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An overhead view of a single, perfectly baked snickerdoodle.
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5 / 3 votes

Snickerdoodles

These snickerdoodles, made with butter, margarine, sugar, flour, and eggs, are a classic cookie coated in cinnamon sugar. Easy to make with options for thin and flat or thick and puffy.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 30 cookies
Calories: 144

Ingredients

For the snickerdoodle dough

  • 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 tablespoons margarine*, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups superfine sugar or just blitz granulated sugar in a food processor until finely ground but not powdery
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon table salt

For the cinnamon sugar

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the snickerdoodle dough

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) for flatter cookies and 400°F (205°C) for puffier cookies. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, margarine, and superfine sugar until light and creamy.
  • Add the baking soda and eggs and beat until incorporated.
  • Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the flour, cream of tartar, and salt, and beat just until blended.

Make the cinnamon sugar

  • In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and granulated sugar.

Assemble and bake the cookies

  • Form the dough into balls the size of a golf ball (about 1 1/2 in | 4 cm) and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
  • Space the balls about 3 inches (8 cm) apart on the baking sheet.
  • Bake until cookies are lightly browned and slightly cracked on top but still puffy and soft, 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F (175°C) or 9 to 10 minutes at 400°F (205°C).
  • Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. They will flatten as they cool. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

*What You Need To Know About Ensuring Puffy Snickerdoodles

If you’re the sort of snickerdoodle connoisseur who only deigns to indulge in puffy, cakey snickerdoodles rather than flatter, crisper cookiers, there are a couple of things you can do to ensure your desired results.
First, bake your cookies, as indicated in the recipe, at the slightly higher temperature of 400°F (205°C) for a shorter time (9 to 10 minutes). The higher temperature “sets” the cookies more rapidly and prevents them from spreading as much.
Second, choose your margarine wisely. The oil-to-water ratio across margarine brands can vary significantly. A margarine with a relatively low 46% vegetable oil content will conversely have a higher water content, which will predispose your cookies to flatten more. If puffy is your aim, try to find a margarine in the 65 to 80% vegetable oil range.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 155mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g