This Snickerdoodles recipe makes a soft, sweet, and chewy cookie, full of cinnamon flavor! Make these tasty treats for your Christmas platter, or any time of year!
No holiday season is complete without snickerdoodle cookies. Soft chewy centers, crispy edges dusted in cinnamon sugar - they're truly the best holiday cookie!
Pile them high on your cookie tray alongside classics like raspberry thumbprint cookies and peanut butter blossom cookies. They truly are the ultimate holiday treat!
Just like sugar cookie bars and whipped shortbread cookies, this is a simple and fuss-free recipe.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The perfect soft and chewy texture. These cookies have a crispy outside with a soft, chewy center.
- Simple and affordable ingredients. Most of the ingredients for snickerdoodle cookies are basic pantry staples. The only thing you may not keep on hand all year long is cream of tarter, but it's not expensive at all.
- A classic homemade gift to share. Everyone loves the flavors of these classic cinnamon sugar cookies! So, bake a few batches and package them in cookie tins or cellophane bags. Then, gift them to your neighbors, family, delivery drivers, and/or coworkers.
If you're a fan of cinnamon-sugar snickerdoodles and you like pumpkin desserts, check out my recipe for Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies!
Ingredients
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
For this easy snickerdoodle cookie recipe, you'll need:
- butter - The quality of European butter is much better than American-made, because it has less water and a higher butterfat content. If your budget allows, use European butter for your holiday baking.
- white granulated sugar and light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk - The extra egg yolk gives the snickerdoodles their soft and chewy texture.
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour - If you can afford to splurge on unbleached flour, do so. It will give your baked goods better flavor. Plus, there are no additives in it.
- cream of tartar and baking soda - Don't skip the cream of tartar, it prevents sugar from crystallizing, which keeps the cookies chewy!
- spices - You'll need ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon.
Substitutions and Recipe Variations
- butter: I prefer to use salted butter, but unsalted works fine, too. If you plan to use unsalted butter, you may want to add ½ teaspoon of salt to the cookie dough.
- eggs - Egg yolks are an important ingredient in this Christmas cookie recipe, so using egg substitutes isn't a great idea. But, if you want to do some recipe testing, feel free! For tips and suggestions, read my article, Egg Substitutions for Baking.
- white granulated sugar: To cut down on the calories of your dessert, feel free to use a cup-for-cup granulated sugar substitute. Monk fruit sugar is a good option.
- light brown sugar: Dark brown sugar will work, but it will give your treats a more pronounced molasses flavor.
- vanilla extract - If you want to use an alcohol-free flavoring, look for vanilla essence.
- all-purpose flour: If you'd like to make gluten free snickerdoodles, swap the AP flour for a cup-for-cup gluten free all-purpose flour. Popular brands are Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour.
- baking soda: Baking soda is essential for this recipe. Do not substitute with baking powder.
How to Make My Snickerdoodles Recipe
This is a summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Cream the butter and sugars. To prevent a grainy texture, mix the ingredients on high speed, for at least 2 minutes.
- Incorporate the other wet ingredients. Mix in the vanilla extract, egg and egg yolk on medium speed.
- Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. It's important to mix at low speed, and add the dry ingredients gradually, not all at once.
- Chill the snickerdoodle cookie dough for at least 1 hour. If you want to, go ahead and make the dough ahead of time. It keeps well in the fridge for several days.
- Portion the dough balls and roll them in cinnamon sugar.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes in a preheated 375°F. oven.
Liz's Tips for the Best Results
- Don't skip chilling the cookie dough. Refrigerating the dough before baking the cookies prevents them from spreading too much in the oven.
- Allow them to cool completely before storing. If the snickerdoodles are still warm when you package them, condensation can build up inside the container. This can cause your cookies to become soggy.
- To keep cookies soft and chewy, place a slice of bread in the container.
Snickerdoodle Recipe Variations
- Chai it up: Add chai seasonings to the cookie dough and the cinnamon sugar topping mixture.
- Chocolate snickerdoodles: Replace ¼ cup of all-purpose flour with cocoa powder.
- More flavor: Add a tablespoon of chilled coffee or espresso to the wet ingredients for a unique mocha flavor.
- Make some pumpkin snickerdoodles.
Storage
Storing: Store baked snickerdoodle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Freezing: Freeze baked cookies in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or airtight container for up to 6 months.
Freezing cookie dough: Scoop into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, or use these cookie dough freezing trays. The unbaked dough will keep in the freezer for 3 months. Don't roll them in sugar until you're ready to bake!
Check out this post for How to Freeze Cookie Dough for tips on saving cookie dough for later.
Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe FAQ
While both sugar cookies and snickerdoodle cookies contain mostly the same ingredients, traditionally snickerdoodles are made with the addition of cream of tartar.
Cream of tartar helps to create that traditional snickerdoodle tangy flavor. Without it, the cookies would likely taste like a normal sugar cookie. In addition to flavor, cream of tartar gives the snickerdoodle it's lovely puffy look and chewy texture. Don't wouldn't skip it!
Other Christmas Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Pecan Snowball Cookies
- No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
- Crispy Gingersnap Cookies
- Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies
- 80 Best Christmas Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Classic Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup salted butter softened, room temp
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla essence
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Topping
- ⅓ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer and large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter and both sugars on high speed for 2 minutes.
- Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Continue mixing for a 2 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, to a separate bowl, add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Whisk well, to combine.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. When ingredients are just combined, turn off the mixer.
- Cover the bowl of dough and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
- When ready to bake, line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. and preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a small shallow bowl or on a plate, mix the sugar and cinnamon topping ingredients.
- Using a cookie scoop or a small spoon, scoop about 2 Tablespoons of cookie dough. Form the dough into a ball shape, then roll through the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Arrange balls of dough about 3 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes.
- Remove pans from oven. Allow snickerdoodles to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Helpful Notes and Tips From Liz
- Storage - Snickerdoodle cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar (or another airtight container) at room temperature for two to three weeks. You can make the cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it to make it at another time. Store the cookie dough in suitable freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Thicker cookies - Refrigerating the dough before baking the cookies prevents them from spreading too much in the oven.
Amy Woods
These cookies were delicious! So easy to make. I took them camping and everyone loved them. They will definitely be in my cookie rotation! Thank you.
Yanhel
This recipe was so easy to follow and they are the best snickerdoodle cookies I have ever had. They taste like cookies from a fancy bakery!