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. 🙂
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 and peanut butter snickerdoodles. And are you craving cake? Here’s my snickerdoodle cake & swirled snickerdoodle cupcakes recipes.
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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 (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 ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (always recommended for cookies). Set aside.
- Make the topping: Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
- Make the cookies: 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.
- Roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons (35g) of cookie dough each. I recommend this cookie scoop. Roll the dough balls in cinnamon-sugar topping. Sprinkle extra cinnamon-sugar on top if desired. 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. You can also 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: 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.
Keywords: snickerdoodles
So good!! They turned out perfect and were very easy to make 🙂
★★★★★
The cookies were very tasty ! I am not a huge fan of snickerdoodles, but my son wanted them for his birthday. I followed the recipe to the letter as well, exact measurements and my dough to was a bit crumbly, so I added just a tbsp of butter, remixed with mixer and dough was perfect!! They were very good!
★★★★
Doubling this recipe doesn’t work. I selected the option to double and it didn’t make the dough. It was just a dry crumbly mess.
I would only make ONE 24 count batch at a time. 😀
Hi Sally. I want to make these cookies (they look fabulous) but I am worried if they flop so I was wondering if I could halve the recipe to get a still delicious batch of cookies. Much appreciated!
Hi Aiden, absolutely, simply halve all the ingredients.
how many will this recipe make
This recipe makes about 24 cookies.
10 minutes baking? They came out almost raw… Flavour is very nice but instructions seem to be off (and yes, I followed it all to the letter)
★★★
Hi JT! All ovens are different so always use bake times as a guide – bake until the cookies are done. We also recommend using an in-oven thermometer to ensure your oven is the temperature is what it says it is – most ovens are off one way or another. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Wondering if you tested this with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 or King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour? I would love to make them for a lunch and the hostess requested a gluten free cookie.
Hi Maria, we haven’t tested these with gluten free flour but let us know if you try it!
I used King Arthur Measure for Measure and they puffed perfectly. I did need to cook them for 11 minutes. Delicious!
After watching endless baking shows, we kept hearing them talk about snickerdoodles but we never had them before. I used this recipe one night after work. They didn’t even survive the night. I just made them the other day and my dad who’s afraid I’m going to poison him just asked where are those cookies you made. They didn’t last long either. Thanks I’m baking the stress away before my neck surgery next month. I’ll be sure to make these again before that day.
★★★★★
These cookies hit the spot! I made them for my dinner guests. They all thought they were delicious except for my very particular husband who said I needed to add more cinnamon and cook them longer. I made a second batch while my guests were still hanging out. The general consensus was that the first batch (which was according to the recipe) was better. Though, no one objected to a touch more cinnamon. Cinnamon can be a tricky spice with different levels of strength. Anyways, AMAZING!
I love how easy it was to make. And they cam out really good.
★★★★★
Love all of your recipes, including this one. I am making another batch to take to my son to college right now.
I love this recipe it is so good. I can’t stop eating them. some times I have to double the recipe so I can give some to my family
★★★★★
I made these the way the recipe said to and they turned out perfectly! I used raw cane sugar in the batter. They were thick and soft and stayed soft! Will definitely be making these again!
★★★★★
I will preface this by saying my husband still loved them, but…
Mine did not turn out puffy, they flattened out. Couple questions:
1. I measured out 375g as they always say to do… but I had to remove some after measuring 3 cups of my flour (turned out to be closer to 465g). Od that it was so off?
2. Is it possible to cream the butter & sugar too much? Or over combine ingredients? Would that make a difference in consistency?
3. I am so used to you saying CHILL THE DOUGH… are you sure that was not part of my issue?
Flavor is outstanding, but I want them thick and puffy too 🙂
THANKS! Huge fan of your website!!
★★★★★
Hi Pam! We always say that “A cup isn’t always a cup, but a gram or ounce is always a gram or ounce!” Basically, when in doubt go by the weight when measuring when possible! Yes, it is possible to over-cream and over combine – you want to cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and always mix other ingredients until just combined, unless otherwise instructed. No dough chilling necessary for this recipe! If your cookies spread, the temperature of your butter is likely to blame – here’s what room temperature butter really means – it’s not as warm as most think! Hope these tips help for next time!
This is great! I used org raw sugar and a bit of coconut sugar and extra cinnamon, but this is a great recipe. I like the added egg yolk.
★★★★★
These are AMAZING! The only thing I changed was to add 1/2 tsp cardamom to both the flour mixture and cinnamon/sugar mixture. I would prob increase that the next time just because I love cardamom. Definitely make these!!!
★★★★★
Our family has been making snickerdoodles for years with a different recipe. I tried these today and they are yummy! Soft snickerdoodle perfection!
★★★★★
This was a great recipe and the cookies were delicious! For some reason, my cookies did not rise as much and were a lot more flat. Any reason this might have happened?
★★★★★
Hi Nabeela, Here’s our tips to prevent cookies from spreading.
It’s become my go-to cookie. I’ve played around with some toppings like Skor bits once I press them down and have a little valley on top. Great recipes.
OMG!! This cookie and this recipe are perfect! I love that they are soft. I was wanting something cinnamon all week and this did it. Thank you for your recipes
★★★★★
I followed the recipe with no alterations. First batch is in the oven hoping they are going to turn out right. My raw cookie dough was very dry and crumbly. Once I scooped the dough, I gingerly messed with it while getting the cinnamon mixture all over it. No idea what I did wrong. Maybe the chicken bragged it was a large egg and it wasn’t. Possibly use both complete eggs next time?
Hi Denise, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use weight measurements) to ensure an accurate amount of flour to incorporate properly with the wet ingredients. Too much flour is usually the culprit in overly dry cookie dough!
These cookies are amazing! I made sure the butter and eggs were at room temperature using the directions here. The cookies came out crisp on the outside and tender in the middle; delicious ! I followed the recipe as written. I will make these again!
★★★★★
It’s looking great so far!! Just a quick question; can this recipe be done with egg replacer? My sibling is allergic to eggs, and I want to make it safe for them.
★★★★★
Hi Maddie, We haven’t tested this recipe with an egg substitute, but let us know if you try anything. Here are all of our egg free recipes if you are interested!
Can I sub bread flour for all-purpose flour? We’re running low on it right now.
That should work in a pinch, but the texture may be a bit different than a traditional snickerdoodle.
Simply the perfect snickerdoodle cookie! My husband and almost 2 year old daughter loved them. They are so soft and flavorful. We will definitely be making these again!
★★★★★
This is by far the very best recipe I’ve ever used. Neighbors are snow birds from Ontario Canada, only here in Texas for the winter. They never had a snickerdoodle cookie. They went crazy over them, making them today for their trip home. Thanks a bunch
★★★★★
Can you do this without the mixer?
Hi Sheilla, yes, it will just take a bit of arm muscle to cream the butter and sugar!
This is my go to sight for baking. It is amazing. Best recipes and instructions ever.
Can I use canola oil instead of butter? Would that change anything?
Hi Jeanie, butter creamed with sugar makes up the base of this cookie recipe and it is impossible to cream oil with sugar. Best to stick with butter for these cookies.
This recipe is amazing. My daughters new favorite cookies. They were all gone ima few days. Made them twice now.
★★★★★
So simple, soft, chewy, and delicious! Thank you for the post! I love being able to impress with less work involved.
★★★★★