an airtight container for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Keywords: Snickerdoodles, Snickerdoodle Cookies, Thick Cookies, Chewy Cookies, Christmas Cookies, Cinnamon Sugar
Lindsey T. says
Just made these cookies yesterday and they turned out amazing! So delicious and very easy to make. Cant wait to make them again 🙂
★★★★★
Elise says
Yay! Thank you for such a sweet review, Lindsey! I'm so glad you enjoyed these cookies!
Colin K. says
Incredible snickerdoodles. I have no baking experience and I was able to bake these to perfection. The prep time took a little longer than advertised, but it was amazing!
★★★★★
Elise says
This is so exciting, Colin! I'm so glad you liked this recipe- it's one of my favorites!
Scarlet says
I made these cookies and they turned out PERFECT! This will definitely be my go-to recipe.
★★★★★
Elise says
Thank you so much, Scarlet! SO happy to hear this!