If you’ve been on the hunt for the perfect Snickerdoodle, your search ends here. These soft and chewy cookies are everything a Snickerdoodle should be—pillowy centers, crisp edges, and that signature tangy cinnamon-sugar coating that makes them absolutely irresistible. They’re easy to whip up and perfect for everything from holiday cookie plates to everyday sweet cravings. This classic recipe delivers bakery-style results with minimal effort, making it a must-save for your collection.
Want to make one giant Snickerdoodle? You’ve got to try this.
Ingredients & Equipment Needed
- sugar
- ground cinnamon
- all-purpose flour
- cream of tartar
- baking soda
- salt – if you’re using salted butter, you can omit this!
- butter
- vegetable shortening
- eggs
- beater blade – if you have a Kitchen Aid, one of these is a must!
How to Make Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles
This is a simple overview of the recipe, you’ll find a full printable recipe below!
- Preheat oven to 375°F; line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
- Mix ¼ cup sugar with cinnamon in a shallow dish and set aside.
- Whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
- Beat butter, shortening, and remaining 1½ cups sugar until light and fluffy (3–6 mins).
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping bowl as needed.
- On low speed, mix in dry ingredients until just combined; stir to ensure no flour remains. The dough is very soft; but whatever you do, don’t add more flour!
- Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into balls, coat in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
- Bake one sheet at a time for 10–12 mins, until edges are set but centers look slightly underdone.
- Cool on pan for 10 mins, then transfer to wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen large cookies.
Storage & Other Tips
- The dough is very soft; it’s supposed to be that way, don’t add more flour.
- These cookies spread quite a lot, so give them space.
- Cooking time here is pivotal; if you overcook these Snickerdoodles they will be “thin and crispy” instead of “soft and chewy”. The trick is to watch the edges first; they should be just set, but the centers should still look raw between all of those cinnamon cracks. The cookies will be pillowy and puffy looking while in the hot oven, and when they come out they’ll start to fall, which is what they’re supposed to do! That’s how they get those beautiful crackly tops. After they’ve cooled, they’ll flatten out even more and those slightly under-cooked centers become perfectly cooked and yield a soft, chewy, buttery, interior.
- Store in an airtight container for 3 – 5 days at room temperature, or freeze for 1 – 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Shortening plays a key role in this cookie. Combined with the butter it gives optimal texture while allowing the flavor of the butter to come through. If you leave the shortening out, cookies will spread more, have a crispier texture, and lack chewiness.
Yes! Cream of tartar gives Snickerdoodles their signature tangy flavor and chewy texture. Substituting it will change the flavor and consistency. If you don’t like cream of tartar, then guess what? You don’t like Snickerdoodles! Make a sugar cookie instead.
That’s actually what you want! Pull them from the oven when the edges are set and the centers look slightly underdone—they’ll finish setting as they cool.
Technically yes. Scoop dough balls, freeze on a tray, then transfer to a bag. Bake straight from frozen—just add an extra minute or two. However, I always recommend cookie dough be baked fresh.
Yes, this recipe doubles well—just be sure not to overcrowd your mixing bowl and baking sheets.
Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt omit if using salted butter
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 stick, softened to room temperature
- 8 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 2 eggs large
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine ¼ cup sugar and cinnamon in shallow dish and set aside. Whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl.
- Beat butter, shortening, and remaining 1 ½ cups sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Reduce speed of mixer to low and slowly add flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Give dough final stir to ensure that no flour pockets remain.
- Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls. Working in batches, roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat and set on prepared baking sheet spaced 2 inches apart.
- Bake 1 sheet at a time until edges of cookies are set and just barely beginning to brown, but centers are still soft and puffy, about 10-12 minutes. The cookies should look raw between the cracks and seem underdone.
- Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.
Questions & Reviews
Unfortunately, I am usually short on ingredients for whatever I’m in the mood to cook. But this time, all I’m missing is shortening!! I’m following someone else’s advice and chilling the dough before I bake it to stop it from spreading so much, it’s all pre-rolled and sitting in my fridge right now. Hopefully it works!
Truly the best snickerdoodle I have ever eaten. New family favorite. Came out perfectly – thank you!
I just want to tell you that I am AGAIN making these before dinner! They are that good! This time I made mini silver-dollar sized ones so I don’t feel so bad about eating them. Thanks! 🙂
Hey! I so very rarely comment on things unless it’s worth my time, but let me tell you, this is so VERY worth my time.
I came across this recipe a while back, probably around December, because I wanted something warm and cozy to eat while I watched Up(best movie ever?), and so I made them. What I am getting at is that these cookies always come out different. They are fantastic every time though.. Especially a few weeks ago when my boyfriend and I made them in the quickest 45 minutes ever, literally crunch time, they were the best batch ever.
Okay, best part coming up– So every year my school does a cooking competition with the different world language clubs. There are three different categories: appetizer, entree, and dessert. My German club didn’t win, but we did win the dessert category with this lovely recipe. We served them with lightly sweetened cream.
I really love how quick these are, and I seriously never get tired of the taste.
Definitely a favorite recipe. I’m saving this one to make when I’ve got a family someday(not that I don’t have a family now, but you know what I mean).
Sorry, I ramble. Part of why I tend not to comment.
Great recipe, thank you dearly for sharing, you are a magnificent human being who has made a huge impact on my life.
these are delicious! I like them so much more than the fluffy kind, though those are still good. The only downside to these is that they’re too big to sneak them up to my bedroom to snack on! Haha. Your guys’ posts always make me laugh. Thanks Sara and Kate!
I made these last year on the day you posted this recipe, and then again this weekend as refreshments for a piano recital, and again today as a welcome for some new neighbors. Perfect every time. Thanks again for a great recipe. When I go to the internet looking for a good recipe, I often just google “our best bites dip” or “our best bites marinade” “our best bites chocolate chip cookies” etc. You gals are just that good!
So say someone made these tonight for a school program’s refreshments tomorrow and they were cooked for 10 minutes and still came out crunchy after they cooled off….how should someone adjust the time so that they come out soft and chewy?? Try 9 minutes, then 8?? I was disappointed that they’re crunchy, though the flavor is perfect, but my son informed me that he didn’t care that they’re crunchy. 😀
Sounds like your oven might be a bit hot- you got it right, just decrease the baking time until they look just set around the edges.
Hi I just finished making these today, they taste great but the only problem was that it didn’t flatten out like yours I followed the recipe and directions but just wonder why my cookies didn’t flatten all the way like urs, is it because the butter wasn’t fully melted to room temp? Please let me know I love this recipe and would love to make these again:)
Yes, the butter temp could be the culprit- as could elevation, humidity, etc. Cookies are kind of tricky that way, but these ones usually come out every time for me. Next time try making sure your butter is the right temp and see if that helps!
I just recently got my Kitchen Aid Mixer and am now obsessed with baking! A co-worker gave me your site as you are her go-to for all things desserts, esp. cookies!
Snickerdoodles are in the oven, but I CAN’T/CAN eat all of them in one sitting… Does the dough freeze well? Does this go with all of your cookie dough?
The baked cookies freeze beautifully, and you could also freeze the dough, but I always think cookie dough tastes better when cooked from fresh. That’s just me though, you could experiment!
Mmmm. I totally agree with you that snickerdoodle cookies taste best CHEWY. However, I also found a way to make cakey cookies (for those “crazies” who prefer their snickerdoodles cakey. Hehe. Jk.) from the SAME recipe (yay! I love shortcuts!) by baking at a lower temperature.
I explain more in depth here 🙂
http://thekitchenkook.blogspot.com/2013/01/classic-snickerdoodle-cookies.html