Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies
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These are the BEST Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies. Start with a sugar cookie base, add cinnamon, and skip the icing. So soft and chewy, and perfect for the holidays!
Tis the season for Holiday Cookie Platters! We love including Soft and Chewy Gingersnap Cookies, Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars, Peppermint Mocha Cookies, and some Easy Homemade Toffee!
Snickerdoodle Cookies
This Snickerdoodle recipe was created by adapting my Easy Cut Out Sugar Cookies, which is actually my mom’s recipe. With a simple sugar cookie base, the addition of cinnamon is the key for creating snickerdoodles. I also roll the cookie balls in a sugar and cinnamon mixture, which gives them that lovely speckled look.
Holidays are the best time to try ALL the cookies. Putting a cookie tray together for friends, family, and neighbors is really the best gift. I recommend making several different kinds, storing them in the freezer, and then making gifts for your loved ones. What’s better than a homemade gift?
Head to my Homemade Edible Christmas Gifts with other ideas for gifts you can make in your kitchen! So fun to do with the kiddos.
How to make these Cookies:
Step 1
Make the dough. Cream butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix again. Then add the dry ingredients – the cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and flour – and mix until just combined.
Step 2
Roll dough into balls. Form 2-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
Step 3
Add cinnamon and sugar. Roll the cookie balls in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
Step 4
Bake. Bake for just 10-11 minutes to ensure a soft inside. Let them sit on the pan for 5-7 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Step 5
Share! These are too good not to share!
If your cookies spread too much, it could be due to several reasons, including the quality of ingredients, how soft your butter was, your oven temperature, etc.
You can fix cookies that over-spread by taking them out of the oven a few minutes early and using a spoon to gently push the edges in. Then pop them back in the oven to finish baking!
Cookie Baking Tips:
- Use room temperature butter and eggs to up your cookie game. This allows the ingredients to form an emulsion which traps air. While baking, this trapped air expansionists to produce a fluffier cookie. Using cold ingredients will prevent this magic from happening.
- Chill your dough. This will allow the fat in the cookies to chill and firm up. When baking, this chilled fat will prevent an over-spreading of the cookies. The resting time will also allow the flour to soak up the liquids in the dough. When the cookies are fully-hydrated, they brown better, bake more evenly, and have a more complex flavor.
- Bake your cookies to YOUR preference. If you like your cookies darker, bake them longer. If you like them gooey, then slightly under-bake them. You do you!
- Bake one batch at a time. If using a regular oven, baking one batch at a time is recommended for more even baking. If using a convection oven, you can bake two batches at a time.
Storing Tip – Store these snickerdoodle cookies in an airtight container on the kitchen counter, for up to three days.
Freezing Tip – Freeze in airtight container plus freezer bag, for up to three months.
Other delicious holiday cookies to enjoy:
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Make these cookies next: Best Ever Peanut Butter Cookies
xoxo ~Sue
Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter – softened to room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- In a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients – the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Pour into mixer and combine with the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Don’t over-mix.
- Scoop dough into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least an hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Prepare topping mixture by combining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Form the dough into 2 inch balls, using a cookie scoop or your hands. Roll into the topping mixture, and arrange on baking sheets.
- Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes. Don't over-bake. Remove to cooling racks.
Notes
- Use room temperature butter and eggs.
- Refrigerate dough for at least two hours prior to baking.
- Be careful to not over-bake. We like these on the soft side.
These are my dad’s favorite, they are never flat and are always soft.
Your dad is a smart man, Kincaid! 🙂
Just made a big plate of these for Christmas! The kids kept sneaking in the kitchen to grab warms ones every time I took a batch out of the oven. Very light cookie with a soft texture!
I’m so happy you all enjoyed these snickerdoodles, Cathy!
Is it possible to use this recipe as a cut-out cookie? I’m looking for a snickerdoodle flavor that I’m able to cut out, but they don’t seem to exist! Any guidance would be great! This recipe looks delicious! Thank you!
I’ve never tried this one for cut-outs so I really can’t say!
These were incredible. I had my son and husband vote on what to make of all of your cookie recipes and they were sold on this one. They didn’t disappoint. This is a super simple recipe. We put the dough in the fridge for close to an hour and that did the trick.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Stacy! 🙂
I made these to bring to a Super Bowl party yesterday and they were a HUGE hit! The dough was quick and easy to make and I got compliments from everyone about how soft and delicious they were. I was going to take a picture of us holding up our cookies but by the time I remembered they were already gone!!
Hi Brynn! So glad that the snickerdoodle were a hit! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
I love Snickerdoodles! These look amazing I can almost smell it through the screen!
Thanks Natalie! They do smell heavenly in real life!! 🙂
So excited for your kitchen and grateful that I tasted these cookies in June. These truly are the Best Ever and are perfect year round, but extra special during the Holiday time! Take them to a party and your friends will be grateful!
YES!!