Baking · American
Snickerdoodles
Soft, tangy cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar. The name is half the fun.
- Hands-on
- 25 min
- Hands-off
- 1 h 30 min
- Total
- 1 h 55 min
- Makes
- 30 servings
- Serves
- 30
Prep is 15 min mixing plus about 10 min rolling balls. Passive is the 1-hour chill plus about 10 min cooling. The oven heats during the last 15 min of chilling, so it adds no time. Cook assumes two sheets baked one after the other at 8-10 min each. Total = 25 min active + 90 min hands-off (1 hour chill, about 20 min baking, 10 min cooling).
Oven 200 °C · 180 °C fan (400 °F)
Pan standard baking sheets, lined with parchment (US: standard cookie sheets, lined with parchment)
- easy
- vegetarian
- cookies
- holiday
- cookie-swap
- make-ahead
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? The recipe gives 30 servings but no cookie count; the count depends on how big you roll the balls. Doubling is fine, but bake extra sheets in batches rather than crowding: keep the balls 5 cm (2 in) apart. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: medium bowl · large bowl · electric mixer · plastic wrap or a lid · small bowl for the cinnamon sugar · 2 baking sheets · parchment paper · wire racks · oven mitts
Contains: egg · milk · wheat
Method
Mix the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, stir together 330 g (2 3/4 cups) flour, 2 tsp cream of tartar and 1 tsp baking soda. Set it aside.
Cream the fats and sugar
In a large bowl, beat 300 g (1 1/2 cups) of the sugar with 113 g (1/2 cup) soft butter and 92 g (1/2 cup) shortening on medium speed until the mixture looks pale, light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla
Beat in the 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla until everything is evenly mixed.
Add the flour mix
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture a little at a time and beat just until no dry streaks remain.
Chill the dough
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. Cold dough is much easier to roll into neat balls.
Otto tried this firstOtto skips the chill because he's hungry. The dough sticks to his hands and the balls slump, so back into the fridge it goes for the full hour.Heat the oven
About 15 minutes before the chill ends, heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Roll and coat
In a small bowl, mix the remaining 50 g (1/4 cup) sugar with 1 tbsp cinnamon. Roll the dough into 2.5 cm (1 in) balls, roll each one in the cinnamon sugar until coated, and set them 5 cm (2 in) apart on the lined sheets.
Bake
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Check at 8 minutes. If you bake two sheets at once, swap them top to bottom and front to back halfway through.
Ready when: The cookies have puffed and cracked on top, look set, and are lightly browned at the edges. They will still be soft; they firm up as they cool.
Cool
Leave the cookies on the hot sheet for 1 minute, then move them to wire racks to cool completely.
Swaps
- Instead of cream of tartar (2 tsp) and baking soda (1 tsp): 2 tsp baking powder in total
- Instead of butter and shortening (113 g + 92 g): all shortening, 184 g (1 cup) In the all-shortening version, bake at the same 200°C (400°F), but press the dough balls to 1.25 cm (1/2 in) thick and bake them 11-12 minutes.
- Instead of vanilla extract (2 tsp): 1 tsp pure orange, almond or maple extract A flavour variation.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- The dough needs at least 1 hour in the fridge, so mix it first and do the rest of your kitchen jobs while it chills.
- Storage
- Keep snickerdoodles tightly wrapped at room temperature for several days, and freeze them for longer storage.
If something goes wrong
- Dough too sticky to roll Why: It wasn't chilled long enough.
Cover and chill it for the full hour. - One sheet browner than the other Why: Two sheets in the oven at once heat unevenly.
Swap the sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, or bake one sheet at a time.
Good to know
- Take the cookies out when they still look soft in the middle: set, and just starting to turn golden.
- For a gentler cinnamon coat, use 1/2 tsp cinnamon in 1/4 cup sugar.
- Space the balls a full 5 cm (2 in) apart: they spread.
Safety
- Don't taste the raw dough. Raw flour and raw eggs can carry bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli; only baking makes them safe. Wash your hands, bowls and counters with warm soapy water afterwards.
- The oven and baking sheets are at 200°C (400°F). Use oven mitts, and kids should let an adult move the sheets.