The best soft, chewy, and thick Snickerdoodle Recipe, with tender centers and perfectly crisp edges!
author’s note
Soft, Chewy, Perfect Snickerdoodles Every Single Time!
Snickerdoodles have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. They were one of the first recipes I ever shared here because I’ve truly been making them my whole life.
After years of making them for every event and family get-together, I can honestly say I’ve never had a Snickerdoodle better than this version. They’re thick and chewy with the softest center and those crisp cinnamon edges that make them irresistible.
My brother-in-law is a Snickerdoodle superfan, and this is his all-time favorite cookie. He requests a batch every time he visits, and he swears these are the best he’s ever had. I have to agree. This is the recipe I’m proudest to share.
Snickerdoodle Recipe Ingredients
| Ingredient | What to Know |
|---|---|
| Butter | Opt for unsalted for better salt control. |
| Sugar | A mix of white and brown sugar gives the best sweetness. |
| Egg + Egg Yolk | Adds richness and keeps the cookies soft. |
| Vanilla Extract | Boosts overall flavor. |
| Flour | Measure carefully for the right consistency. |
| Cream of Tartar | Gives the classic tang and helps the dough set. |
| Baking Soda | Helps the cookies rise. |
| Cinnamon | Adds warm flavor in both the dough and the coating. |
Quick Tip
My favorite way to bake? Simply use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients in grams. It eliminates guesswork that can come with less precise measuring using cups.
Featured Comment
I rarely review/leave comments, but I felt compelled to with this recipe.
I have searched high and low for THE snickerdoodle recipe. The recipe that creates soft, but slightly crisp and moist, but not underbaked snickerdoodles. This is that recipe. I will never make any other snickerdoodle recipe again!
Thank you for sharing!
– Kate
How To Make This Snickerdoodle Recipe (Tips)
- Butter: Hot butter leads to greasy cookies. Melt it fully, then let it cool to room temp.
- Chill the dough: This keeps the cookies thick with chewy centers.
- Roll tall cookie dough balls: Taller shapes spread into the perfect thickness.
- Generously coat in cinnamon sugar: More coating means better caramelized edges.
- Slightly underbake: Bake on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. The centers should look soft when you pull them out; they finish cooking on the tray.
- Shape while warm: Press the edges inward with a spatula for perfectly round cookies.
Storage
- Store Snickerdoodle recipe in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- Freeze dough balls, place them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a sealed container or freezer bag. Bake straight from the freezer as needed, adding extra a few extra minutes to the baking process.
Variations
Love this Snickerdoodle Recipe? Try my Pumpkin Snickerdoodles or Caramel Snickerdoodles!
More Delicious Cookies:
Snickerdoodle Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Food scale optional, but recommended!
- Sheet pan (15" x 10")
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2-3/4 cups flour see note 1
- 1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter, then let cool to room temperature. Ensure it’s not hot to avoid greasy cookies.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, salt, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl, mix melted and cooled butter with granulated and brown sugar until well emulsified. Add whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined, ensuring there are no streaks of flour. Avoid overmixing. Cover dough tightly and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Stir together cinnamon sugar coating ingredients in a small bowl.
- Portion dough into 45-gram balls (2 packed tablespoons) and shape them into tall balls. Roll dough balls generously in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Return shaped dough balls to the fridge for 15–20 minutes or until they firm up.
- Place dough balls on a sheet pan lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat with ample spacing (about 6 at a time); bake 9–12 minutes. Avoid overbaking; slight under-baking is ideal! After baking, if any cookies have uneven edges, gently press them inward with a metal spatula. Remove tray from oven and let cookies rest on the sheet 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Snickerdoodle Recipe FAQs
Yes, up to 72 hours. Keep covered in the fridge and bake as needed.
No, not for this recipe. The cookies spread too much without it.
Yes. Everything doubles cleanly.
Too much flour or overbaking. Use a scale and watch the bake time closely.
Great recipe! For those wondering, 16 tablespoons is 1cup. Not sure why the butter measurement is listed this way.
Thanks so much, Miriam! I list the butter in tablespoons because stick sizes can vary. Most sticks are marked by the tablespoon, so it makes it easy to cut out exactly 16 tablespoons, which equals 1 cup.
Love this recipe! Taste and texture is excellent! Even my teenage sons loved them and asked for more!
Yay! I’m so thrilled to hear this! Thanks Jill!
Gluten free recipe would be great for me
I’ll add it to my list of things to test!
These are great! I’m just finishing up a batch. They’re every bit as good as described. One thing I particularly liked was the cinnamon to sugar ratio in the coating mix. Often there’s not enough cinnamon in it. This was perfect. I’m glad there’s so mych vanilla in them. Often snickerdoodles taste bitter to me, I think because of the cream of tartar, but the vanilla gets rid of that. They’re perfect!
Yay! I am so happy to hear this! Thanks Betsy!
Delicious cookies, very happy with how they turned out!
In the post you mention and suggest using a scale, but the recipe is not converted into weight measurements. Do you have this recipe with weighted measurements somewhere?
Yes! If you toggle over to “metric” in the recipe card you’ll see the weights! 🙂
My family loves these! I’ve made them successfully the past couple years, but this latest batch didn’t spread. Any thoughts on what I might have done wrong? They still tasted good. I just had to smash them down a little to make them look more normal lol.
Most likely too much flour! Be sure to level off the flour measurement and not press it down too hard into flour container/bag! 🙂
Fantastic recipe! I’m not known for my baking skills, but all the tips made me look like like a pro. My 18 yo son and his friends actually sent me text compliments after devouring these at school.
Ah I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Amy! 🙂
As your sister, I have to say these are the BEST snickerdoodle recipe out there!! thanks for making me so popular with my friends ♥️🤪
Yay! I’m so happy to hear this Callie! 🙂
You mentioned sugar cookies don’t have cream of tartar. Mine does. However, much, much less.
Oh interesting! I’ve never seen that, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hello,
I want to double this recipe, can you tell me what the recipe would be doubled?
Thank you so much
Chris
I’d recommend just making the dough twice instead of trying to double. It gets tricky with the single egg yolk when doubling