Simple Snickerdoodle Recipe (chewy)
This is the best snickerdoodle cookie recipe with a chewy center, tangy flavor, crisp edges and a crackly cinnamon-sugar coating. Make a double or triple batch for the holidays and give them as gifts. They keep and travel well.
Servings 40 cookies
Ingredients
For the cinnamon coating:
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cookie dough:
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Lightly butter cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper.
For the cinnamon coating:
- In a small shallow bowl, mix 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Reserve.
For the cookie dough:
- Beat 1 cup unsalted butter with 1 ½ cups sugar in a large bowl for 2 minutes, until creamy.
- Add 2 eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and mix.
- Sift dry ingredients: 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar, ¼ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I measure them and sift directly over the butter, but you can do it in another bowl if you want). Add to the butter and mix well until no dry spots remain. Don't overmix at this point.
- Take teaspoons of dough and make balls the size of walnuts. Roll them in the cinnamon sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them a few inches apart as they expand during baking.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the top is dry and the cookies barely start to crackle.
- Let cool for 5 minutes and lift them carefully with a spatula. Let cool completely on a wire rack and keep in tins or airtight cookie jars.
- You can chill the dough, covered to prevent dryness, for a day before baking.
Notes
Baking time: Ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as possible, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend tracking how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Cinnamon: This is a cinnamon cookie, so use the best one you can afford.
Cream of tartar is the ingredient that sets these cookies apart and makes them what they are. There's no substitute. If you leave it out, you have cinnamon cookies, not snickerdoodles.
Make ahead: These cookies stay well for several days, so you can make them a few days before you plan to eat or gift them.
Large batch: you can double the recipe (a good idea if making lots of these cookies for the holidays) and use the stand mixer to make the dough.
Size: I use a cookie dough scoop that's 1,57 inches (4cm) in diameter. If you use a larger one, the cookies will take a few more minutes to bake, and the recipe will render fewer cookies.
