The BEST Classic Snickerdoodles
Follow these tips to bake up a fabulously tasty batch of the BEST classic Snickerdoodles! Loaded with great cinnamon flavor and tang, and baked up pillowy-soft, these Snickerdoodles are the real deal. And those cinnamon and Snickerdoodle lovers in your life will be ever-thankful to you for it.
My Mom doesn't like cinnamon. Which is something I truly don't understand, because cinnamon is one of my absolute favorite flavors.
I adore its strong, rich flavor with just about everything - from Grandma's Old-Fashioned Doughnuts generously dunked in cinnamon sugar, to Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzels, to fruit like in our Glazed Cantaloupe Salad or Brown Sugar Baked Peaches, and even with pork in our fall-favorite Slow Cooker Apple Pork Loin.
Snickerdoodles are just such a unique and distinct cookie. Generally thought to be of German origin, there's just nothing quite like them.
And cookies? Well, of course that's a no-brainer. Which makes cinnamon-loaded ones like Cinnamon Roll Cookies and Snickerdoodles some of my all-time faves.
For cinnamon lovers, Snickerdoodles are a classic.
Snickerdoodles are just such a unique and distinct cookie. Generally thought to be of German origin, there's just nothing quite like them.
But what actually makes a Snickerdoodle a Snickerdoodle? There are three characteristics that truly make Snickerdoodles unique when it comes to cookies:
- Soft, pillowy texture
- Strong cinnamon flavor, and
- Tang
Without these three things, you just don't have a true Snickerdoodle.
Some may say a Snickerdoodle is pretty much a sugar cookie coated in cinnamon. This is not the case. Sugar cookies tend to be flatter, thinner cookies that often have a little bit of crispness to them - either throughout the whole cookie, or at least along the edges.
True Snickerdoodles, on the other hand, bake up tender, soft, and puffy throughout. And with a very distinct tangy-cinnamon taste.
Just how do Snickerdoodles get their soft, pillowy texture?
The answer is a simple one. They get most of their coveted texture from one little ingredient - cream of tartar.
In fact, cream of tartar is quite a powerful ingredient when it comes to making Snickerdoodles. It helps create not only their tender texture, but also produces the tang in their flavor, and creates their characteristic surface cracks.
For flavor, there's no other way to create that little Snickerdoodle tang than with cream of tartar.
Cream of tartar is quite a powerful ingredient when it comes to making Snickerdoodles.
For the pillowy texture and surface cracks, cream of tartar is an essential rising agent to make these two things happen. It works by combining with and activating the baking soda to produce a nice rise, which allows the puffiness and cracks to happen.
And cream of tartar also inhibits sugar crystals from forming in baking, which keeps the Snickerdoodles tender and soft throughout.
So just like in our Lemon White Chocolate Chip Cookies, that touch of cream of tartar in the dough helps produce a nice rise and helps create the cookies' tenderness.
For true Snickerdoodles, don't skip that cream of tartar!
As for Snickerdoodles' strong cinnamon flavor, that of course comes from a hearty dose of ground cinnamon.
Surprisingly, though, there is no cinnamon in the Snickerdoodle cookie dough itself. All the cinnamon flavor comes from rolling the cookie dough balls in a cinnamon-sugar mixture prior to baking.
And in the case of Snickerdoodles, the ratio of the cinnamon-sugar mixture is heavily weighted to the cinnamon side. As you can see in the photo above, the cinnamon sugar mixture for rolling is pretty dark. That's because it's a full tablespoon of cinnamon mixed with 1/3 cup of granulated sugar.
A tablespoon of cinnamon may seem like a lot - but it's what gives Snickerdoodles that wonderful cinnamon taste. Don't be shy with that wonderful cinnamon!
1. Use a mix of butter and shortening
I know some shy away from using shortening in their baking. But using a combination of both butter and shortening in the dough keeps these cookies from spreading too much while baking, which also helps create their coveted thick and tender texture.
I don't recommend substituting all butter for the butter and shortening mix, as butter melts more while baking - making the cookies spread more. And spreading takes away the Snickerdoodles pillowy result.
Grab that cream of tartar, mix up that cinnamon sugar, and follow these tips to bake up a fabulously tasty batch of the BEST classic Snickerdoodles!
2. Do not overbake
The cookies should look a little underdone in the cracks when you take them out of the oven - they're best that way! For the best results and the best texture, do not overbake. The cookie edges should be set and just beginning to brown, with the middles still nice and puffy and soft.
So grab that cream of tartar, mix up that cinnamon sugar, and follow these tips to bake up a fabulously tasty batch of the BEST classic Snickerdoodles!
These are the real deal. And those cinnamon and Snickerdoodle lovers in your life will be ever-thankful to you for it.
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Yield: 24-30 cookies
The BEST Classic Snickerdoodles
Follow these tips to bake up a fabulously tasty batch of the BEST classic Snickerdoodles! Loaded with great cinnamon flavor and tang, and baked up pillowy-soft, these Snickerdoodles are the real deal. And those cinnamon and Snickerdoodle lovers in your life will be ever-thankful to you for it.
prep time: 45 Mcook time: 10 Mtotal time: 55 M
ingredients:
For the cookie dough:
- 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 8 T. unsalted butter, softened
- 8 T. shortening (such as Crisco)
- 2 eggs
For rolling the cookies:
- 1/3 c. granulated sugar
- 1 T. ground cinnamon
instructions:
How to cook The BEST Classic Snickerdoodles
- In a small shallow bowl, combine the 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon for rolling the cookies. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat together butter, shortening, and the 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating about 30 seconds after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix about 30 seconds until just combined.
- For each cookie, roll 2 tablespoons dough into a ball. Roll in cinnamon sugar to coat completely, and place on a cookie baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
- Bake at 375℉ until edges are set and just beginning to brown but middles are still puffy and soft, about 10 minutes.
- Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely.
TRACEY'S NOTES
- The cookies should look underdone in the cracks when you take them out of the oven - they're best that way! For best results, do not overbake.
- Using a mix of butter and shortening keeps these cookies from spreading too much while baking, which also helps create their thick and tender texture. I don't recommend substituting all butter for the butter and shortening mix, as butter melts more while baking - making the cookies spread more.
- Cream of tartar is the ingredient that gives Snickerdoodles their characteristic tangy flavor. It also works with the baking soda for the cookies' rise, helping create their characteristic cracks, too. Don't skip that cream of tartar!
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Baking Book
You might also like these other favorite cookie recipes:
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