Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles

Soft, chewy, buttery cookies coated in cinnamon and sugar. These Snickerdoodles bake up super thick and turn out perfect every single time!

I’ve mentioned it before, but one of my main goals on the blog is to start sharing some classic dessert recipes with you. Because while everyone loves over the top desserts every now and then, you just can’t beat a classic recipe. Today’s snickerdoodle recipe is one that I’ve been working on for a while now, and I’m happy to say that I finally cracked the code to perfect snickerdoodle cookies!

I actually attempted snickerdoodles last year for Christmas and was not happy with the results. The cookies tasted good, but they flattened out like pancakes. Actually more like crepes, they were just thin and pretty lifeless.

So a couple of weeks ago I decided to really work on perfecting this snickerdoodle cookie recipe and I have to say, they turned out better than I had hoped. These cookies bake up soft, chewy, and pretty thick too.

In fact, I made a test batch of 50 cookies and sent them with my husband to work and they were gone by the end of the day. Now that’s when you know a recipe is good!

The first thing that I found when it comes to creating thicker snickerdoodle cookies is that you need a slightly higher amount of flour in your recipe, so you’ll be using three cups of flour. The mixture may seem a little crumbly when you first start mixing in the dry ingredients, this is normal so just keep mixing and I promise the cookie dough will come together.

And I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to measuring your flour correctly, but it’s absolutely crucial with this cookie recipe. Avoid scooping your flour from the container, instead, spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. If you scoop the flour from the container, your cookie dough may be too dry and not hold together very well.

Along with the flour, you’ll be using some cream of tartar which adds that classic tanginess we all know and love when it comes to snickerdoodles as well as some baking soda and salt. I also add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon inside of the cookie dough because cinnamon makes every cookie better, especially snickerdoodles!

Along with the dry ingredients, you’ll be creaming together some butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Most snickerdoodle recipes just call for granulated sugar, but brown sugar helps to keep the cookies from spreading as much and it also adds some moisture to the cookie dough.

This recipe also uses 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, you can save the leftover egg white and use it in these candied pecans or these strawberry turnovers.

Once you’ve mixed up the cookie dough, I suggest letting it chill for about 30 minutes. The dough chilling allows the butter to firm back up so the cookies bake up thicker and don’t spread as much. Dough chilling is almost always a must for thicker cookies, so don’t skip this step!

Once the dough is chilled, you’ll measure out the cookie dough and roll them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. One important thing, make sure to only measure out about one tablespoon of cookie dough or 1 and 1/4 inch balls of cookie dough.

I find that snickerdoodles any larger than that just don’t tend to bake up nearly as thick. Be sure to measure the first few scoops of cookie dough, then you can just eyeball the rest from there!

5 from 1 vote

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Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles

Soft, chewy, buttery cookies coated in cinnamon and sugar. These Snickerdoodles bake up super thick and turn out perfect every single time!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword soft and chewy snickerdoodles

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Yields 48 cookies

Author Danielle

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 large egg room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the cinnamon sugar coating:

• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt until well combined. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for about 1-2 minutes or until well combined. Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
5. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon, scoop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Each ball of cookie dough should measure about 1 and 1/4 inches once you roll it into a ball.
6. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon for the coating. Roll each ball of cookie dough into a ball, then coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place back on the baking sheets, making sure to leave a little room between each one.
7. Bake in separate batches at 350°F for 7-10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Notes

Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 1 week.

Freezing Instructions: Cookie dough balls may be frozen for up to 3 months. Roll in the cinnamon sugar coating just before baking and bake from frozen for an additional 1-2 minutes. Baked cookies will also freeze well for up to 3 months, thaw to room temperature before serving.

Love snickerdoodles? Try my Pumpkin Snickerdoodles next!