The best soft and chewy snickerdoodles cookie recipe that is coated with cinnamon and sugar. And it’s an easy snickerdoodle recipe to make!
For the past month, my daughter has been asking me to make snickerdoodle cookies. I made this easy snickerdoodle recipe, and they are so good! They are seriously the best snickerdoodles I’ve ever had! And they are the best soft and chewy snickerdoodles. We loved them so much that I made them three times within two weeks. Mostly we just ate them, but we did give some away to neighbors too.
Before explaining how to make this snickerdoodle recipe, here are the answers to some questions that are asked regularly about snickerdoodles.
What Is The Difference Between A Sugar Cookie And A Snickerdoodle?
Snickerdoodles are sometimes referred to as sugar cookies, but there is a difference between the two. The main difference is that snickerdoodles are rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture making them more cinnamon flavored. Sugar cookies don’t have any cinnamon in them.
Another difference is the cream of tartar. When I make sugar cookies, I use cream of tartar. But this is a chewy snickerdoodle recipe without cream of tartar. However, there are sugar cookie recipes that don’t use cream of tarter, and there are snickerdoodle recipes that do use cream of tartar. So it really depends on the recipe when it comes to cream of tartar.
Why Did My Snickerdoodles Go Flat?
There are some reasons that snickerdoodles go flat. Here are a few solutions to help ensure that your snickerdoodles don’t go flat.
Baking with cold dough will prevent the dough from spreading, so be sure to chill the dough for an hour or two before baking.
I roll my dough into a circle, but you could try making the dough taller and more like a cylinder. This will help so the middle of the snickerdoodle cookie stays soft and chewy.
Make sure not to over-cream the butter and sugar mixture in the mixer. Only mix it for a minute or two to make sure it’s combined and to ensure it’s not over-mixed.
Also, adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy and crispy. So try adding a little more flour to the recipe.
Can You Freezer Snickerdoodles?
Yes, you can freeze snickerdoodle cookie dough balls.
To do this, first roll the dough into balls, then place them on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for 1-2 hours to flash freeze them. Flash freezing helps so the cookie dough balls don’t stick together in one big lump when frozen.
Transfer the cookies to a freezer bag, label the outside and place the bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To bake the cookies, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight, then roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar topping. Place them on a cookie sheet prepared with parchment paper and bake them according to the snickerdoodle cookie recipe.
Here is the process how to make the best snickerdoodle cookies. This is a chewy snickerdoodle recipe without cream of tarter.
First, prepare the dough by using the recipe below. Once the snickerdoodle cookie dough is formed, roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Then roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place them on a cookie sheet that has been prepared with parchment paper.
Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. I always take my cookies out at 8 minutes because I like them really soft and chewy. The snickerdoodles may not look like they are done, but once you take them out and let them sit on the cookie pan for a few minutes, they always turn out just right, which is soft and chewy inside.
After cooling for a few minutes on the cookie sheet, place the snickerdoodles on a cooling rack to cool completely.
Here is the best soft and chewy snickerdoodles cookie recipe:

Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING:
- 4 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Using a mixer, cream together the butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar and the 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix after egg is added. Then add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- In a different medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and 1 tsp cinnamon.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until combined.
- To make it easier to roll the dough into balls, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.
- Make the cinnamon sugar topping by combining the 4 Tablespoons sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Then roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place them on a cookie sheet that has been prepared with parchment paper. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
- Place the Snickerdoodles on a cooling rack to cool completely.
You might also like these recipes:
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The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Seriously this is the best snickerdoodle recipes I have tried! I have eaten 5 cookies so far and don’t see myself sharing with the family 😂 just the right amount of crispy bottom if you remove directly from sheet to cooling rack 👍🏻 Thanks for my new favorite cookie recipe!
I’m so glad to hear you love them!
The flavor of these was incredible but I do have a question! My dough was SO crumbly and the cookies stayed in the ball shape unless I pushed them down. That coupled with the crumbly dough made for ugly, but delicious, cookies. Any suggestions? I did put it in the fridge for quite some time and it still didn’t help.
The cookies were incredible!
I do have a question though. My dough was super crumbly, I put it in the fridge for quite some time and that didn’t seem to help. They also wouldn’t flatten, they stayed in the rounded spoon shape the whole time unless I pressed them down which made for ugly but delicious cookies. Any tips as to what to do to prevent this moving forward?
The flavor was incredible! My dough was insanely crumbly and didn’t fall when baked, I had to push them down with my hands and that coupled with crumbly dough made for ugly, but delicious, cookies.
Any insight on how to prevent that when I try again?
That is strange that they were crumbly. I’ve made these cookies a lot and have never had them be crumbly. I will say that I usually skip putting them in the fridge because I want to eat them as soon as possible. When I do this they are usually a little on the sticky side, but they always turn out soft and chewy. My suggestions would be don’t put them in the fridge and/or put a little less than 2 and 3/4 cups of flour in them. Let me know if this helps.
I was just reading up on cookie dough being crumbly and it could be from living in a higher-altitude climate or from over mixing the dough. The suggestion to fix crumbly cookie dough is to add 1/2 teaspoon of liquid to the dry dough. Keep adding a 1/2 teaspoon until the dough reaches the perfect consistency. I hope this helps.
Am I missing the Cream of Tartar in this recipe?.
Nope. This recipe doesn’t need cream of tartar.
Just made these and BRAVO!! The crispy sugar coated outside was the best part. Will definitely make again!!
Yeah! I’m so glad they turned out wonderful and you liked them. They are a family-favorite for us.
I am currently making these and my dough is more like regular cookie dough. There is no way at the moment for this to be rolled. Help!!
You’ll want to place the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 15 minutes so that it will be easier to roll the dough. If it’s still hard to roll the dough, then put them in the fridge for an hour or two.
Very nice the kids love it
thank YOU FOR HELPING MY FAMILY
I DONT WANT TO HIT MY KIDS WHEN I EAT THESE COOKS
QUICK QUESTION: HOW DO I TURN OFF CAPS LOCK
Having the same issue as Marisa. The dough didnt flatten, they stayed in a ball shape. :/
Sorry to hear that’s happening. Whenever I make this recipe the dough is never crumbly for me. But I did read about why cookie dough would be crumbly, and it could be from living in a higher-altitude climate or from over mixing the dough. The possible suggestion to fix crumbly cookie dough is to add 1/2 teaspoon of liquid to the dry dough. Keep adding a 1/2 teaspoon until the dough reaches the perfect consistency. Also, another suggestion would be don’t put them in the fridge and/or put a little less than 2 and 3/4 cups of flour in them. I hope this helps.
Try to not over mix the eggs. You want to mix them in well but as soon as they are incorporated completely then stop mixing! Not sure if that is the solution but I had that problem when making a different kind of cookie and mixing the eggs less was how I fixed it!
Great suggestion that could help others. Thanks!
Is it supposed to be unsalted butter?
I actually just use whatever butter I have on hand.
I made these today and the first batch has turned out great so far! I read through the comments before I made them and I tried not to over mix and I added only a rough measurement of how much flour. The bottom of the batch was a little crumbly but all I had to do was knead it into the moist dough around it!
I’m glad that they turned out great! And thanks for sharing your tip of what you did when the bottom of the batch was a little crumbly.
I was reading the ingredients list it says to use 1/4 cup of brown sugar but then during instruction it says to use 1 1/4 cup sugar and brown sugar. What is the the correct amount of brown sugar to use?
It is 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I went ahead and made that clarification to the recipe. Thanks.
I just made these. So good! I used butter flavor Crisco due to a dairy allergy but followed the rest of the recipe and my house smells amazing 🙂
So glad you liked them!
My dough is runny..no way I can get these into balls..been in fridge for over an hour..just moved to the bowl to freezer…help!
I’m not sure why your dough is runny. My only suggestion is to add a little more flour to thicken it. Every time I make this recipe it turns out great. I’ve never had this recipe be runny. Could you have maybe added more eggs or more butter than what the recipe called for?
I had very runny dough too and followed the recipe step by step. I just kept on adding hella flour to make it kneadable. I recommend adding a sugar when you add flour because my cookies weren’t that sweet due to adding the flour to fix the consistency.
So sorry to hear that the dough didn’t work out for you. I make this recipe every time I want snickerdoodles and the cookies turn out great. The dough is on the soft side, but never runny. A suggestion is to let the dough sit in the fridge for longer like 1-2 hours. This will make the dough more firm so it’s easier to roll into 1-inch balls.
So good, best yet. Mine where soft and chewy. They crumbled easy after the next day but that was ok with me.
mine didnt go flat =(
These were indeed best snickerdoodles I have ever made and eaten. Could not believe how soft the inside is but the outside had that perfect crunch. Love the ratio of sugar to cinnamon as I always questioned that.
So glad they turned out delicious for you!
Mine turned out like rocks😛 and not very sweet
I’m sorry to hear that they didn’t turn out good for you. I roll out my dough into 1-inch balls and only cook them 8 minutes, and they’ve always turned out soft and sweet. Maybe make sure to cook them that long?
Mine did not flatten but they were delicious and very soft inside. cooked for 13 mins on 350 🤷🏽♀️
Glad to hear they turned out soft and delicious!
OMG! I made these cookies for the first time and they were everything! I was skeptical of using salt but my husband and 6 year old couldn’t stop munching on them. Thank you! Thank you! I put them in the fridge for like an hour and had no problem. So could you possibly help me out with a fantastic recipe like this for my sugar cookies. I don’t quite have the flavoring right. I have tried all sorts of things like almond and vanilla flavoring. Could I possibly get your sugar cookie cut out recipe? I will look up my of your recipes just in case you have posted one. If not I would be more very appreciative if you could share one with me. Thank you again!
I’m so glad you loved the Snickerdoodle cookies! I haven’t posted a sugar cookie recipe, but here is one that our family enjoys. It has almond extract and ream of tartar.
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
Directions: Combine butter, powdered sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Add flour to wet ingredients. Chill for 1-2 hours. Roll out 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Place only 6-8 cookies on a cookie sheet. Bake at 357 degrees for 7-8 minutes, no longer. Cool and decorate.
Are the middle suppose to stay doughy? They’re crispy else where. Taste doughy on through out the center. Just want to make sure I did it correct. I also put them back into the oven for a little while about 2-4 min. But the middle still doughy. Anyone else cookies turned out the same?
I’ve never had a problem with my cookies being doughy in the middle. Maybe make sure to roll the dough into one inch balls. Also, may try to flatten the middle of the dough before you put in the oven to cook. Hope this helps.
These cookies are fantastic and very easy. I made these with my grandchildren. They came out of the oven looking like the photo. They were crunchy on the bottom yet chewy in the middle with the right amount of sweetness.
So glad they turned out great for you!
I made these tonight and they came out a little doughy in the middle. Perhaps I rolled my balls a bit too large. My next batch will be rolled smaller. Other than that, this recipe is great!
The balls were probably too big. If that happens, adding a few more minutes cook time should solve the problem.
loved it! Very robust and full snickerdoodle-just the way I love them. I did add just a bit more flour. I think the brown sugar is a great add it.
So glad you loved them!
I suggest making sure the butter is very soft! Made for a super creamy texture for me!
That is a great tip! Thanks!
What happens if I do add the cream of tartar to it?
I haven’t tried adding cream of tartar to this recipe. The cream of tartar most likely will give the snickerdoodle a tangy taste. You’ll have to let me know how it turns out if you add cream of tartar in it.
Unfortunately this recipe DID NOT work at all. Everything mixed well, the dough felt great, but after baking for 10 minutes, they aren’t even close to done. I let them rest for 20 minutes and they are impossible to grab off the sheet because they are so uncooked. Followed the recipe exactly and really disappointed, I at least like things to be edible if they don’t come out perfect, but this was a waste of ingredients. 🙁
I’m sorry the cookies didn’t turn out for you. I do this exact recipe every time and they turn out just right, and many others have commented that they made the cookies and they turned out great.
Here are a couple of things to try: Make sure the oven is preheated to 350 degrees, allow the dough to sit in the refrigerator longer like 30 minutes to 1 hour, make sure the dough is rolled into 1-inch balls no bigger, and after baking the cookies allow them to sit on the pan for 3-5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack. I hope you’ll try out this recipe again. Our family loves this recipe and makes these cookies multiple times a month.
I have made these cookies multiple times and every time is a slam dunk. My sister’s favorite cookie a this recipe makes her happy and demand more every time. Thank you for the recipe, Lisa!
Please forgive my lack of editting. I guess I shouldn’t do pinterest comments and work at the same time! Anyway, Thank you for this recipe. Again, it is awesome!
I’m so glad to hear that you love this recipe. It’s one of my family’s favorite cookie recipe too.
These little cookies are a treat!! They are delicious and will make a nice addition to my holiday baking
That is wonderful to hear!