Snickerdoodles (Cinnamon Sugar Cookies) Recipe
If you love the addictive aroma of cinnamon, especially when it's a sweet snack or dessert, then you'll love these cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar. It's simple but so good! It's soft in the middle with a slight crunch along the edges, plus it's easy to make, too!
What Are Snickerdoodles?
The origin of the name of these cookies is debatable. The belief is that these New England cookies are German or Dutch cookies that may have been derived from the word for a snail or "schnecke". These are also believed to also be called snipdoodles or simply, cinnamon sugar cookies.
In any case, these delicious cookies are made from butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and cinnamon. Sometimes vanilla extract is added for additional aroma and flavor. Since the predominant taste of Snickerdoodles is the earthy cinnamon and rich butter with a slight aroma of vanilla, it's one of those types of recipes that are optimal when made with the best ingredients you can afford or get your hands on.
How To Serve Snickerdoodles
These sugar cookies are fantastic served with hot coffee or tea or a cold glass of milk. These are sweet so it pairs well with almost any beverage, especially unsweetened ones! However, cinnamon doesn't always match well with other flavors so match the earthy spice to your drink and you'll always have a delicious snack to nibble on no matter what time of day you feel like a light snack.
How To Make Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles are basically sugar cookies and since sugar cookies are a basic cookie recipe, it likewise starts off simply. You do not even need a mixer for this! Butter and sugar are whipped until lightened and softened in a large bowl. Eggs and vanilla extract (if using) are added and blended well into the butter mixture. A flour mixture is folded in and that makes the easy cookie dough.
Ground cinnamon is mixed with sugar and this is what you roll balls of the cookie dough in before you place these on a cookie sheet, slightly flattened first, to bake.
Tips To Make Delicious Snickerdoodles
1 Use real butter.
The taste quality of real butter is unmatched, and for such a simple recipe, substituting this ingredient with margarine, shortening, oil, or even apple sauce, beyond special dietary reasons, is not recommended. You'll appreciate the richness and buttery flavor of real butter together with the sweetness and earthy cinnamon flavor better.
While there are some recipes that can work well with butter substitutes, such as cakes, bread, and other cookie recipes, this is one recipe that we believe won't.
2 Chill the dough.
You might find that the soft cookie dough is hard to form and roll in the cinnamon sugar. If you have hot hands like some of us do, feel free to slightly chill the dough after portioning them. You can even use cold eggs straight from the refrigerator. The cold will firm up the butter in the dough and make it easier to roll the portioned dough into rounder balls and then roll in the cinnamon sugar.
Plus, this will help the cookies not spread too much as it bakes.
3 Stir in toffee chunks or chopped nuts.
These may be simple sugar cookies but you can elevate your homemade version with a touch of caramel flavor or even nuts if you so desire. Caramel and nuts are delicious pairings to cinnamon, too!
Toffee chunks or chopped peanut brittle especially would be fantastic folded into the cookie dough. These will slightly melt as it bakes, giving you pockets of gooey caramel when you take a bite. The nuts meanwhile give way to little bursts of nuttiness that will help make it easier to eat more than just a few cookies every time.
4 Cut into shapes and decorate!
These are sugar cookies and as such, if you chill these long enough, you can roll out the cookie dough and cut out shapes. You can keep these in theme with snickerdoodles by sprinkling instead of rolling the cutout cookies in the cinnamon sugar. You can even make a sweet cinnamon glaze or royal icing so you can still enjoy the cinnamon flavor you look for in Snickerdoodles.
How To Store Snickerdoodles
As with most cookies, snickerdoodles are best stored in a container with a lid. The container can be airtight for longer storage or not. A simple container will do since the sugar will absorb moisture from the air, keeping it moist. However, these are still prone to developing mold as with most food and these can also go stale within a week, so it's best to consume these cookies within that time for best results.