Crispy on the edges and soft and chewy in the middle, these snickerdoodles are absolutely delicious! These cookies, with a cinnamon and vanilla flavor, are so easy to make that they’ll become your go-to for quick-yet-indulgent sweet treats to make for your guests and family.
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Ingredients and substitutes
Flour - I use bread flour for my easy snickerdoodle recipe because I like chewy cookies a lot. However, you can use all-purpose flour if you like.
Salt, vanilla extract, and cinnamon - These are the ingredients that you should use to create the distinct snickerdoodle cookies flavor.
Baking soda - If you don't like cakey cookies, always use baking soda instead of baking powder.
Butter - Your unsalted butter should be at room temperature. If you press it with your finger, it should leave a distinct dent without leaving your finger greasy.
Sugar - I use white granulated sugar for the coating and a mix of brown sugar (light or dark) and white sugar to make our cinnamon cookie dough.
Egg - Use a medium egg (50-55g with shell) at room temperature.
Lemon juice - You can make these snickerdoodles without cream of tartar. Just add lemon juice to your wet ingredients. It will react with the baking soda and give us a chewy but not dense texture. If you're using the cream of tartar, however, add 1 teaspoon of it to your dry ingredients and skip the lemon juice.
Cooking tips
Don't overmix the cookie dough. This recipe calls for bread flour, which has more gluten than all-purpose flour, so be very brief when you combine the dry and wet ingredients together. When there are no white speckles of flour in the mixture, stop mixing and start forming the cookie dough balls.
Don't place the cookies on a warm baking sheet. If you bake your snickerdoodle cookies in several batches, don't use the same baking sheet to bake them. The sheet won't cool down after the first batch before you start placing the new cookie balls on it, so the butter inside will start melting before the dough balls are in the oven. This will definitely affect the end result! To avoid this happening, use at least two trays that you will be able to cool down completely in between the bakes.
Adjust the baking time if baking smaller cookies. I usually make large cookies by using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, but you don't have to do the same. You can make smaller cookies if you want. Keep in mind that you will have more cookies, so it may take 3 batches to bake them all instead of 2 and you'll need to reduce the baking time a little bit. I suggest you check on them every now and then while baking the first batch so you know how much time your second and third batches will need.
Step by step directions
1. In a small bowl, combine the coating ingredients. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium for 2 minutes or until smooth and pale beige in color.
4. Then, add the egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice and beat for 30 seconds or until homogenous in consistency.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until incorporated. Refrigerate while the oven is preheating.
6. Preheat the oven to 355F (180C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop 14 cookie dough balls and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place each ball onto the baking sheet, leaving at least a 2" (5cm) distance in between. If you have to work in batches, leave the rest of the dough in the fridge while the first batch is baking.
8. Bake for approximately 13 minutes or until the cookies have spread, formed golden edges, puffed up, and started to deflate while still in the oven.
9. When done, remove from the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. Then, transfer them onto a cooling rack to cool our cinnamon sugar cookies completely.
Possible variations
This snickerdoodle cookie recipe is so amazing, I wouldn't recommend adding anything else to it. However, you can almost always add some chocolate chips or crushed nuts to your cookie dough, if you desire.
FAQ
Yes, you can! You would just need to rotate and switch the places of the trays in the middle of the baking to make sure your cookies bake at the same rate.
Store them at room temperature for 4-5 days. I like to store them loosely covered with plastic wrap on a plate lined with a paper towel. This way the cookies stay crispy.
You can make the dough in advance and store it covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
This dough is freezer-friendly. Tightly cover the dough in plastic wrap and then in a piece of foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then let it soften a bit at room temperature before forming the balls.
More cookie recipes
Recipe card
Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer and a large mixing bowl
- Cookie scoop (3-tablespoon cookie scoop)
Ingredients
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 150 g white granulated sugar
- 50 g brown sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 200 g bread flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the sugar coating
- 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1-2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar coating ingredients. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can use a bowl and a hand mixer), add the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat on medium for 2 minutes or until smooth and pale beige in color.
- Then, add the egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice and beat for 30 seconds or until homogenous in consistency.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until incorporated. Refrigerate while the oven is preheating.
- Preheat the oven to 355F (180C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a 3-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop 14 cookie dough balls (you can always make more cookies smaller in size) and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Place each ball onto the baking sheet, leaving at least a 2" (5cm) distance in between. If you have to work in batches, leave the rest of the dough in the fridge while the first batch is baking.
- Bake for approximately 13 minutes or until the cookies has spread, formed golden edges, puffed up, and started to deflate while still in the oven.
- When done, remove from the oven and let them cool down on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. Then, transfer onto a cooling rack to cool down completely.
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