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Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles

Here I am, back on my bullshit, making cookies for the Crispy, Crunchy Cookie People. A population of which I claim not to be a part. But like, I’ve written five intentionally crunchy cookie recipes now, so I don’t know how much longer I can carry on this charade.

Chewy Cookies Only People, please forgive me. I was seduced by crispy edges. And also cinnamon-sugar. Whatever the texture, who doesn’t love a Snickerdoodle?

These Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles are fantastic. With a vanilla base, a thin cinnamon-sugar coating, and a glorious crunch all the way through, they’re an absolute treasure of a cookie.

As with all my other Crispy, Crunchy Cookies, this dough comes together using the reverse creaming method to prevent even a trace of chewiness. Furthermore, it’s bound with a spoonful of light corn syrup (or maple syrup or honey) to create more crunch. It’s leavened with a combination of baking soda and cream of tartar, a requirement for this and all classic snickerdoodle recipes.

And, of course, it’s scooped by the tablespoon, rolled in cinnamon-sugar, and baked to perfection. Also a requirement.

These Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles have crispy edges, a hearty crunch in the centers, and a crystalline coat of cinnamon-sugar—so good. The batch makes just about 18, which is a perfect size as far as I am concerned. It’s shareable, but not a huge amount, which is ideal considering that most people seem to fall on the chewy side of things. But with recipes like this, that balance may start shifting any day now.

Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles
makes 18-19 cookies

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (or golden syrup or mild honey)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For rolling:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Arrange oven racks in central positions. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

Cut softened butter into 8 pieces and add them to the mixing bowl. Starting at low speed and increasing as ingredients become incorporated, use an electric mixer to mix the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until powdery and wet-sandy. You may need to stop a time or two to break up larger pieces of butter.

Add corn syrup and vanilla and mix to combine. Dough will look crumbly, but should hold together well when pinched.

Make the rolling mixture. In a small bowl (or plate) mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Scoop the dough by the tablespoon and roll into balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar, then place them 2-3 inches apart on prepared pans (I fit 12 on each half-sheet pan). Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake another 8 minutes, until a bit puffy and golden.

Let cookies cool for 7 minutes on the pans. Remove to a rack to cool completely. Serve.

Leftover cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Snickerdoodle Squares

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I try very hard to keep a baking schedule that allows me a full day off every week, but as with everything, there are exceptions. For example, a friend of mine had a fully-vaxxed get-together last weekend. You know I couldn’t show up empty-handed!

Enter these Snickerdoodle Squares, the perfect low-maintenance party treat. They have all the flavor and texture of classic, cinnamon-crusted Snickerdoodle cookies, but bake up in a square pan with limited fuss!

These soft, chewy squares are easy as can be, with slightly tangy sugar cookie centers and crisp cinnamon-sugar edges. The base is very similar to my favorite blondie recipe, with the biggest deviation being the additions of baking powder and cream of tartar for a more cookie-like texture. It’s an easy, no-mixer batter that requires few ingredients and almost no time to whip together.

Heads up: there is no substitute for cream of tartar—it is a classic snickerdoodle ingredient that gives these squares that signature tang. If you don’t have any on hand, you can leave it out without any major consequences, but the flavor will be a bit less snickerdoodly. Snickerdoodlesque?

Now onto the main event: the cinnamon sugar! You simply can’t have a snickerdoodle without cinnamon sugar—it’s basically the whole point. Here, it’s scattered in the bottom of the buttered pan before being topped with the batter and more cinnamon sugar. As the squares bake, the top layer expands and cracks with the batter, while the bottom layer melts and caramelizes. After the squares cool completely in their pan, that bottom layer will be extra-crispy, like a thin layer of cinnamon sugar glass against all that cookie square goodness! Textural diversity for the win.

Y’all, these Snickerdoodle Squares are as satisfying as they are simple. All the flavor and texture of a perfect, soft snickerdoodle and half the work! The combination of the crunchy, crystalline cinnamon sugar on the top, the crackling-crisp layer on the bottom, and the thick, chewy centers is irresistible. I, for one, will be hauling these to every picnic, party and anything else I’m invited to this summer, and I have an inkling you will be, too.

Snickerdoodle Squares
makes one 8- or 9-inch square pan, about 16 squares

Cinnamon Sugar:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Batter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square pan well with butter. Line with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides for removal. Grease again.

Make cinnamon sugar. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together sugar and cinnamon.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar in the bottom of the prepared pan. Tilt the pan around to coat the bottom. Set aside both the pan and the remaining cinnamon sugar.

Make the batter. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Mix in the egg, followed by the vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt, and whisk just until combined.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to gently spread it to the edges, covering the layer of cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar over the top, taking care to get all the way to the edges. Tap full pan on the counter a couple of times to knock out any large air bubbles.

Bake squares for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). Let squares cool completely in the pan on a rack.

Once cooled, use the parchment overhang to lift the bars onto a cutting board. Discard parchment. Slice into 16 squares with a large, sharp chef’s knife. Serve.

Leftovers will keep well covered at room temperature for up to four days.

One Big Snickerdoodle

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One Big Snickerdoodle There is a time for large-batch, super-shareable baking, and then there is the time for a cookie for one (or two, if you’re feeling generous) that can be measured in tablespoons instead of cups, mixed with a fork, and baked to crisp-chewy perfection all in the span of 25 minutes.

Mid-January is that time. I’m still not fully over the holiday food, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to skip dessert. And not some “healthy” dessert either, because I am firmly in the camp that believes a cookie should be…a cookie. One Big Snickerdoodle I started making these One Big Cookies about a year ago; you can find the chocolate chip and chocolate M&Ms versions in the archives. Those recipes are great, but find me someone who can resist the allure of this giant Snickerdoodle with its craggy top and cinnamon-sugar edges.This is a cookie designed to be made on the fly. Yes, you’ll need baking basics (sugar, butter, flour), but you likely have all of them and even if you don’t, swaps can be made in the moment. Trust me. I did nine test rounds of this recipe, so I know all the ins and outs. One Big Snickerdoodle
• Don’t have light brown sugar? Just swap it for granulated. Your cookie will be paler and slightly crisper, but it’s not a bad thing.
• If you want to make this cookie vegan, exchange the butter for an equal volume of a plant-based substitute. That’s it! All of my One Big Cookies are egg-free as water does the job just fine in small amounts, so veganizing really is that simple. One Big Snickerdoodle
• Snickerdoodles are traditionally leavened with a mix of cream of tartar (an acid) and baking soda (a base). Now, I always have a tiny jar of cream of tartar in my arsenal, but I understand that I’m unusual in that regard. If you don’t have this leavening agent around, this is one special case where you can use baking powder instead. This swap almost never works otherwise, so please don’t make a habit of it, but these One Big Cookie recipes are surprisingly resilient. One Big Snickerdoodle
• If you don’t press the dough down with the heel of your hand, nothing terrible will happen. This is purely for aesthetics, as it seems to mitigate having a giant crack in the middle.
• Yes, you can split the dough in half and make two cookies. I’m not sure on the exact bake time, but I’d start checking around 9 minutes. One Big Snickerdoodle As you can see, adaptability is the name of the game! It’s such a rarity in baking, but this Snickerdoodle allows for it in spades. Who doesn’t need that sort of cinnamon-sugar-coated positivity in their life?

Have a great weekend, y’all! One Big Snickerdoodle

One Big Snickerdoodle
makes 1 large cookie

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons (4 1/2 teaspoons) granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon water (not cold)
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar*
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of Kosher or sea salt

Coating:
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.

Make the dough. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together melted butter, granulated and light brown sugars. Mix in water and vanilla. Add flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, and whisk until a dough forms; a silicone spatula may be helpful here.

Make the coating. In a small bowl, use a fork to mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Use your hands to form dough into a ball. Carefully roll ball in cinnamon-sugar coating so that all sides are covered. Place on parchment and use the heel of your hand to press down gently, just so that the dough is more of a disk and less of a ball.

Bake for 13-14 minutes or until the top is craggy and appears just slightly underdone.

Let cookie cool on the pan for 5-7 minutes before using a spatula to remove it to a plate. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Note:

An equal volume of baking powder will work in place of cream of tartar. I do not recommend swapping cream of tartar and baking powder in any other recipes.

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

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Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles It seems like I never make cookies anymore. I made them all the time when I started blogging, but they’re a little bit of a rarity these days. As it stands, I haven’t posted a cookie recipe since August 22nd!

Maybe it’s because I’ve developed more skills in the last three years or that I simply made so many cookies in this site’s early days that I’ve felt sort of “cookied out” lately.
Whatever the reason, making these Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles has been a welcome change of pace. I’ve been preoccupied by complicated things lately—think work, politics, babka, travel, planning every blog post between now and 2019—so it’s been nice to spend time in the kitchen doing one of the things that made me fall in love with baking in the first place.Making cookies, y’all. It’s the most delicious self-care I know.Also delicious? These Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles. They’re an autumnal twist on a classic recipe: soft, puffy pumpkin cookies with a sugary, pumpkin-spiced outer crust. They are simple and straightforward—if you follow the directions as written, you will be rewarded with four dozen cookies.Now, before you go clicking away because you don’t want to have 48 cookies in your house, know that:

You absolutely do want these cookies in your house. Permitting you like pumpkin, of course.
They’re small.

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles Each cookie is made from a tablespoon of dough, making each one roughly half the size of most drop cookies in my archives. I made them this way because:

Small food just tastes better.
I’d rather eat two small cookies than one medium cookie. Personal preference.

(Um, sorry for all the bullet points today. Not sure where they came from/why I needed to use two separate sets, but I’m going with it.)
Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles I understand that not everyone may feel the same way I do; if you’re not into small cookies, you can scoop the dough in two-tablespoon increments and bake the batches for 11-12 minutes. You’ll end up with about two dozen medium cookies.That’s what I love about cookies like this—the most complicated part is deciding how big or small you’d like for them to be. I don’t know about you, but that’s the sort of “problem” I could stand to have more often. Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles
makes about four dozen small cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cream of tartar*
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup pure pumpkin purée
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Coating:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.

In a separate large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugars, followed by pumpkin and vanilla. Add dry ingredients in three installments, mixing until completely combined. Dough may look crumbly, but should hold together well when pinched with clean fingers.

Cover dough with plastic wrap, and chill for two hours, or up to three days.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Make the coating. In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk together granulated sugar and pumpkin pie spice.

Scoop the dough by the tablespoon, and roll into balls. Roll each dough ball in the coating mixture. Place dough balls at least two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies 9-10 minutes, until puffy and no longer raw-looking. Let cool on pans for 5-7 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely. Repeat scooping, rolling, and baking with any remaining dough.

Cookies keep well covered at room temperature for up to a week. The pumpkin flavor will be stronger on the second day.

Notes:

There are no substitutions for cream of tartar. It is required for this recipe.