These soft snickerdoodle cookies are perfectly chewy and coated in a delicious cinnamon sugar mixture. These pillowy soft snickerdoodles will keep people coming back for more!

A stack of snickerdoodle cookies against a white background.

I love making snickerdoodles because my kids love helping me roll the cookie down in the cinnamon sugar mixture. There’s nothing like great cooking and baking helpers like them! 

This recipe is perfect because they are perfectly coated in that delicious cinnamon sugar mixture; they are perfectly soft and chewy; and they are the perfect thickness: thick, but not super thick. So, in short, they are perfect. 😂

If you are a big cinnamon lover then you will love these snickerdoodles! You’ll also want to try out a few more of my cinnamon recipes such as my cinnamon sugar caramelitas and the best cinnamon rolls recipe ever. Promise you’ll love them!

Snickerdoodle cookies in a wire basket.

Ingredients

  • All purpose flour
  • Cream of tartar — This stabilizes the eggs, gives the cookie a bit of that tangy taste, helps activate the baking powder, and creates the chewy texture traditional for snickerdoodle cookies.
  • Baking soda
  • Baking powder — This gives just a slight lift to the cookies when they are baked.
  • Salt
  • Butter, softened to room temperature — Using butter at room temperature will help your mixture combine more evenly.
  • Granulated sugar
  • Eggs, at room temperature — Using eggs at room temperature helps anything you are baking bake more evenly. 
  • Vanilla — I always say a hint of vanilla makes worlds of difference in anything!

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

  • Granulated sugar 
  • Ground cinnamon

How to Make Snickerdoodle Cookies

  1. Mix the dry ingredients.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium high speed for 3 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
  3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix again. 
    A glass bowl with creamed butter and sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  4. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. 
    Snickerdoodle batter being made in a glass bowl.
  5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon. 
  7. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
  8. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and portion into 1 ½-inch sized balls. (I used a 1 ½ T-sized scoop to help portion out the dough). Roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture 2 times. You want the cookies heavily coated. 
    Cinnamon sugar coated cookie dough balls.
  9. Place the balls on the cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 9-11 minutes. The edges will turn a light golden color (you don’t want to overbake). The edges will be barely set.
  10. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
  11.  Store in an airtight container for 5 days.

Tools Used for This Recipe

Kitchen aid

Mixing bowls

1 ½ T-sized cookie scoop

Cookie Sheet

Silicone sheet

Recipe Tips

  • You’ll notice the recipe specifies to roll the cookie dough in the cinnamon sugar mixture 2 times. This makes a difference! Double rolling ensures they are fully coated. 
  • If you want flatter snickerdoodles that don’t puff up in the center, you can press down on the cookie dough ball with your palm so that the cookies are more of a disk rather than a ball.
  • Don’t forget to chill the dough!
  • Store the cookies in an airtight container to maintain maximum freshness. They will last for about 5 days.
A bite taken out of a snickerdoodle cookie, with a glass of milk in the background.

FAQs

  • How are snickerdoodles different from sugar cookies? — The iconic cinnamon sugar coating is one way snickerdoodle cookies are different from sugar cookies. However, on a more ingredient basis, the cream of tartar is a traditional addition for snickerdoodles and gives these cookies a different texture and flavor than sugar cookies.
  • How do I get fluffy snickerdoodles? — The ratio of fat, flour and eggs helps make a fluffier, thicker cookie. Chilling the dough also helps! 
  • How do I make snickerdoodles flat? — I’d give the dough balls a little bit of a presson the cookie sheet before you bake them. This will help them turn out flatter.
  • Can you freeze the dough? — Yes! Simply place the cinnamon sugar-coated dough balls on a cookie sheet and freeze until just solid. Then, put the dough balls in an airtight container or zip-top bag. You can store these dough balls for up to 2 months. You can also freeze the cookie dough prior to rolling into the cinnamon sugar coating and then just roll the dough balls after you’ve thawed them.
  • Can you freeze baked snickerdoodle cookies? — Yes. I think it’s easier to freeze the cookie dough balls (see the question above). However, if you want to freeze the baked cookies, then make sure they are completely cooled and then individually wrap the cookies in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.
Five snickerdoodles stacked on top of one another, against a white background.

More Delicious Recipes

Cinnamon Sugar Caramelitas

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

Cinnamon Roll Popcorn

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nutella Stuffed Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossoms Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cinnamon Roll Cake

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, I would be so grateful if you come back to leave a rating and review. Thank you! ❤️

Print Review

Snickerdoodle

These soft snickerdoodles are double rolled in the cinnamon sugar mixture, making for the perfect cookie!
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 11 mins
Total Time: 26 mins
Servings: 28 cookies

Ingredients
 

  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs - at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar

  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • In a medium sized bowl whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium high speed for 3 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 1 more minute on medium speed.
  • Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. 
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
  • Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon. 
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
  • Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and portion into 1 ½ “ inch sized balls. (I used a 1 ½ T sized scoop to help portion out the dough). Roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture 2 times. You want the cookies heavily coated. 
  • Place the balls on the cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 9-11 minutes. The edges will turn a light golden color (you don’t want to overbake). 
  • Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 
  • Store in an airtight container for 5 days. 

Notes

If you want flatter snickerdoodles that don’t puff up in the center, you can press down on the cookie dough ball with your palm so that the cookies are more of a disk rather than a ball.

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal (8%)Carbohydrates: 22g (7%)Protein: 2g (4%)Fat: 7g (11%)Saturated Fat: 4g (20%)Cholesterol: 31mg (10%)Sodium: 109mg (5%)Potassium: 50mg (1%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 12g (13%)Vitamin A: 222IU (4%)Calcium: 11mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
author: Whitney Wright
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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