Snickerdoodles (Soft Christmas Cinnamon Cookies)
The snickerdoodles are irresistible soft butter shortbread cookies rolled in a mix of sugar and cinnamon, likely of American origin, are a real treat! The scent of butter, cinnamon, and vanilla spreads throughout the house and they disappear in a flash, one leads to another, a true winter comfort food.
For those who love cinnamon, these cookies are a must, the classic Christmas cookies, ideal for making at Christmas and packaging as DIY gifts to put under the Christmas tree.
In this recipe, in addition to baking powder, you also need to add cream of tartar. It seems this is the secret for perfect snickerdoodles.
However, if you really can’t find cream of tartar, replace it with 8g of baking powder in total (so eliminate the 7 g of cream of tartar and the 4 g of baking powder and just add 8 g of baking powder in total), it’s not a big problem, they are still good, but cream of tartar makes them special.
If you are looking for (sweet and savory) recipes for the Christmas menu, click on my CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR SPECIAL (you will also find recipes for a Christmas winter brunch).
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 22 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: International
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients for Snickerdoodles (Soft Christmas Cinnamon Cookies)
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (I use Caputo Pasticceria)
- 1 cup butter (softened)
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup muscovado sugar
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp fine salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Tools for Snickerdoodles (Soft Christmas Cinnamon Cookies)
- Bowls
- Stand Mixer with built-in illumination
- Paddle Attachment
- Baking Sheet non-stick perforated
- Angled Spatula angled
- Containers Christmas tin cookie containers
Steps for Snickerdoodles (Soft Christmas Cinnamon Cookies)
Take a bowl and mix well 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, sifted. Set aside.
Take another bowl and sift: 3 1/3 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp of cream of tartar, and 3/4 tsp of fine salt.
Then pour into the stand mixer bowl: 1 cup of softened butter, 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup of muscovado sugar, and vanilla extract.
Whip the mixture with the paddle attachment for 10 minutes at maximum speed, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula. The mixture should become light and fluffy.
Add one egg, beat for one minute at maximum speed, add the other egg and beat for 2 minutes at maximum speed. Then add the flour all at once, at minimum speed, for only about 30 seconds.
Once the flour is added, do not overwork the dough, as soon as it is evenly mixed, stop the mixer.
Roll the dough into a single ball and from it (with the help of a little flour) form balls of about 1.4 oz each (if you like, weigh them). You will get about 22/24, make the balls nice and round (they will flatten and spread during baking).
Roll the balls well in the cinnamon sugar mix set aside earlier, don’t try to have regular balls, it doesn’t matter, the characteristic of these cookies is to have a cracked surface.
Place the cookies on a baking sheet, preferably perforated, lined with parchment paper. Space them well, so I recommend baking about 8 cookies at a time.
Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes at 356°F in a preheated oven (depends on your oven). They should not bake for a long time, as they need to be crispy on the surface and soft inside. Once baked, let them cool and then, with an angled spatula, transfer them gently into a container, better yet into these Christmas tin cookie containers.
Baked cookies can be stored for a week in an airtight box. The raw dough can be frozen for 3 months.
Shopping Tips!!!
To perfectly and conveniently mix, I often use my Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixer with a 7L EasyWarm bowl, built-in scale, and blender, a faithful kitchen ally for: mixing, weighing, whipping, cooking, grinding, pasteurizing eggs. You can find this stand mixer on Amazon at a special price! #adv
If you are looking for a cheaper and smaller model with a 4-liter bowl, you can choose to buy the Kenwood KVC7300S Stand Mixer Chef Titanium, with built-in illumination and the rubber whisk and pastry spatula included. #adv
To bake cookies, this non-stick perforated baking sheet is ideal. It should NOT be greased or buttered, the small holes ensure that foods (especially shortbread and pizza) are crispy, evenly cooked, you can find it on Amazon. #adv
Ideal for gently removing cookies from the baking sheet, without the risk of breaking them, is this angled spatula you can find on Amazon. #adv
These Christmas tin boxes are adorable for DIY gifts, find them on Amazon. #adv
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is cream of tartar?
Cream of tartar is commonly used in baking mainly as a leavening and stabilizing agent.
How can cream of tartar be replaced?
You can replace cream of tartar with traditional baking powder or yeast (the exact quantities are indicated above for this recipe).
Does the dough need to rest in the fridge?
No, because otherwise the sugar and cinnamon mix does not adhere well to the cold surface of the cookies.
What are Snickerdoodles?
Snickerdoodles are American cinnamon cookies.
