Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe – Soft and Chewy

This Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe is not only soft and chewy but they’re wonderfully thick. It’s the perfect after-school snack, lunchbox dessert, or midnight craving. Cinnamon and sugar are what highlight these sugary delights. Add a cold glass of milk to these cookies and you have a marriage made in heaven.

Why I Love This Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe:

Hands down, the number one reason I love this recipe is they are tried and true. I’ve made them so many times I can’t even count anymore. Every time I’ve ever thrown a batch in the oven, they’ve ALWAYS turned out amazing. They are definitely one of the no-fail cookie recipes that I reach for most of the time.

As the title of this post indicates, the cookies really are soft, chewy, and thick. You can see from the last photo on this page how thick they are. I’ve eaten a lot of snickerdoodles in my lifetime, and with all honesty, I can truly say these are the softest and the fluffiest.

The recipe is super easy to pull together. Nothing is difficult about these snickerdoodle cookies. The only issue is the time it takes (5-7 minutes) to beat the sugar, butter, and eggs. Rolling the dough into balls takes a little bit of time as well. Everything else is a “piece of cake” (sorry, wrong metaphor).

The snickerdoodles freeze wonderfully. Once your family has eaten their share of the cookies, you can place them in a ziplock bag and throw them in the freezer for up to 3 months. This also works great if you are planning on baking them early for a bake sale or a party that is down the road.

There’s a science behind the softness and chewiness of these cookies

One of the keys to soft, chewy, and fluffy snickerdoodles is found in the beating process. The first step is beating air into the butter and sugar mixture. This is called “creaming” and can be done with your hand mixer.

• Don’t bring the butter to room temperature. You don’t want it too warm to start with. Take it straight out of the fridge, cut it into cubes, and by the time you have all the other ingredients ready, the butter will be the perfect temperature to begin.

Beat the butter for about one minute, add the sugar and beat for another 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. The mixture should be a pale-yellow color. Continue by adding the eggs one at a time and beating for one minute after each addition. Taking extra time to cream the butter and sugar and beat the eggs has always rewarded me with fluffy cookies.

Cream of Tartar is the signature ingredient of Snickerdoodles. If you’re like me, you thought snickerdoodles were just another sugar cookie with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar. Although they share many of the basic components (sugar, butter, flour) there is one ingredient that sets them apart – cream of tartar.

• It’s interesting that such a tiny amount  (1/2 teaspoon) gives these cookies the tangy taste that they are known for. But a bonus from this little addition creates that soft and pillowy effect. 

Cookie Dough Balls

I’m a “little” obsessive sometimes with certain things. And you’ll agree when I tell you that I weigh each cookie dough ball on a digital scale in order to have every cookie the same size. Okay, so maybe “a lot” obsessive. I do it with meatballs, hamburger patties, or anything else that I want to have a consistent look.

Chill the Dough Before Rolling It Into Balls

One thing that helps when rolling the balls for this snickerdoodle cookie recipe, chill the dough for about 30 minutes before you begin. Otherwise, it gets all sticking because of the warmth of your hands and is harder to roll into a ball. Also, it won’t flatten out so quickly when baking because it has been chilled.

Cinnamon And Sugar and Flattening out the Balls

Use a little more cinnamon. It will make a darker color and a richer cinnamon taste. It’s all about personal preference. Once you roll them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and lay them on your cookie sheet, use the bottom of a glass to flatten them out slightly. Not too much though. You’re not looking for flat, crunchy cookies.

Don’t Over Bake the Cookies

Start checking on the cookies around the 10-minute mark. Don’t make the mistake of over-baking. Their edges should not have a crispy brown edge or the bottoms be dark brown. The only dark coloring you really should see on these cookies is the cinnamon itself. You might try testing one or two cookies out of the oven before you bring out the whole batch.

• You’ll notice them puffing up while baking and at some point, they’ll start crinkling down. That is completely normal, so don’t be alarmed. When you bite into them, they should be soft and fluffy while the interior should have a slightly doughy texture. That, my friend, is the flawless snickerdoodle.

Cookies and an Ice Cold Glass of Milk

The consummate companion to these pillowy delights is an ice-cold glass of milk. I’ll fill you in on a little secret. Once you grab a snickerdoodle and put it in your mouth, you’ll feel like a little kid just let out of school, sitting around the kitchen table with the aroma of cinnamon and sugar filling the room, milk mustache and all.

“Oldies but Goodies” 

With lots of new and funky recipes showing up on the internet every day, it’s nice to return to some “oldies but goodies” sometimes. Don’t get me wrong I love all the creativity found out here in cyberspace. But sometimes simple is what I’m really in the mood for. Like this classic snickerdoodle cookie recipe.

If you love afternoon snacks, you will definitely want to try these recipes:

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Kisses

Grandma’s Dill Bread

Following me on Pinterest – Lingeralittle

Print