Here is my reader favorite recipe for soft and thick snickerdoodles. These soft-baked snickerdoodle cookies only require about 30 minutes start to finish!
Snickerdoodles are a timeless classic, just like a good batch of chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter cookies. Like drop sugar cookies wrapped in a cinnamon sugar hug, these irresistible cookies never go out of style. My recipe yields the softest and thickest snickerdoodles you’ll ever taste. I like to call them snickerdoodle pillows because they are perfectly fat and puffy! Much too often you’re left with flat, crispy, and thin cookies. The only remedy is to submerge them in a tall glass of milk. But what about starting out with a kitchen tested recipe for soft-baked snickerdoodles? You’ve come to the right place. ๐
How to Make Soft Snickerdoodles
How do you make snickerdoodles puffy and soft? The secret’s in the ratio of butter to leavener to flour to egg. Don’t use shortening here; you’ll miss the flavor of butter. Slightly under-baking the snickerdoodles also guarantees a softer cookie. Take them out of the oven after about 10-11 minutes. This will keep the interior of the cookie soft and chewy.
Why is Cream of Tartar in Snickerdoodles?
Instead of baking powder, use cream of tartar and baking soda in snickerdoodles. Sure, you could use 2 teaspoons of baking powder instead of the cream of tartar + baking soda, but then you won’t really have a snickerdoodle. Cream of tartar adds a unique tangy flavor to the cookie, which sets it apart from sugar cookies and makes it a classic snickerdoodle. You also use it for the best flavor in maple pecan snickerdoodles. It’s absolutely delicious!
No Cookie Dough Chilling!
Great news! You can skip the cookie dough chilling step with this snickerdoodle recipe. There’s enough flour in this cookie dough to create a strong and sturdy cookie without the crutch of chilling the dough first. There’s also no fancy-pants ingredients required. These snickerdoodles are EASY. Shortbread cookies are another easy no chill recipe to keep in your back pocket.
A medium cookie scoop is helpful to divide up the dough. Roll each dough ball in cinnamon sugar, and arrange on a lined baking sheet:
These snickerdoodle cookies aced the true “soft test” meaning they remained soft on day 2! In fact, they were still soft on day 4. (And I’m surprised there are any leftover by that point, but I was trying to make a point!) Since they remain so soft, snickerdoodles are the perfect cookie for gift-giving. I know there are many snickerdoodle lovers out there!
If you’re looking for other snickerdoodle favorites, here are my pumpkin snickerdoodles, peanut butter snickerdoodles, chocolate snickerdoodles, and snickerdoodle blondies. And are you craving cake? Here’s my snickerdoodle cake & swirled snickerdoodle cupcakes recipes.
This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipesโready in 1 hour or less!
Soft & Thick Snickerdoodles
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 26-28 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Here is my reader favorite recipe for soft and thick snickerdoodles. These soft-baked snickerdoodle cookies only require about 30 minutes start to finish! No dough chilling required.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/3 cup (267g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/3 cup (70g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon groundย cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ยฐF (190ยฐC). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (always recommended for cookies). Set aside.
- Make the cookies:ย Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough will be thick.
- Make the topping: Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
- Roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons (35g) of cookie dough each. I recommend this cookie scoop.ย Roll the dough balls in cinnamon-sugar topping. Sprinkle extra cinnamon-sugar on top if desired.ย Arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes. The cookies will be very puffy and soft. When they are still very warm, lightly press down on them with the back of a spoon or fork to help flatten them out. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies remain soft & fresh for 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: There are a few options here! First, you can prepare the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Make sure that you let it come to room temperature before rolling and baking the cookies.ย You can alsoย freeze the cookie dough balls. Roll the dough into balls then freeze the balls for up to 2-3 months. You can freeze the cookie dough balls with the cinnamon sugar coating or without, but I recommend freezing without the topping. When you are ready to bake, remove the balls from the freezer, let sit for 30 minutes, pre-heat the oven, then roll into topping. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Cream of Tartar:ย Cream of tartar is required for this recipe. Please see the text of the post for more information.
- Extra Egg Yolk: To bring this dough together so it isn’t quite as crumbly use 1 large egg, plus 1 extra large egg yolk. I’ve been doing this recently and the snickerdoodles taste even softer, moister, and richer.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made these tonight for my mil, she loves cookies and I hate her eating processed ones. lol She loved them. Plus for half i made a little cream cheese and cinnamon icing for them so she got a mixture. Thank you for the recipe.
Oh my goodness, thes are amazing!! The absulute best snickerdoodle recipe in the world! Thank you so much!
I made the Snickerdoodle Cookies but had one problem. It was too dry . I decided to change the egg to 2 full eggs and a splash of milk to make it work well. They turned out good but should I have done something different for it seemed to crumbly to roll into balls? Thank you.
Hi Maggie, after you mix the wet and dry ingredients together the dough may seem dry and crumbly. But when you roll the cookie dough into balls it should come together and bake up soft and fluffy. Over-baking and using too much flour are the two typical culprits for dry cookies. Make sure you arenโt over-measuring your flour; weigh it with a kitchen scale or use the spoon and level method. And err on the side of under-baking, as the cookies continue to set as they cool. Thanks for giving these a try!
These were not good. The dough was so dry and crumbly. I baked them for 10 minutes, took them out and left them on the pan for 10 more minutes, and theyโre like mushy inside. And theyโre bland. I just never have good luck with the recipes on your website. I tried a few different recipes from this site, followed them exactly, and just no. I guess itโs time to move on.
Hi Kim, Iโm sorry these didnโt turn out well for you. The dough should be soft and workable, not dry or crumbly, so it sounds like something may have been off with the flour measurement or another ingredient along the way. Muffins, cookies, and other baked goods can be very sensitive to even small measuring differences, especially with flour. I always appreciate feedback, and Iโm sorry the recipes havenโt been a good fit for you. Thanks for giving them a try.
I followed the recipe exactly as written. Mine turned out flavorful but completely flat. Bummer.
Can you confirm that it is 1 and 1/3 cup sugar in dough?
Or is that 1/3 mentioned with the ingredients meant for the topping?
Hi Roslyn, 1 and 1/3 cup sugar goes into the dough. Another 1/3 cup sugar is used for the topping!
Iโve made this a few times and wanting to make a base recipe for future cookies. If I leave out the cream of tartar and cinnamon, will this become a regular sugar cookie? Do I need to add baking powder to achieve that?
Hi Brooke, that would be worth a try, but we’re unsure of results. Here’s our drop sugar cookies recipe!
Amazing cookies. I used a new extract I bought and the flavor was excellent! The extract is Fiori di Sicilia.