Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies
Cream of tartar gives the tang and the crackled top — no chocolate, no mix-ins, just butter and cinnamon sugar doing the work.
- Serves
- 24
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 11 min
- Written
Method
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Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
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Beat the softened butter with the granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
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Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, until fully combined.
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Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until no streaks of flour remain.
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Stir together the coating sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
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Roll the dough into 1½-tablespoon balls and toss each one in the cinnamon sugar until fully coated.
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Arrange on parchment-lined sheet pans, spaced 2 inches apart.
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Heat the oven to 375°F and bake until the edges have set and the tops have cracked but the centers still look pale and soft, 9 to 11 minutes.
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Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a rack.
Notes
Cream of tartar is the ingredient that makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle rather than a plain sugar cookie — it’s what gives the dough its faint tang and pushes the tops to crack instead of staying smooth. Don’t swap it out; there’s no substitute that does both jobs at once.
Pull the pan as soon as the tops have cracked, even if the centers look underdone — they firm up fast once they’re off the heat, and a cookie that looks finished in the oven is already past chewy. Chill the dough for 20 minutes first if your kitchen runs warm; it keeps the balls from flattening before the crackle sets.