Loaded with cinnamon sugar, snickerdoodles are the perfect holiday treat!
This snickerdoodles recipe makes a soft, thick cookie with a cinnamon-sugar coating. They’re delicious any time of year.
What is a Snickerdoodle
A snickerdoodle is a soft and chewy cinnamon sugar cookie with a lovely cracked surface and the unusual addition of cream of tartar.
Cream of tartar is actually a byproduct of wine production and adds a subtle tart flavor to these delicious cookies! You can find it online at Amazon or in the baking or spice aisle of most grocery stores.
How to Make Snickerdoodles
These cookies are made in a traditional way like most cookies.
- Cream butter, sugar, and eggs (recipe below)
- Add dry ingredients
- Roll into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar
Bake the snickerdoodles until the edges just start to brown. You do not want to overbake them.
To make snickerdoodles without Cream of Tartar you’ll want to substitute it. Some people suggest things like vinegar or lemon juice. As with all baking, keep in mind that any alterations to a recipe can change the texture and quite possibly the flavor of the cookie.
In this recipe, use 2.5 teaspoons of baking powder and skip both the cream of tartar and the baking soda. (Baking powder is made of baking soda and cream of tartar and a bit of cornstarch).
To Make Ahead
Snickerdoodles can be made ahead of time and frozen. Prepare as directed and cool completely. Once cooled, place in freezer bags and freeze up to 4 months.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Soft and Chewy Ginger Snaps
- Spritz Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Best Ever Monster Cookies
- Candy Cane Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Did you enjoy these Snickerdoodles? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!
Easy Snickerdoodle Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 eggs
Topping
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Combine flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- With mixer on medium, combine sugar, butter and eggs. Stir in flour mixture.
- Combine cinnamon and sugar for topping in a small bowl. Divide dough into 32 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
This is a c.cookie I grew up with, my nana made it every year and to only differance was she placed a 1/2 cherrie in the center of the cookies to before baking. Made for a holiday appearance. Joanne
Hi Joanne, that sounds like such a lovely tradition, Joanne! It’s always nice to keep those memories alive through family recipes. Thanks for sharing this sweet detail!
turned out terrible. followed the recipe to a t. just not a good snickerdoodle recipe, find another.
My husband can’t stop raving! Super delicious cookie!!!
I am an inexperience baker.
What oven temperature should I use.
This is in step 1 of the recipe, enjoy the cookies Don!
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
Just made the Snickerdoodle cookies. Love them, but did make one mistake, I did not let the butter rest until room temperature, so I had clumps of butter which affected some of the cookies, not all. Easy and will make these again, just enough sweetness and cinnamon. Thank you from Canada
Thanks so much for leaving a comment, Betty! Glad you enjoyed the cookies :)
l made the snikadoodles and they tasted great. my family always asks me to make them and l used your recipe because l had lost mine
I am new to baking. Do you think the following would work so I can cut into Christmas shapes and they actually look like the shapes when they bake?
-Prep dough in the AM (or night before), place in fridge for the full day
-Take out of the fridge and let sit for 10 minutes
-Roll dough out, cut the shapes, and place in the freezer for 10 minutes while preheating
-Bake for the 8-10 minutes
Thank you!!
Hi Kayla, we have never cut these cookies into shapes so I can’t say for sure. Keeping the dough chilled is best though, so your instructions sound like they would work!
Very good. Cinnamon mixed in the dough is yummy!
Thanks for leaving a comment, Karen! Glad you are enjoying this recipe :)
Love this recipe! Modified it a bit by using baking powder in place of baking soda and vegetable spread in place of butter since I was out of both baking soda and butter. Also decided to drop the dough instead since I can’t roll dough into balls to save my life. I also I sprinkled the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top afterwards since I forgot to coat the dough in it before baking. Cookies turned out soft and pillowy, which I really love in a Snickerdoodle cookie. Will definitely use this recipe every time I make Snickerdoodle cookies!
So happy to hear these cookies turned out perfect for you, Taylor!
Very easy and delicious! They taste just like the kind in the store, but better. I will say that the multiplication feature on the recipe is a little hard to decipher, since using it turns fractions into decimal points, so you’re better off just measuring everything twice to double the recipe (I figure that’s a quirk of the website, rather than a real problem, though). My only change is that I mixed in red hot candies into the dough before rolling and coating. They turned out swell, but if you do mix in candies, air on the side of an 8-minute bake time, as the candies melt a little, and the sugar can seep through and burn the bottom. However, the recipe unchanged makes an amazing cookie! Thanks so much!
These came out VERY tasty but they were cakey (vice chewy and crispy around the edges)…any thoughts? (I didn’t overbake)
I am so glad you enjoyed the taste of these cookies Debbie! Did you measure your flour by the spooning and levelling method (as opposed to scooping)? Extra flour can make these cookies cakey.
Spectacular! Especially with a nice cold glass of milk. I made them for a party and they were a big hit! Super chewy and crispy (on the edges) at the same time! Definitely recommend!
Did everything EXACTLY as this recipe says and my cookies flattened so thin and spread so much. Thanks for wasting my pennies here.
I am a snickerdoodle FREAK! I love them! I don’t like crispy cookies, only chewy ones. Ive made this recipe twice. Both times great. I recommend it! Simple, quick and easy. I modified because I realized that I don’t like the cinnamon mixed into the recipe. It’s too much for me. I like it better with the cinnamon/sugar rolled on the outside of the cooked. Otherwise, it’s a great recipe!
So happy to hear that Janeen!
awsome
I’ve baked these 3 times and it’s so easy. Plus the cookies are soft and chewy!
so easy to make and they taste great! i’d love to find a way to make them more dense, since that’s what i prefer, but these were so light and fluffy, and my boyfriend really enjoyed them. (note: we used baking powder instead of baking soda and cream of tartar, since we didn’t have the latter.)
This is different from the 4H version. I make the 4H version all the time. It does not call for cream or tarter or cinnamon in the batter. The cinnamon/sugar ratio is different too. I am sure these are excellent too.
Love these cookies, so good and so easy! I have made these twice now and had to refrigerate the dough before creating balls (most likely due to use of baking powder vs. cream of tartar), but they have definitely become a go to recipe in our house!
These were so easy and SO soft and perfect!
Can anything be substituted for cream of tartar?
You can also find this info in the post, hope that helps.
In this recipe, use 2.5 teaspoons baking powder and skip both the cream of tartar and the baking soda. (Baking powder is made of baking soda and cream of tartar and a bit of cornstarch).
Can u use something different then cream of tarter
You can find this information in the post:
To make snickerdoodles without Cream of Tartar you’ll want to substitute it. Some people suggest things like vinegar or lemon juice. As with all baking, keep in mind that any alterations to a recipe can change the texture and quite possibly the flavor of the cookie.
In this recipe, use 2.5 teaspoons of baking powder and skip both the cream of tartar and the baking soda. (Baking powder is made of baking soda and cream of tartar and a bit of cornstarch).
making these for the 1st time, never heard of Snickerdoddle cookies .Excited to make these as I am never disappointed with your recipes. Will update you with the results
I hope you love them, Betty!