Snickerdoodle Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my snickerdoodles flatten out? ›

One of the most common reasons why cookies didn't spread out in the oven is because you added too much flour. Cookies rely on the perfect ratio of butter to flour in order to spread just the right amount when baked. What is this? It's very easy to over measure flour when using cup measurements.

They puff in the oven and then settle back down while cooling into a soft, thick, supremely chewy cookie with a gorgeous crinkly top. They've received nothing but rave reviews!

Snickerdoodles might turn out hard if they are overbaked or if the dough is too dry. Be sure to keep an eye on them as they bake – when the edges are set but the centers are still soft and puffy, they are done. Also, make sure you're not adding too much flour.

You can use 1.5 teaspoons (6 grams) of baking powder to replace 1 teaspoon (3.5 grams) of cream of tartar. This substitution is ideal because it can be used in any recipe without modifying the taste or texture of the final product.

This type of acid closely resembles vinegar and lemon juice, so if you don't have any cream of tartar, you can either skip it or simply replace it with an acidic substitute.

Excess Sugar and Fat

Measuring is key in baking. If your cookie contains excess sugar or fat, it will spread while baking.

Soft – Dough that's “soft” or “runny” can be thickened by adding one or two tablespoons of flour to your mix. This will help keep your batch from “Spreading” and coming out of the oven looking like flat, not-so-cookie-like puddles.

If your oven runs too hot or cold, it can affect the baking time and result in undercooked cookies. Make necessary adjustments to ensure the temperature is accurate. Cookie size and placement: Consider adjusting the size and placement of your cookie dough on the baking sheet.

Generally when baking, cakey texture is from more flour and less sugar. The ratio of fat, sugar and flour is what achieves the texture of the cookie. Also, when you are whipping the eggs in the recipe as well.

The addition of cinnamon is the clear distinguishing factor between snickerdoodles and sugar cookies. But snickerdoodles don't have to be all about one spice. More than anything, they have the flavor of warm spices, which opens them up to other ingredient inclusions that don't make them any less of a snickerdoodle.

What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

Cracking occurs from several chemical reactions during the baking process. If some of your cookies aren't cracking, it could be because those dough balls were less round than others, the dough became too warm, your oven isn't heating evenly, or (most likely) the cinnamon sugar coating wasn't applied as thoroughly.

Snickerdoodles can come out flat if 1) the leaveners you used (for this recipe, it's both the baking soda and the cream of tartar) are on the old side and no longer work, and 2) if you baked them at a lower temperature.

Cream of tartar makes cookies chewy, as it precludes the sugar in the dough from crystalizing, which would lead to crispiness (ie: the opposite of chewiness).

The most common recipes that call for cream of tartar are those that call for egg whites to be whipped, like angel food cake, genoise cake, meringue, and macarons. Jampel says that is because cream of tartar works as an egg white stabilizer that increases both the volume and shelf life of the meringue.

That may or may not contain cream of tartar, but doesn't need it. The cream of tartar would just act as more preservative (although the salt is a good preservative too), and may add a bit more elasticity and make it smoother (or not).