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.
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!
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. We use it for the best flavor in maple pecan snickerdoodles also. 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.
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.
Print
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! I really liked that the cinnamon is mixed in with the dry ingredients to bring the cinnamon flavor throughout the whole cookie. I couldn’t decide whether to do this cookie or the caramel snickerdoodle recipe so I combined them and made half the cookies with the caramel center from the other recipe. That might be my favorite part! YUM! Can’t wait to make these again!
One caveat is that the ads on this page take up some of the ingredients listed which is very frusturating to navigate. I couldn’t see some of the ingredients because of the ads and there was no “x” to click it away. Please reduce the ads on site.
★★★★★
I needed to add an extra egg to get the consistency right for the dough (it was too flaky otherwise). Everything else exactly as directed and these are the best snickerdoodles I’ve ever had!
★★★★★
Snickerdoodles are not very known from where I come from (actually I heard about it on a american podcast). I decided to try these classic cookies with this recipe and I have followed the instructions meticulously. They are so delicious and are thick and soft as discribed. Everybody at home loved it. I will certainly bake them again ! Thank you !
★★★★★
Delicious and soft. I even made a mistake with the recipe by not mixing the sugar and butter together before adding eggs and vanilla. Cookies still turned out fantastic. My batch made 32 cookies so my scoops were more like 2TBSP .
★★★★★
I read the post and understand about cream of tarter being classic for snickerdoodles, and I believe it, but I guess the problem is I don’t like classic snickerdoodles then, haha! That tangy aftertaste was not for me. It really stays in your mouth for quite a while after a cookie, LOL. However, that’s a personal preference–I think I will do them with just baking powder next time and they can just be faux snickerdoodles. I’m not even ashamed. But they baked really well and were nice and soft and chewy!
★★★★
Great recipe! Love everything about it except for rolling into balls. Have you ever tried making a bar out of this recipe? Would love that alternative.
★★★★★
Hi Vicki! You could try these as bars in a 9×13 inch pan. We are unsure of the best bake time.
These were so easy and fun to make. Also sooooo yummy! I love snickerdoodles they are my favorite cookie, and these were sooo fluffy and yummy! Only thing I changed was instead of 2 tsp of vanilla I used 1 1/2, and 1/2 tsp of Almond extract. I will be trying more recipes soon!
★★★★★
We put mini chocolate chips with them and they were the bomb.
Made these exactly like the recipe calls for. They were fantastic! Thank you!
★★★★★
My cookies came out pretty flat, where do you think I went wrong? I measure all my ingredients with my kitchen scale, I’m so thankful your recipes include the weights!
The taste was great, just flat for a snickerdoodle.
Hi Jess, a few possibilities here…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, but you can certainly chill them for a bit if you find them flattening out too much. 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!
I have had this problem in the past with all cookies, Now I always make sure that my baking powder and baking soda are fresh. I make sure that I tightly seal in a container. Then I put my own expiration date of 3 months after opening, No more flat cookies! (as long as other guidelines are followed!)
Mine were really flat too! It’s a shame because they tasted pretty good!
Dear Sally and Chums, I have seen recipes for Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles but not on your site. Would you consider devising a recipe? I can’t imagine you haven’t thought of it considering the diversity of cookies you have given us! I would prefer to use a “Sally Approved” recipe that I can trust. I only use your site for baking. Much cookie love to you and your colleagues!
What a great recipe idea, maybe something like this for the holiday season this year! Thank you for the suggestion, Susan. I appreciate your comment!
I have made these cookies at least 10 times and they are a no fail recipe! I just made some dough and rolled it out and refrigerated it. I’m in Texas and right now it’s 103 so I’m going to bake them in the morning when it’s cooler. My son absolutely loves these cookies and he’s not even a sweet eater! Sally’s is the best for any recipe I’ve tried.
★★★★★
I use Sally’s Baking Addiction for nearly all of my baking. She never lets me down. These snickerdoodles are just fantastic!!! Light, fluffy, perfect amount of time in the oven. I had a special cinnamon spice blend, it was incredible. I recommend trying new spices. Thank you Sally for Your wonderful recipes.
★★★★★
Best snickerdoodle recipe ever! Better than moms, but don’t tell! I’m new to the site and can’t wait to try out other recipe’s you have!
★★★★★
I used country crock plant butter and the texture was great. A few of them burned on the bottom a little, but I think its because I used parchment instead of sil pat! Maybe double sheet would help too. But that brand of vegan butter worked really well for me. I’m extremely allergic to dairy, even butter!
I loved these cookies! They’re bakery quality!
I’ve tried quite a few snickerdoodle recipes, and this is definitely the best one!
Thanks for sharing this recipe
★★★★★
Some of mine burnt on the bottom quite a bit… I DID sub for vegan butter due to an allergy, but haven’t had this problem with other recipes… wondering if a double cookie sheet might help? I used parchment as opposed to silpat, but it really seems like it might be a sugar on the bottom issue… suggestion? Other than that this is my favorite snickerdoodle recipe! I’ve been trying to find one that tastes like my mom used to make but doesn’t use crisco like her recipe…
I’ve made these before, but I live in high altitude, I was wondering if there was a high altitude recipe? Also my mom LOVES these so much, when ever I offer to bake, she ALWAYS brings these up!
★★★★★
My family has deemed me the “family baker” and all I do is literally follow your recipes haha. You’re brilliant! These cookies are perfection
★★★★★
Can this be doubled?
You can double this recipe. Enjoy!
Love these fluffy snickerdoodles!! If I was wanting to make these into larger cookies – 3 TBSP each – what do you suggest I do differently? Lower the oven temp and cook longer?
Hi Anna! Baking longer should do the trick for larger cookies. We haven’t tested that size, though. Let us know how they go!
Best cookies we have made from scratch! I love that they are not too sweet!
★★★★★
i really liked this recipe but i was more a fan of the dough than the actual cookies. i found they left what i call a “airy” taste. like the after taste would leave the kinda taste that makes it feel likes there’s gas in your mouth i guess? (it doesn’t taste like car gas but it’s like an air in your mouth). i’m not sure which ingredient or mix of ingredients does this and was wondering if anyone had any tips or any idea what i’m talking about? lol
★★★★
I’ve had this problem too! I’d suggest looking into your baking soda and making sure it isn’t expired, since that seemed to be the cause for me. They always turn out super well and I love sharing them with friends!
what if i don’t have a mixer can i just do it manually
Hi Emma, You can certainly mix it by hand if necessary, but it will take quite a bit of arm muscle! Particularly when it comes to properly creaming the butter and sugars. We find a sturdy wooden spoon works best. Let us know how they turn out for you.
WOW!!! This is THEE ONE! I’ll never use another recipe! Great job!
★★★★★
Just made this recipe with my grand-daughter. Easy to make and absolutely delicious. My family says they’re some of the best cookies they’ve had.
★★★★★
Best ever! Perfect every time! I’m going to try to use this recipe and make the dough into a crust for a chocolate snickerdoodle creme pie!
★★★★★
Can I substitute the butter with margarine to make them dairy-free?
Hi Laurie, we don’t recommend it. Margarine has a higher water content than butter and the cookies will not bake the same. For best results, we recommend sticking with butter.
I have done it with excellent results.
Amazing! I used Crisco instead of butter
★★★★★
These cookies are so good and fun to make!!!
★★★★★
Just made these. Followed instructions and they turned out perfect!
★★★★★
Yummy! Love this recipe, it turned out perfect the first time. Followed the recipe exactly.
Thank you ❤️
★★★★★
this is an amazing recipe!! i’ve made these cookies three times before and everyone loved them! i don’t even like sweet stuff but this recipe makes me crave even more. I’m making another batch today. cant get over this website and how good the recipes are
★★★★★
Thanks so much for reporting back, Joudi — we’re thrilled you’ve been enjoying our recipes!
I’m from Iowa and lost my recipe. I found this so…yay!!!
I make this recipe with Country Crock plant butter. It’s great for baking. This is my favorite go to recipe for quick cookies at church.
★★★★★
These are AMAZING! Sooo delicious!!!! Made them for my family (half of them usually don’t like stuff like this, they are crazy) and they all loved them! I would totally recommend this recipe and they are really easy to make, too. Hands down some of the best cookies EVER! Just wanted to say that this is my go-to site if I want to bake anything, if I ever have any cravings I’m like, Sally’s Baking Addiction time! Thank you!
★