Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe: Chewy Or Crunchy? (2024)

Baking cookies is one of the things I was most excited to do with my kids once they were old enough. Watching them taste the sweet, freshly-baked cookies they helped to make is one of my favorite things to see.

This easy snickerdoodle recipe is simple enough for kids to help and tasty enough that they’ll want to! Using just a few ingredients from your pantry and fridge, I can walk you through how to make snickerdoodles from scratch so you and your family can enjoy them anytime.

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup cinnamon sugar (3 tablespoons sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon)

Tips For Avoiding Flat Snickerdoodles

One problem I’ve noticed for some home bakers is snickerdoodles that bake too flat. If you want to make a perfectly chewy and soft snickerdoodle recipe, the trick is not to overmix your butter and sugar.

Cream the butter and sugar until it becomes light yellow and fluffy, then stop. This will take a minute or less.

If you’re sure that you’re not overmixing and are still experiencing flat cookies, try baking at 375°F (190°C) and move the rack down one notch in your oven. This will allow you to bake them more quickly and remove them before they flatten. Be sure to decrease your bake time to about 8-9 minutes and check for doneness.

Instructions

Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to make snickerdoodles from scratch. Follow these steps to make perfect snickerdoodles every time.

Step 1 – Whisk Dry Ingredients

Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.

This is also a good time to pre-heat your oven to 350°F (176°C).

Step 2 – Cream the Sugar and Butter

Using a handheld mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter until it’s smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and mix until it becomes light yellow and fluffy. This should take about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Step 3 – Mix Wet Ingredients

Add the vanilla to your butter and sugar mixture and mix until it’s combined.

Next, add your eggs one at a time until each is well incorporated, and then stop.

Step 4 – Add Dry Ingredients

Spoon in ⅓ of your dry ingredient mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add another ⅓ and mix. Finally, add the final ⅓ of dry ingredients and stop mixing just when everything comes together.

Your dough should be light and fluffy and very soft, but not sticky.

Step 5 – Shape Dough and Coat in Cinnamon Sugar

Roll 1.5 tablespoons of the snickerdoodle cookie dough into a ball and coat it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Step 6 – Place Snickerdoodles on Baking Sheet

Immediately after rolling the snickerdoodle cookie dough in cinnamon sugar, I place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 2-inches apart.

The cookies will spread some, but 2 inches is enough room to keep them from spreading into each other.

Step 7 – Bake the Snickerdoodles

Bake the cookies at 350°F (176°C) for 9-11 minutes. Do not overbake. I took mine out promptly at 10 minutes, but every oven will vary.

You’ll want edges that are set and a middle that looks just barely done. I avoid any brown edges when baking snickerdoodles.

Let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips for a Fluffy Snickerdoodle Recipe

The recipe above is a chewy snickerdoodle recipe. I like a flatter cookie with a chewy texture, but if you prefer a fluffy snickerdoodle recipe, there are just a couple of tweaks you can make to these snickerdoodles to make them perfectly puffy.

With a slightly different ratio of flour and butter, your snickerdoodles will turn out more cakey and light. Here are the changes to make a fluffy snickerdoodle recipe:

• Increase the flour from 2 ½ to 3 cups
• Use 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• Instead of 2 whole eggs, use 1 egg and 1 egg yolk

How To Make Snickerdoodles Ahead

If you’d like to make these snickerdoodles ahead of time, you can make the dough following steps 1 to 4 above and then cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Let the snickerdoodle cookie dough come to room temperature before rolling the balls. Once the dough is at room temperature, you can complete steps 5 to 7 above.

How to Freeze Snickerdoodles

To freeze snickerdoodles, follow steps 1 to 5 above, but do not coat them in cinnamon sugar. Just roll them into balls and place them in a zip-top bag.

I like to lay the zip-top bag on a cutting board in my fridge to let the cookies chill and form into solid balls before placing them in the freezer. This stops them from freezing together into one big clump.

You can freeze snickerdoodles for up to 3 months. Just be sure to thaw them in the fridge and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar before baking.

Do I Need to Chill Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough?

No! The beautiful thing about these snickerdoodles is that you don’t need to chill the dough before baking. Just make the dough, roll it, and bake.

If you find that your snickerdoodles are baking too flat or spreading, you may want to try chilling the dough for 30 minutes before baking.

If you do chill the dough, I suggest using a spoon to flatten the cookies a tiny bit before baking so they bake into a beautiful cookie shape and don’t puff up too much in the center.

Now, It’s Your Turn!

Fire up your oven and get ready to enjoy some chewy, delicious snickerdoodles. Be sure not to overmix your dough, and you’ll have perfectly soft snickerdoodles every time.

This easy snickerdoodle recipe has just a handful of ingredients, no chill time, and requires so few steps that kids can quickly help without becoming overwhelmed. I hope you love these snickerdoodles as much as my family does.

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