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This is a fabulous Snickerdoodle recipe for chewy cookie lovers – and these Snickerdoodles are so good that this recipe made it into my first cookbook as well! We make these every year and this is a no-fail, delicious recipe that your family will love!
Snickerdoodles are a long time love of mine, with the love affair always ignited by a trip to Disneyland. In one of their coffee shops-the one at the end of Main Street to be exact- they make the biggest…thickest…puffiest Snickerdoodles you ever want to lay your lips on. I do believe I had one for breakfast three days in a row while we were at Disneyland.
Chewy And Tasty Snickerdoodle Cookies
These plain and often under appreciated cookies are undeniably tasty. When you bite into one, the sugary coating breaks into a chewy center of buttery awesomeness. Mike couldn’t stop eating them. For a man who up until the moment he tried them had no idea what a Snickerdoodle was, he sure fell in love hard and fast. There is just something perfect about this buttery goodness covered in white sugar and cinnamon.
Snickerdoodles Are Not Sugar Cookies
Snickerdoodles are so very close to the sugar cookie, however snickerdoodles have cream of tartar in them, which is used for the tangy taste AND that chewy texture that we all love. It’s not a huge difference, but it IS a difference! I prefer snickerdoodles to a sugar cookie. Except for my lemon sugar cookies, of course! THOSE are amazing! You also don’t traditionally roll sugar cookies in cinnamon and sugar, they are more for cutting out and decorating. With that said, you definitely cannot roll out this snickerdoodle dough for cut-out cookies, it will not work! So that is the huge difference between the two cookies if you are looking for it.
Can you make snickerdoodles without cream of tartar?
You sure can, but they won’t have that classic tang to them. You can add a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to get a tanginess to your cookie instead if you don’t have cream of tarter in your pantry. If you don’t have either lemon juice of vinegar, simply replace the baking soda and the cream of tartar with an equal amount of baking power in the recipe.
Tips & Tricks for Making Snickerdoodles
- Use shortening if you want your snickerdoodles to be a little puffier. If you like it to maintain the buttery goodness, then use all butter in them. I prefer the butter taste to the puffier texture, it really is all about your personal preference!
- Make sure that the entire surface of each mixture is covered with cinnamon and sugar. This makes it evenly coated individually, which brings out the buttery goodness within.
- Under bake them slightly, as I suggest with almost all of my cookie recipes.It just helps them be chewier!
- Make these for Santa this year. He’ll love you for it!
No matter how I plan ahead, Christmas seems to sneak up on me so I am trying to re-make and take new photos of all my favourite Christmas cookies that I have made on The Kitchen Magpie over the years! Some are SO old – this recipe for snickerdoodles is already 7 years old, it was time for new photos! And just like always, these cookies were gone in a flash!
Happy baking! Who is gearing up nice and early for the Christmas season this year? I am just skipping right over Halloween and heading on to the jingling bells of my favourite time of year!
Try some of my newest cookie recipes:
- Russian Tea Cakes
- Thumbprint cookies
- No Bake Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Mint Kiss Cookies
Love,
Karlynn
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Classic Snickerdoodle Recipe
There is nothing like a fabulous Classic Snickerdoodle Cookie for your holiday baking! We make these year round as they are a family favourite.
5 from 25 votes
- Prep Time
- 29 minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 minutes
- Total Time
- 39 minutes
- Course
- Dessert
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 36
- Calories
- 174
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of butter
- 2 1/4 cups white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 1/3 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar Coating Mixture
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl attached to a stand mixer ( using the paddle attachment) cream together the butter and white sugar completely. Alternately you can use a large bowl and a handheld mixer with beaters as well.
Add in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each one thoroughly into the dough after adding.
Mix the vanilla into the batter completely.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients, then mix into the butter mixture until completely combined together.
Combine the white sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Roll a tablespoon sized amount of the snickerdoodle cookie dough into a ball, then roll in the cinnamon/sugar topping, making sure to cover the cookie dough ball completely with the cinnamon mixture.
Place the cinnamon/sugar covered cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, watching closely, until the bottoms of the cookies are browned nicely and the edges are baked .Remove from the oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the baking sheets onto a cookie rack and cool completely.
Recipe Notes
You can try all shortening for the REAL old fashioned Snickerdoodle cookie recipe, or half butter and half shortening. It really is up to your personal likes!
Nutrition Information
Calories: 174kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 129mg, Potassium: 61mg, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 255IU, Calcium: 8mg, Iron: 0.7mg
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Learn to cook like the Kitchen Magpie
A Very Prairie Christmas Bakebook
Cookies, Candies, Cakes & More: Vintage Baking to Celebrate the Festive Season!
Flapper Pie and a Blue Prairie Sky
A Modern Baker’s Guide to Old-Fashioned Desserts
The Prairie Table
Suppers, Potlucks & Socials: Crowd-Pleasing Recipes to Bring People Together
Karlynn Johnston
I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a co*cktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!
Learn more about me
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Reader Interactions
Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!
Emilia says
ReplyHave made these many times, they always turn out perfectly. I put the cookie dough in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking them, though. This makes it so much easier to handle the dough.
Helene LeBarron says
ReplyHi I have been looking for the recipe for 2 different squares that were online a few weeks ago.One had a cream cheese icing.Would love to have them.
Maria halsdorfer says
ReplyAwful so upset dough was so soft couldn’t roll added another cup of flour I had just dropped them on the cookie sheet looked awful tasted awful so sweet and this recipe is so different then other ones, 2/14 cups sugar really so sorry I wasted my time and ing. Not even 1 star!!!
Annalee says
ReplyIs the measurement for the baking soda really 1 1/ 3 tsps? Not 1 1/4 tsps or 1 1/2 tsps? Thank you
Andrea Manthorne says
ReplyHave them in the oven now. They smell heavenly
Alesha says
ReplySo the dough isn’t think enough to roll into a ball. I don’t understand why.
MalcPike says
ReplyDo you think I could freeze the dough after rolling the balls in sugar/cinnamon?
See Also23 Easy Apple Desert RecipesKarlynn says
ReplyYes that would work great!
James Lori Shipley says
ReplyI think a visit to your house to pu some yummy treats is in order-I will share chocolates lol!!!!
DottieBast says
ReplyI make this recipe for friends every so often and they will literally jump through hoops to get me to bring them some by they love them that much! Today, one of those friends told me he was going to try making some from one of his own cookbooks.. He texted me a couple of hours ago and told me they came out all wrong (not like yours). Iprinted your recipe for him. 🙂
thekitchenmagpie says
ReplyDottieBast This one would be good for my first cookbook, what do you think?
DottieBast says
ReplythekitchenmagpieDottieBast for some reason I wasn’t notified you had replied 🙁 I sincerely hope these made your cookbook because even afterall this time, I’m still in love with this recipe 😀
thekitchenmagpie says
ReplyDottieBast;) I’m sure they made the cookbook!
Krista Michelle Gray says
ReplyMade ’em on Christmas Eve morning!!! Love ’em!!!! The recipe is cookie dough PERFECTION!! They taste like a cookie version of the famous Beaver Tail!!! That slight “crunch” when you bite, and then the soft interior!?!? Gahh!!! PLUS! Santa loved them – true story!!!! Kitchen Magpie? My family would like to know … “Where does the name, “Snickerdoodles” come from!?” ALSO …. Look what I found at Target yesterday for $5? A Snickerdoodle cookie mix … Meh … but, I only bought it for the adorable cast iron skillet! Neat-o! Best cookie!!! Thank you!!!
The Kitchen Magpie says
ReplyA) I’m totally making a skillet snickerdoodle next Christmas
B) so glad you liked them!
C) Disney handed out snickerdoodles to give to Santa too! Santa was SO happy!!!!I also have no idea where the name came from…
Genevieve Olivier says
ReplyHey these would be awesome to take to a family gathering but was wondering if you have ever made a gluten free kind? My sister is intolerant. Would be nice to be able to share with everyone.
Amy Moeller-Stiles says
ReplySo good
Lois Maillet Lynn says
ReplyOk, not now, tomorrow
Deb McKay says
ReplyI have never had one.
The Kitchen Magpie says
ReplyWHAT!!!?? OMG bake them now! They are so amazing!
Lois Maillet Lynn says
ReplyNever tried..
Sue04kids says
ReplyThe BEST snickerdoodle cookies ever!! Thanks for sharing
thekitchenmagpie says
Reply@Sue04kidsSo glad that you liked them!! Thanks for letting me know!
CampClan says
ReplyThis recipe calls for vanilla extract but does not say where to add it in! HELP!
aGhost_eek says
ReplyI think this is the first recipe calling for Cream of Tartar I’ve seen that wasn’t for making playdough.
thekitchenmagpie says
ReplyI know! They are such an old cookie recipe that you use cream of tartar in them. You can switch it out, but it does give them a unique tang…I thought about changing it but really wanted classic Snickerdoodles.
Rhonda Blundell says
ReplyYou might actually get me baking!
Dena Roberts says
ReplyCan these snickerdoodles be frozen?
