Here is my reader favorite recipe for soft and thick snickerdoodles. These soft-baked snickerdoodle cookies only require about 30 minutes start to finish!
Snickerdoodles are a timeless classic, just like a good batch of chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter cookies. Like drop sugar cookies wrapped in a cinnamon sugar hug, these irresistible cookies never go out of style. My recipe yields the softest and thickest snickerdoodles you’ll ever taste. I like to call them snickerdoodle pillows because they are perfectly fat and puffy! Much too often you’re left with flat, crispy, and thin cookies. The only remedy is to submerge them in a tall glass of milk. But what about starting out with a kitchen tested recipe for soft-baked snickerdoodles? You’ve come to the right place. 🙂
How to Make Soft Snickerdoodles
How do you make snickerdoodles puffy and soft? The secret’s in the ratio of butter to leavener to flour to egg. Don’t use shortening here; you’ll miss the flavor of butter. Slightly under-baking the snickerdoodles also guarantees a softer cookie. Take them out of the oven after about 10-11 minutes. This will keep the interior of the cookie soft and chewy.
Why is Cream of Tartar in Snickerdoodles?
Instead of baking powder, use cream of tartar and baking soda in snickerdoodles. Sure, you could use 2 teaspoons of baking powder instead of the cream of tartar + baking soda, but then you won’t really have a snickerdoodle. Cream of tartar adds a unique tangy flavor to the cookie, which sets it apart from sugar cookies and makes it a classic snickerdoodle. You also use it for the best flavor in maple pecan snickerdoodles. It’s absolutely delicious!
No Cookie Dough Chilling!
Great news! You can skip the cookie dough chilling step with this snickerdoodle recipe. There’s enough flour in this cookie dough to create a strong and sturdy cookie without the crutch of chilling the dough first. There’s also no fancy-pants ingredients required. These snickerdoodles are EASY. Shortbread cookies are another easy no chill recipe to keep in your back pocket.
A medium cookie scoop is helpful to divide up the dough. Roll each dough ball in cinnamon sugar, and arrange on a lined baking sheet:
These snickerdoodle cookies aced the true “soft test” meaning they remained soft on day 2! In fact, they were still soft on day 4. (And I’m surprised there are any leftover by that point, but I was trying to make a point!) Since they remain so soft, snickerdoodles are the perfect cookie for gift-giving. I know there are many snickerdoodle lovers out there!
If you’re looking for other snickerdoodle favorites, here are my pumpkin snickerdoodles and peanut butter snickerdoodles. And are you craving cake? Here’s my snickerdoodle cake & swirled snickerdoodle cupcakes recipes.
This recipe also joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
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Soft & Thick Snickerdoodles
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 26-28 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Here is my reader favorite recipe for soft and thick snickerdoodles. These soft-baked snickerdoodle cookies only require about 30 minutes start to finish! No dough chilling required.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/3 cup (267g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/3 cup (70g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (always recommended for cookies). Set aside.
- Make the topping: Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
- Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough will be thick.
- Roll cookie dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons (35g) of cookie dough each. I recommend this cookie scoop. Roll the dough balls in cinnamon-sugar topping. Sprinkle extra cinnamon-sugar on top if desired. Arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake cookies for 10 minutes. The cookies will be very puffy and soft. When they are still very warm, lightly press down on them with the back of a spoon or fork to help flatten them out. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies remain soft & fresh for 7 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: There are a few options here! First, you can prepare the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Make sure that you let it come to room temperature before rolling and baking the cookies. You can also freeze the cookie dough balls. Roll the dough into balls then freeze the balls for up to 2-3 months. You can freeze the cookie dough balls with the cinnamon sugar coating or without, but I recommend freezing without the topping. When you are ready to bake, remove the balls from the freezer, let sit for 30 minutes, pre-heat the oven, then roll into topping. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Medium Cookie Scoop | Cooling Rack
- Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is required for this recipe. Please see the text of the post for more information.
- Extra Egg Yolk: To bring this dough together so it isn’t quite as crumbly use 1 large egg, plus 1 extra large egg yolk. I’ve been doing this recently and the snickerdoodles taste even softer, moister, and richer.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Hi, Sally! Can I only prepare half of the recipe?
Hi Nahomi, yes, feel free to halve the recipe for a smaller yield. Our general rule for halving an egg is to crack it open, beat the yolk and white together (or just the yolk for the egg yolk that is called for in this recipe) with a fork, measure the volume (should be a few Tbsp), then use half. Enjoy!
My granddaughter (9)and I made this today! I good chance for her to walk through baking steps. We had fun and they came out perfectly!
This recipe was a huge hit! Does it double easily or do you recommend making 2 separate batches?
Hi Amy, you can double this recipe. So glad you enjoyed the cookies!
If using salted butter, do I still add the additional salt or omit it?
I have made this recipe so many times now! These are the perfect cookies if you love thick chewy goodness!
Made these great cookies a few days ago. They were delicious and so easy to make! I cooked 6 to begin with and then made the remaining dough into balls and froze them to be cooked and then eaten another time.
I made these cookies today and they are wonderful! They are the best ones I’ve ever made as far as snickerdoodles go.
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Hi Axv, butter creamed with sugar makes up the base of this cookie recipe and it is impossible to cream oil with sugar. Best to stick with butter for these cookies.
These turned out perfectly. Best snickerdoodles I’ve ever had and made! Lol. Lovely recipe!!
Thank you for figuring out the correct proportions! I had a wonderful recipe from childhood that got lost somewhere in one of my moves, and I haven’t been able to achieve the right results til I found yours. These came out perfectly! I made a couple of minor changes to suit my preferences. Cinnamon only on the outside, not in the dough. Both are good, I just prefer that small contrast. And I give them a gentle smoosh right out of the oven because it’s a family tradition.
This is absolutely the best snickerdoodle recipe. Our grandchildren expect these cookies every time they come to our house! Perfect! Thank you so much!
So glad they’re a hit, Whitney!
I made these snickerdoodles a few days ago and they were SO PERFECT that I wanted to try a chocolate chip variation. I just omitted the cinnamon, added about a tablespoon of molasses when I was creaming the butter and sugar, and added m&ms at the end. These turned out fantastic, too!
I made this recipe many times and its always a hit. But if I wanted to make them a bit larger would I roll out a bigger ball like 2 tbs inatead of 1.5?
Hi Patty! Yes, that will be fine, bake time will slightly increase.
Am I use half white/half brown sugar for this recipe?
Hi Heather, yes you can. Enjoy!
This worked wonderfully, thank you for sharing this recipe!
Very easy and really good. The recipe also doubles well!
BEST SNICKERDOODLES EVER!!! I’ve tried many snickerdoodle recipes online over the years and some have definitely not turned out great. This is hands down the best recipe I’ve ever made! YUM!
I’ve baked these twice in the last two days. The first ones were a bit … tough. I think that’s because I over mixed the flour and slightly over baked them. But they were still ok. The ones I made today turned out great but I mixed the flour using my Danish dough whisk by hand so I could watch more closely and just mix until combined.
I don’t have a medium sized cookie scoop so I used my large one with the first batch, that’s why I overcooked them. I had a harder time telling if they were done. I just used my hands to grab some dough and roll it into a ball for the second batch. They turned out much better. Oh, but I did add more cinnamon to the cinnamon and sugar mixture on the second batch as I like a bit more cinnamon flavor.
Worked out to a perfect 3 dozen plus 1. Great taste and texture. Thanks for the recipe!
Can you please provide high altitude instructions? 8500 feet.
I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
For any high elevation folks, I’m at 4800 ft, didn’t change a thing and it worked out great. I loved how soft these were and you can definitely taste the tang of the cream of tartar. I ate like six in a sitting and I’m sure everyone else will love them
Finally! A snickerdoodle recipe that doesn’t result in crispy cookies! I use a 2Tbsp scoop to portion them and they are just the right size. I’ve made these a few times now and they are perfect every time. Thank you!
I have my snickerdoodles in oven now. Always a hit..sooo good! Just baking half the batch. Going to store rest in refrigerator. What is best way to do this? Also, would it work out to use half of ingredients to bake half a batch? Tks. V
Hi Veronica, Yes, absolutely! Simply halve all the ingredients. You can store half in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. See Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions for more notes.
You may want to add the amounts to add for the sugar and cinnamon for the crumble and then just add to use the remaining for the dough. My daughter was not making these and is not an experienced baker. She wasn’t sure what amount to use in step 2 verses step 4. They did not turn out well.
Hi Deana, so sorry for any confusion! The cinnamon and sugar mixture amounts are listed separately from the dough ingredients (right below the dough ingredients). Hope this helps for future batches!
I love this recipe but am wondering if I can use it to make a snickerdoodle cookie cake
Hi Deb, absolutely! You can use our chocolate chip cookie cake baking time and instructions as a guide.
I love the flavor, and have made dozens of times. Even though i follow recipe exactly, they always spread and come out completely flat. Any thoughts?
Hi Pete, Here’s our best tips for preventing cookies from spreading – proper room temperature is particularly important. Thank you for giving these cookies a try!
This was so quick and easy. At first when I mixed the wet and dry, the batter was crumbly but I used my hands to knead it and it came together nicely. Love that it’s no chill and doesn’t spread a lot.
Mine came out flat. I’m at higher elevation in Salt Lake City, UT. What do you recommend? More flour?
Hi Heather, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Thank you! The flavor was amazing. I’m aspiring to make them look as thick as yours.
Taste amazing. Mine turned out a little flatter then the pictures but I also baked on a humid day. Definitely will be making again!
Everything good and more! This recipe replaced one I’ve been making for 50 years.
Hi Sally! Would browning the butter mess up the softness of the cookie? I know that typically you need extra butter if it is going to be browned but I wasn’t sure if you had any experience with it. Thank you!
Hi Michael! You can brown the butter here but we recommend additional liquid (milk). Probably just 1-2 Tablespoons to make up for the lost moisture. Make sure the brown butter has solidified so it can be creamed.
So, so very good!!
My batter was extremely dry & crumbly but I used a cookie scoop and it held together beautifully and baked perfectly. Very yummy! Will make again & again. Yield 3 dozen
My dough was dry and crumbly right away too, keep mixing, it comes together nicely. These were so good and will be replacing my old snickerdoodle recipe!