Best Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Butter
Sugar
Eggs
Flour
Cream of Tartar
Baking Soda
Cinnamon
a little extra sugar for rolling the cookie balls
Instructions
Cream together the butter and sugar. I use my *Bosch stand mixer, just as a force of habit, but seriously, you can definitely make these by hand. Get a good-sized glass or stainless steel *batter bowl that is at least 2 quarts and has a handle. It’s also smart to have a set of sturdy *wooden spoons (Bamboo are the best. They last forever.)
Once the butter and sugar are mixed, beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients and get those mixed in.
Chill the dough. Seal it in a container with a lid and pop it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour. Having it cold makes it easier for you to handle and roll balls of dough without getting all sticky. It will also prevent the snickerdoodles from spreading too quickly in the oven and becoming flat.
Once the dough has chilled, scoop out dough and roll it into 1 1/2 inch balls. You can do it by hand, but I find that I get more uniform cookies using a #50 cookie dough scoop [affiliate link].
Mix the cinnamon and 1 cup of extra sugar together in a container. Then drop each cookie dough ball into the mixture, roll it around to be sure it’s fully coated, and then place it on a greased or lined cookie sheet.
Bake the cookies at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes. This is another cookie recipe that you do NOT want to over-bake.
The cookies should be lightly browned and crisp around the edges, but still quite soft in the center.
I always start with 8 minutes and add time if it’s needed. Check them at 1-minute intervals after that, until they get to the desired doneness.
Leaving snickerdoodles in the oven too long will make them hard and dry after they cool.
After removing them from the oven, leave the Snickerdoodles on the cookie sheet for 2–3 minutes before transferring them to the cooling rack.
That extra 2 or 3 minutes gives them time to finish “baking” and setting up, even though they are out of the oven.