If you love snickerdoodles, you have to try this giant snickerdoodle cookie recipe. Enough to share for dessert, but who wants to do that?
Ever have a giant craving for a cookie? Like a craving of epic proportions? Well, I’ve been craving the sweet, cinnamon-spiced softness of a snickerdoodle cookie for weeks now.
Snickerdoodles have been a favorite of mine since I was little. Besides their whimsical name (who else loves to just say snickerdoodle out loud?!), I can’t get enough of their cinnamon-sugar crusted exterior and buttery soft inside. They are like sugar cookies in a cute little cinnamon outfit. How can one resist?
For some reason, giant cookies are just so much tastier than their normal-sized counterparts. I’m looking at you, one giant oatmeal creme pie cookie and one giant double chocolate cookie. Something about knowing you have a cookie the size of your head to finish just seems so much more appealing than eating two or three smaller cookies. And today’s snickerdoodle is anything but “small.” I tweaked the recipe for my one giant sugar cookie and came out with the the softest, chewiest, and most cinnamon-spiced snickerdoodle I’ve ever eaten. I’m not kidding, this cookie literally melts in your mouth. It is smooth like buttah.
One thing I loathe about certain cookies like sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, and gingersnaps is that they can be hard and practically crunchy. Nothing about a “crunchy” cookie sounds appealing to me. I need soft, luscious, buttery cookies and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that!
Regular snickerdoodles are rolled in a cinnamon-sugar blend. I simply sprinkled cinnamon & sugar on top because the soft cookie dough was impossible to roll into a ball. You have to watch this guy in the oven pretty closely in the oven. Mine was done at exactly 15 minutes. The edges were barely browning and the center didn’t look quite finished. After letting it cool for about 15 minutes, the center set and I was able to put it on a plate to stuff my face enjoy.
This cookie is HUGE and perfect for sharing… if you’re so inclined. Earlier this year I made another version of this cookie, a one giant Reese’s Pieces cookie, which I shared with Kevin. It is hands down, one of the BEST things I’ve ever eaten.
But while Kevin was at work, I was left alone with this giant snickerdoodle. Darn.
If you love snickerdoodles, be sure to try my snickerdoodle cupcakes and snickerdoodle cake next!
Print
1 Giant Snickerdoodle Cookie
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 1 large cookie
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
If you love snickerdoodles, you have to try this giant snickerdoodle cookie recipe. Enough to share, but who wants to do that?
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar + 1/4 tsp for sprinkling on top
- 2 Tablespoons beaten egg (crack the egg, beat it, and use 2 Tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (no substitutions)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (divided)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray or use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir the butter and 3 Tablespoons sugar together until creamed—mixture may be a bit crumbly. That’s OK. Add the egg and vanilla until mixed. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt,cream of tartar, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon until just combined. Do NOT overmix.
- Place the dough in the center of the prepared cookie sheet into a tall ball (see pictures above). Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon sugar. Bake for 14-16 minutes until the edges are browned. The center may appear undone but that’s what you want. It will firm up. Allow to cool completely ON the baking sheet. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cookie stays soft and fresh for up to 3 days. Cookie freezes well, up to 2 months.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
It’s been awhile since I made this, but it’s definitely a favorite when we need a small batch cookie! We also love the giant M&M cookie and sugar cookie too.
Can I make the dough a day ahead?
Hi Sherri, Yes! 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 baking.
I made 8 regular sized cookies with this recipe XDDDDD REALLY good cookies btw
how?
*definitely didn’t over mix
*used a (scant) 1/4 teaspoon salt
*placed refrigerated butter in microwave for less than 10 sec
*whisked wet ingredients really well + sifted the dry ingredients together before adding to wet ingredients
*mixed a bunch of sugar with 1/4 tsp cinnamon in a bowl
*rolled a tbsp of dough into cinnamon sugar
*sort of flattened the doughs on the pan and sprinkled more cinnamon/sugar on top
*my oven’s pretty hot, so I baked these @325F for like 11min
*PERFECT cookie texture–not cakey and kind of crunchy :p will try to share them with family –will be very hard
Sally, I recently discovered your website and I absolutely love it! I just made this snickerdoodle cookie and it was amazing! Perfect flavor and texture! Definitely big enough to share! I have also made your giant sugar cookie and your overnight cinnamon rolls and both were delicious! I will be making your overnight cinnamon rolls for Christmas. Thank you so much for these amazing recipes!
This cookie was absolutely amazing and is such a good little treat! My cookie did turn out a little bit in the result of a pancake like texture, but was still great consistency.
Mine came out cakey, like others mentioned above. I have made some of your other giant cookie recipes with great success, so I was kind of disappointed by this one! The taste was good, but the texture wasn’t :/
Great Recipe!! Just made it and it tastes AHmazing 🙂
I have been hunting for single serve cookie recipes for awhile now and I love yours – Do you possibly have anything For ginger snaps?
I don’t at the time, though adding a little molasses to this and a little bit extra flour could work. Let me know if you try anything!
I tried adding a little less than 1 TBSP molasses, and an extra TBSP flour. I put the dough in the fridge for about an hour. Baked about 16min and let rest about 30 min before I couldn’t wait anymore to try it! So flavorful and great chewy texture.
Hi! I love your website! 🙂
So my BF wants a GIANT snicker doodle cookie cake for his birthday, do you think I would get good results if I doubled this recipe to make it even larger and baked it for a little longer?
The cookie will spread all over the cookie sheet- your best bet is to double or triple this and bake in an 8-inch or 9-inch baking pan. Unsure of the exact bake time.
I’m thinking that if we do a combo of the Snickerdoodle and the Soft Sugar Cookie but with more spices we could do a snap-less Gingersnap? or How do I substitute molasses into here then, for a large Molasses cookie? Thanks!
Actually, I use 1/4 tsp baking powder and it’s fine. Baking powder can taste metallic if you use too much, even aluminum-free, so I usually experiment with using less. I am also fanatical about using softened, not melted, butter to ensure puffy cookie texture. If you don’t have baking powder, try adding a 1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar for acidity instead of cream of tartar in addition to the bakng soda. You can find cream of tartar in the spice section of the grocery store, though.
I have a small family, so what I do is double this recipe and portion the batter into eight 2 tbsp-size cookies, and it makes a little plateful we can share in an evening, and it’s easy enough to make fresh and warm anytime. I love this recipe and the giant sugar cookie recipe. I used to be a chocoholic but now I am enamored of the sweet vanilla side. Thank you for these recipes!
Hi Sally! We love your recipes here, I hve made many with great success. I am having trouble with this one though, it keeps coming out cakey and not like a cookie at all. I measured everything accurately and still don’t know what the problem is. Can you possibly help? Thank you!!!
Do you think it’s overbaked? How about reducing the flour by 1 Tbsp.
I baked it for 14 minutes, I will try the flour reduction when I make this again. Thank you, Sally.
Hi! My son requested a large snickerdoodle for his bday so i am gonna give this a try… if I want to make more of these do i just double or triple the recipe?
If you want more than one large snickerdoodle cookie, then yes you can double or triple the recipe as needed. If you’d like to bake an entire batch of normal snickerdoodle cookies, here is my recipe. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/19/soft-thick-snickerdoodles-in-20-minutes/
Just made this as dessert for tonight, second recipe I’ve made from this blog and it was AMAZING. I’m officially a loyal follower now 🙂
Hi Sally! I just baked this today and strangely it didn’t spread out as much as how it supposed to. Is it because how i shaped the it before baking? it was kinda high and maybe i should have spread it out a bit…
Hi Sherry – try flattening it out a bit. If you notice it not spreading while it’s baking, you can take it out and try to flatten the center with a spoon or fork. Then return to the oven.
I made this and it spread more than I thought it would. Great taste and texture so don’t know what others did to get cakey texture. Maybe they used baking powder or more egg or flour? Anyway I do wish there were calories posted as I ate the whole thing! I think I’ll mow the lawn now for my husband!
Hi Kerry! Usually cookies that spread too much are a result of starting with butter that’s too warm. Here’s more information on proper room temperature butter and more tips to help keep cookies form spreading. So glad you loved the cookie! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I just made this to fix a cookie craving but added oats instead of 2tbsp of flour. So good and chewy. Thanks for the recipe x
I’m wondering if anyone has tried freezing this recipe?
Hi Rebecca! You may freeze the cookie – up to 3 months.
I was wondering if you could tell me what cream of tarter is.We dont have it here in Greece.Is there something I can use instead?
cream of tarter and baking soda combined act as the leavening agent in this cookie recipe. You may substitute baking powder – in this case, I would try using 1/4 tsp of baking powder.
Well, I tried it out yesterday and it was Delicious!! It really saved my day! Yesterday it snowed for the first time where i live so i had to bake and eat something sweet to cheer me up ^^ I live in Switzerland but thats not even normal for us (snowing in October). -.-` Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂