Classic Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodles
Buttery, tangy cookies with crinkled, cinnamon-sugar tops and soft, chewy centers. Cream of tartar gives the signature tang and tender chew, and a short chill keeps them thick.
- Prep
- 22 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Wait
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 17 min
- Makes
- 24 cookies (about 3 inches / 7.5 cm wide)
Steps
Before you start
- Set the butter and eggs out about 1 hour ahead. The butter should dent easily under a finger but still feel cool, around 65°F (18°C).
- Measure flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling it off, or use the gram weights. Packed flour makes dry, cakey cookies.
- Use fresh cream of tartar and baking soda. Both are needed for the tang and the crinkled tops.
- Plan for a 30-minute chill. The dough is too soft to roll without it, and unchilled cookies spread thin.
Whisk dry ingredients
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt for about 30 seconds, until evenly combined with no streaks or clumps of baking soda.
- Set aside.
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Ready when: The mixture looks uniform and uniformly pale.
Cream butter and sugar
- In a large bowl or stand mixer with the paddle, beat the softened butter and 1½ cups (300 g) sugar on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stop and scrape the bowl once or twice.
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Ready when: The mixture is pale, fluffy, and looks like wet sand that has lightened in color.
Tip: If the butter is greasy or melty, the cookies will spread too much. Chill the bowl for 10 minutes and try again.
Add eggs and vanilla
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each.
- Add the vanilla and beat 15 seconds more.
- Scrape the bowl well.
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Ready when: The batter looks smooth and creamy, with no visible streaks of egg.
Tip: If it looks slightly curdled, don't worry. The flour will bring it back together.
Mix the dough
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl.
- Mix on low speed for 30 to 45 seconds, just until no dry flour remains.
- The dough will be soft and thick.
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Ready when: No dry flour patches remain and the dough pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
Tip: Stop as soon as the flour disappears. Overmixing makes tough cookies.
Chill the dough
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- The butter firms up so the dough is easy to roll and the cookies bake thick instead of spreading.
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Ready when: The dough feels firm and slightly tacky, not sticky, when you press it.
Tip: You can chill it up to 24 hours. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before rolling if it is rock hard.
Preheat and prep coatingOven 375°F / 190°C
- About 10 minutes before the chill ends, heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- In a small shallow bowl, stir together the ¼ cup (50 g) sugar and the cinnamon.
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Ready when: The cinnamon sugar is an even tan color with no streaks of white.
Shape and coat
- Scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon balls (about 40 g each) and roll between your palms until smooth.
- Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar until fully coated.
- Place 12 balls on each sheet, about 2½ inches (6 cm) apart.
- Don't flatten them.
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Ready when: Each ball is smooth and fully coated, with no bare dough showing.
Tip: Keep the dough you aren't using in the fridge so it stays firm.
Bake the cookiesOven 375°F / 190°C
- Bake both sheets at 375°F (190°C) for 9 to 11 minutes.
- Swap the sheets between racks and rotate them front to back at the 5-minute mark.
- Take the cookies out when they are puffed and crinkled.
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Ready when: The edges are set and lightly golden, and the centers look puffed and slightly underdone with fine cracks on top.
Tip: Pull them while the centers still look soft. They finish cooking on the hot pan and stay chewy.
Cool the cookies
- Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes so they firm up enough to move.
- Then transfer them with a spatula to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes more.
- The tops will settle and the centers will turn chewy.
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Ready when: The cookies lift off the pan without bending or breaking.
Tip: Cool the sheets before baking any extra dough on them, or the cookies will spread.
Good to know
Tips
- For extra-crinkly tops, tap the pans firmly on the counter once as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Weigh the dough balls (about 40 g each) so the cookies bake evenly in the same time.
- Bake one test cookie first. If it spreads too thin, chill the dough another 15 minutes. If it stays tall, press the next ones down lightly.
- Don't overbake. Snickerdoodles that look fully done in the oven will be crisp once cooled.
Make ahead
"The dough keeps in the fridge, covered, for up to 24 hours. Or freeze the rolled, cinnamon-sugar-coated balls on a tray until solid, then bag them for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 375°F (190°C) for 11 to 13 minutes."
Storage & reheating
"Room temperature: airtight container for up to 5 days (add a slice of bread to keep them soft). Fridge: not recommended, it dries them out. Freezer: baked cookies freeze in a sealed container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes, or warm at 300°F (150°C) for 3 to 4 minutes."
Substitutions
- cream of tartar → Lemon juice or white vinegar plus extra baking soda. Use 2 tsp lemon juice in place of the cream of tartar and reduce the baking soda to ½ tsp. The tang is milder and the texture a bit less chewy.
- unsalted butter → Salted butter. Use salted butter and omit the ½ tsp salt. Alternatively, use half butter and half vegetable shortening for taller, softer cookies with less buttery flavor.
- all-purpose flour → 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour blend. Use the same weight and let the dough rest 10 minutes before chilling. The cookies may be slightly more fragile when warm.
- ground cinnamon → Cinnamon plus a pinch of nutmeg or cardamom. Use 2½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp nutmeg or cardamom for a warmer spice coating.
