Christmas dinner · adapted traditional recipe
Soft Snickerdoodles (Cream of Tartar, No Chilling)
Soft, tangy cinnamon-sugar cookies with the crackled tops that only cream of tartar gives. The dough is dropped into cinnamon sugar, flattened and baked in a hot oven for about 11 minutes, with no chilling.
An adaptation of a traditional recipe, written in our own words. Ovens vary, so go by the doneness signs as well as the times.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 24 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Makes
- about 40 medium cookies
Ingredients
- Dough
- 1 cupvegetable shortening, about 184 g
- 1½ cupsgranulated sugar, about 298 g
- 2large eggs
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 2 tspcream of tartar
- 1 tspbaking soda
- ½ tspsalt
- 2¾ cupsall-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, about 330 g
- Coating
- ½ cupgranulated sugar
- 1 tbspground cinnamon
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment. Stir the coating sugar and cinnamon together in a 9-inch cake pan.
- 2
Beat the shortening and 1½ cups sugar until smooth and lighter in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- 3
Beat in the vanilla, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, then mix in the flour slowly until combined. The dough is soft.
- 4
Drop the dough by tablespoons into the cinnamon sugar, 6 to 8 at a time, and shake the pan to coat them. Roll them lightly in your hands if needed.
- 5
Place the balls 1½ inches apart on the sheets and flatten each with the bottom of a glass to about ½ inch thick.
- 6
Bake 11 to 12 minutes, switching the pans top to bottom and front to back halfway. Take them out when they are set and just starting to turn golden.
- 7
Cool on a rack. They will keep soft in the middle.
How to know it is done
The cookies are set around the edges and just starting to turn golden, with cracks on top. Pull them out before they brown: overbaked snickerdoodles are crisp, not soft.
Make ahead
Roll the dough balls in the coating and freeze them on a tray, then in a bag, for up to 3 months; bake from frozen and add 1 to 2 minutes. Baked cookies freeze for 3 months.
Storing and freezing
Store tightly wrapped at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Tips
- Cream of tartar is what gives snickerdoodles their tang and soft chew: do not leave it out.
- Use the same size scoop for each ball so the cookies bake evenly; about 1 tablespoon of dough each.
- For a crisper edge, you can replace the shortening with 2 sticks of butter; the cookies spread a little more.
- Bake one sheet at a time if your oven runs hot: 400°F browns the bottoms quickly.
Allergens
- Wheat/gluten
- Egg
- Check the shortening and vanilla labels
Always check the labels of the products you buy.
Questions
What makes a snickerdoodle different from a sugar cookie?
Cream of tartar, which gives the tangy flavor and soft chew, and the roll in cinnamon sugar before baking.
Can I make snickerdoodles without cream of tartar?
A common substitute is baking powder in place of both the cream of tartar and baking soda, but the flavor is milder and less tangy. For the classic result, use cream of tartar.
Do snickerdoodles need to be chilled?
Not with this dough: it is dropped into the cinnamon sugar and baked right away. If your kitchen is very warm and the dough is greasy, 20 minutes in the fridge helps.
Can you freeze snickerdoodle dough?
Yes. Freeze the sugar-coated dough balls for up to 3 months and bake from frozen with an extra minute or two.
Why did my snickerdoodles turn out flat?
Usually the dough was too warm, the baking sheet was hot from a previous batch or too little flour was used. Spoon and level the flour and cool the sheet between batches.