Tried-and-true cookie recipes are the best, aren’t they? I’m talking about traditional recipes like chocolate chip pecan cookies and these brown sugar shortbread cookies. I make them time and time again and they always taste as good as I remember.
Snickerdoodles are a classic cookie with a soft, chewy texture and sweet, tangy flavor. The tanginess comes from one key ingredient—cream of tartar. There’s something about the metallic taste of cream of tartar that I really don’t like so I make this easy snickerdoodle recipe without it!
All you really need to make homemade snickerdoodles without cream of tartar is a few basic pantry ingredients you probably already have. The dough comes together quite quickly, and the cookies only take about 12 minutes to bake. For extra flavor, I like to roll my cookie dough balls in cinnamon sugar twice before baking.
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💞 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ It’s easy and delicious.
✔️ You probably already have all of the ingredients on hand.
✔️ Cinnamon and sugar are a classic combo for good reason!
📋 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Butter—I use salted butter for all of my recipes.
- Cinnamon—Because this is such a simple snickerdoodle recipe, cinnamon really is the essential flavor. It’s important that the cinnamon you choose is fresh and fragrant. Avoid using stale or old cinnamon that’s lost its taste.
- Vanilla—Use any vanilla you like or have on hand.
- Egg—I use large eggs in all of my recipes.
It’s important to note that when making substitutions in recipes, the texture and flavor may be slightly different. However, these substitutes are the best options if you are looking to change the original recipe.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Butter—I haven’t tested any butter substitutions, however, a good quality dairy-free butter should work well.
- Cinnamon—Cinnamon is the main flavor in these cookies, however, you could try substituting some of it with a bit of nutmeg, or allspice.
- All-Purpose Flour—You can try substituting up to 40% whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour.
🎬 Recipe Video
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳 How To Make Snickerdoodles Without Cream Of Tartar
STEP 1—Preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl.
STEP 2—Use a hand or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until light and fluffy.
STEP 3—Add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
STEP 4—Switch to a spatula or wooden spoon. Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together until a soft dough forms.
STEP 5—Weigh or scoop the dough into even-sized portions. Use your hands to roll each portion of dough into a ball.
STEP 6—Roll the dough balls in a mix of cinnamon and sugar. I like to roll my dough balls twice in cinnamon sugar.
STEP 7—Place 12 dough balls, spaced apart, on one of the prepared baking sheets.
STEP 8—Bake, cool, and serve.
🗣 Expert Tips
1. Using room temperature or slightly softened butter is key to a light and fluffy texture.
2. Use a cookie scoop or a digital kitchen scale to make sure all of your cookies are the same size. This helps them bake evenly.
3. For super chewy cookies, remove them from the oven when they are just barely set in the middle.
📝 Recipe Notes
- Make sure your butter is soft before you begin. Room temperature is usually ok, but may take longer to cream if your house is cool.
- Cream the butter and sugar together for at least five minutes. The more air you whip into the butter, the lighter and fluffier your cookies will be.
- Be careful not to overmix the dough. Overmixing can lead to tough and dry cookies. Mix the ingredients until the flour is just combined, and then stop.
- This recipe yields approximately 12 x 39-gram cookie dough balls. If you want more cookies the recipe doubles well.
- Rolling the dough balls in cinnamon sugar twice is completely optional. Traditional snickerdoodles are generally only rolled once in cinnamon sugar (pictured below).
- Allowing the cookies to cool on the baking sheet will retain moisture.
- To keep the cookies fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. If you want to store them for longer, you can freeze them in an airtight container, or a freezer-safe zipper-top bag for up to two months.
🙋♀️ Recipe FAQ
The origin of the name “snickerdoodle” is unclear, but it’s believed to be of German or Dutch origin. Some theories suggest that the name comes from a corruption of the German word “schneckennudeln,” which means “snail noodles,” or the Dutch word “kniepertjes,” which means “thin, crisp waffles.” Another theory is that the name is simply a whimsical creation that has no real meaning.
Snickerdoodles have a sweet and slightly tangy flavor and are made with cinnamon. They’re often described as having a crisp exterior and a soft and chewy interior. A cinnamon sugar coating gives them a sweet and slightly crunchy texture that complements the soft cookie.
Cream of tartar helps activate the baking soda, which is used as the leavening agent in most recipes. Additionally, cream of tartar gives snickerdoodles their signature tangy flavor.
🍪 More Cookie Recipes
Did you make these snickerdoodles without cream of tartar? Please rate the recipe and tell me how it went in the comments below. Also, stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more delicious food and recipes!
🖨 Recipe
Snickerdoodles Without Cream Of Tartar
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
- Large mixing bowl
- Hand or stand mixer
- Cookie scoop optional
- Small shallow bowl, or plate for cinnamon sugar
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, soft
- ½ cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for rolling the cookies, and more if needed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, plus 1 teaspoon for rolling the cookies, and more if needed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until the butter is pale and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the butter. Mix on high speed until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through mixing.
- Add the flour, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Switch to a spatula or wooden spoon. Gently fold the cookie dough together until the flour is just mixed in. The dough should be quite soft.
- Mix the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon with 1 tablespoon of sugar in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
- Scoop the dough into 12 equally-sized pieces (about 39 grams each). The dough will be quite sticky! Roll each portion of dough between your hands to make a smooth ball. Place the balls on the plate of cinnamon sugar. Roll and swirl them around to coat the outsides completely—add more cinnamon and/or sugar to the bowl as needed. I like to roll my dough balls twice for extra cinnamon sugar goodness!
- Place the 12 dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart. Bake the snickerdoodles in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the bottoms and edges are pale gold. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack. For maximum chewiness, cool the cookies on the baking sheet.
Video
Notes
-
- Make sure your butter is soft before you begin. Room temperature is usually ok, but may take longer to cream if your house is cool.
-
- Cream the butter and sugar together for at least five minutes. The more air you whip into the butter, the lighter and fluffier your cookies will be.
-
- Be careful not to overmix the dough. Overmixing can lead to tough and dry cookies. Mix the ingredients until the flour is just combined, and then stop.
-
- This recipe yields approximately 12 x 39-gram cookie dough balls. If you want more cookies the recipe doubles well.
-
- Rolling the dough balls in cinnamon sugar twice is completely optional. Traditional snickerdoodles are generally only rolled once in cinnamon sugar.
-
- Allowing the snickerdoodles to cool on the baking sheet will retain moisture inside the cookies.
-
- To keep the cookies fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. If you want to store them for longer, you can freeze them in an airtight container, or a freezer-safe zipper-top bag for up to two months.
whitney b. says
i doubled this recipe and the cookies turned out great. thanks for putting this together for those of us who never seem to have cream of tartar on hand 🙂
Kelly says
Oh, that’s so awesome Whitney!I’m so happy you liked them. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Marcia heid says
Ty for this recipe I ran out of cream of tartar and this is great
Rebecca says
Stumbled upon your recipe while having a snickerdoodle craving and WOW they are my new favorite! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! Absolutely delicious!! 😊
Em says
I must have give wrong somewhere as my cookies turned out puffy and cake-like instead of chewy. Also found the cinnamon flavour to be lacking somewhat.
Nicole says
Same here.
Kelly says
Nicole, thank you so much for your feedback! I tested the recipe again this morning, adding cinnamon to the dry ingredients, and substituting brown sugar for half of the white sugar. The result is a more cinnamon-tasting, chewy cookie and I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect this. Thank you again very much for your comment!
Kelly says
Erin, thank you so much for your comment. I tested the recipe again this morning, adding cinnamon to the dry ingredients, and substituting brown sugar for half of the white sugar. The result is a more cinnamon-tasting, chewy cookie and I’ve updated the recipe card notes to reflect this option. I realize now I should have chosen my wording more carefully as you’re absolutely right, the cookies are more puffy and cakey than chewy. I truly appreciate you taking the time to come back and let me know so I could use the opportunity to make them better! Merry Christmas!
Angela says
I think there is way too much baking powder in this recipe for how little flour it calls for. I followed your recipe exactly and found the taste of baking powder WAY too strong and had to throw out the whole batch 🙁
Kelly says
Hmmmm, I’ve made these many times, have tested and re-tested the recipe, and even baked them with my four-year old a few days ago to leave out for Santa Claus. My family really likes them, and others have left comments they’ve made the recipe with great results, so I’m, not sure what happened there. I’m so sorry it was a waste of time and ingredients for you!
Jill McBride says
Thank you so much for posting this wonderful recipe! I found your recipe and (literally) had them in the oven within about 30 minutes. They were absolutely delicious! Santa will love them, I’m sure. 😁
Kelly says
Aww, that’s awesome! Man I love a quick easy recipe so much. Thank you for coming back to let me know! xo!
Tmw says
Made these tonight for Christmas! Followed the directions to a T and They absolutely come out chewy and delicious!
Kelly says
Yay, thanks for letting me know! I’m so happy you liked them. 🙂
Nicol says
Hi! Thanks for the recipe. I found out it is the closest I have ever come to one of the best cookies I ever tasted in the UK about 9 years ago. Never could get the taste right when I tried to replicate. But this is almost spot on, taste and texture-wise. Now I can make my own! Thanks so much again for this recipe, it is amazing, the cookies are amazing and I can’t get enough!
Kelly says
Aw, this makes me so happy to hear! I’m so glad they lived up to your memory. Thank you for letting me know! 🙂
Sophia Sultan says
These were the best cookies ever!!!! My mom, who hates sugar loves these! Thank you so much for your recipe! I can’t wait to try more!
MOLLY WATKINS says
I’m glad I followed my husband’s advice and made this recipe. He said it was ridiculous not to make snickerdoodles simply because we were out of cream of tartar. These were delicious! Super quick to make. I did set them out on the porch for about 10 minutes to firm them up before rolling. We went to Nova Scotia on our honeymoon, so these will now be “the Nova Scotian snickerdoodles.”
JB says
These were perfection! Chewy and delicious. I subbed about 1/2 c of the sugar for brown sugar. Done at 12 minutes. Thank you for the answer to my cream of tartar pinch!
Anzu says
Best recipe ever!! My first-ever snickerdoodles turned out perfect!
Dawn says
Your cookies are delicious!!! I doubled the recipe and they turned out perfect! Thank you so much for the recipe!🙂
Lila J says
Really tasty! Bookmarking this recipe to make it again!