These are truly the best classic snickerdoodle cookies! They're buttery, soft-baked, chewy, and are covered in cinnamon sugar. Not only do they take 35 minutes to make, you don't have to chill the dough before baking, and the cookie dough comes together in just one mixing bowl.
Fellow home baker, Lea, says: "That additional egg yolk ensures a soft, chewy cookie. These were a huge hit in my house! I bake a lot of cookies and these are one of the most requested cookies in my family.
Why You'll Love These Snickerdoodles
- Quick & simple to make. So many of my favorite cookie recipes can be made in under 35 minutes and doesn't require chilling the dough. These snickerdoodles can also be made in one bowl with no electric mixer!
- The best flavor. Melted butter ensures these cookies are bursting with buttery flavor. The cookie dough balls are also rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. These snickerdoodle cupcakes have the same snickerdoodle flavors as these cookies.
- Bakery-style cookies. These cookies bake up to be large and thicker cookies. They're perfect for holidays and cookie boxes.
- 5 star ratings. I've been making these cookies for 6+ years and everyone who makes them absolutely loves them and comes back for seconds.
- Classic recipe. I am a lover of timeless cookie recipes, including these easy classic oatmeal cookies and my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. My snickerdoodle cookie recipe will remind you of your childhood.
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With a busy toddler, I don't always have much time to bake, so these cookies are perfect as a quick evening sweet treat! If you are new to baking or are an experienced home baker, snickerdoodles are a must-bake!
Ingredients For Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Unsalted Butter: Melted butter makes the butter flavor more intense and helps the cookies to be extra soft and chewy.
- Sugars: While the cookies are made with mostly granulated sugar, I do add just ¼ cup of brown sugar. This helps to add a bit more chewiness to the cookies.
- Egg & Egg Yolk: One large egg and one large egg yolk is needed. Adding an egg yolk instead of another egg helps to ensure that the batter won't be too wet.
- Cream of Tartar: This is a must-used ingredient for snickerdoodle cookies. Not only does it add a slight acidic flavor, but it also helps the sugars to not crystalize, keeping the cookies very soft and chewy.
See the recipe card for the full ingredients list and the exact amounts.
How To Make Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies
Step 1: In a microwaveable-safe bowl, melt the butter and let it cool on the counter for 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until fully combined.
Step 2: Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and fold everything together using a rubber spatula until combined.
Step 3: In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon and mix together. Use a medium cookie scoop (I used my #24, which is 2.7 tablespoons) to scoop out the cookie dough and roll into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Step 4: Place the cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-14 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them over to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Storing & Freezing Cookies
Storage: Keep any leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Freezer: Place the cooled cookies onto a baking pan and freeze until solid. Then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. They can stay frozen for up to 2 months.
Professional Home Baking Tips
- Baking Sheet: Line each baking pan with parchment paper.
- Measuring Flour: To help ensure you don’t add extra flour, follow these three simple steps: 1) Fluff up the flour using a fork. 2) Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. 3) Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level out the flour.
- Cookie Scoop: I used a medium cookie scoop, specifically the #24 scoop, to create bigger bakery-style cookies.
- Perfectly Shaped Cookies: The trick to getting more circular cookies is to use a round cookie cutter to essentially “rotate or spin” around each cookie immediately when they come out of the oven. Since they’re really hot, the cookies will easily mold to that circular shape as you move around them.
Recipe FAQs
A classic snickerdoodle should taste like a chewy sugar cookie, but with a slight tangy flavor from the cream of tartar. It should also be bursting with cinnamon sugar flavor too.
Cream of tartar adds a tangy taste to snickerdoodle cookies. It also helps with the overall chewiness of the cookies.
If you really wanted to, you could use 2 teaspoons of baking powder in place of both the cream of tartar and baking soda. I just wouldn't recommend it, though, because then it won't truly be a traditional snickerdoodle cookie.
📖 Recipe
Best Classic Snickerdoodle Cookies
Equipment
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment paper
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar, for rolling
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon for rolling
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a microwaveable-safe bowl, melt the butter and let it cool on the counter for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt
- Add the flour mixture and use a rubber spatula to gently fold into the wet ingredients until combined.
- In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon and mix together. Use a medium cookie scoop (I used my #24, which is 2.7 tablespoons) to scoop out the cookie dough. Roll each cookie dough ball into the cinnamon sugar mixture and place onto the prepared baking pans. I recommend placing 10 cookie dough balls on each baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes, or just until the edge of the cookies turn light brown. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them over to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Keep any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 7 days.
Love this recipe, do you know it they can be frozen after they are baked?
Yes you can. Just place the cookies on a baking sheet and freeze for about an hour. Then transfer them to a freezer bag. They will stay good for up to 2 months in the freezer. 🙂
Would you happen to know the nutrition information for your recipe? I have a diabetic son on an insulin pump and just need to know carbs so he can enjoy them as well.
I do not currently provide nutritional information for my recipes, but I will use this website from time to time to input the recipe and see the information I am looking for: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I hope this helps!
I hadn't made Snickerdoodles in probably 30 years or more. So glad I came upon this recipe, which is better than the one I used originally. That additonal egg yolk ensures a soft, chewy cookie.These were a huge hit in my house! I bake a lot of cookies and these are one of the two most requested cookies in my family, especially by my son-in-law! Baking another batch today by popular demand!
I'm so glad you lovedd them, Lea!:)
This is the best recipe!!!! I'm so glad I came across this recipe. The cookies taste so delicious. I've tried other recipes and they were all lacking something.
Yay! I'm so glad you loved them, Val! 🙂
This is the first time I have ever made snickerdoodles so I don’t have anything to compare them to, BUT I wouldn’t ever try another recipe because these are legit!!! So fluffy! So light! So easy to make! Perfection!!! Oh and I bought my first cookie scoop and silicone baking mat and I’m now a believer in these tools as well!
Awe, I'm so happy to hear that! I hope snickerdoodles will become your new favorite cookie too!:) And aren't those kitchen tools amazing?! So helpful too.
Would love the recipe in grams to ensure consistency.
Yes, I am working on having the grams listed in all of my recipe cards. Thank you for letting me know your interest in this! I appreciate it. 🙂