This recipe for high altitude snickerdoodles makes the best cookies that are soft, thick and chewy – no flat cookies in sight here! They have the iconic tangy flavor that snickerdoodles are known for, with a delicious coating of cinnamon and sugar. You’ll love these snickerdoodle cookies!
And if you love snickerdoodle cookies, be sure to check out my snickerdoodle cake and snickerdoodle muffins recipes, too!
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Baking Snickerdoodles at High Altitude
High altitude snickerdoodles can be a bit trickier than other cookie recipes. When I was in junior high, my family moved from South Carolina to Colorado, and I remember that my mom’s snickerdoodles were never the same again. They always turned out very thin, flat and crispy/chewy, and for years, I just figured that’s how snickerdoodles were supposed to be.
But when I realized that the recipe was in need of some serious adjustments for high altitude, I set about creating a perfect high altitude snickerdoodles recipe for cookies that are perfectly soft, thick and chewy. There are a few important high altitude adjustments to note:
Increase the Flour.
High altitude cookie recipes need more flour to stabilize the structure of the cookies as they rise, preventing them from rising too quickly and spreading excessively.
Decrease the Sugar and Leavening.
Sugar not only sweetens the cookies, but it adds moisture, since it turns to liquid when it’s heated. Too much sugar is one of the main culprits in a cookie that turns out thin, flat and crispy at high altitude. Reducing the sugar in high altitude cookie recipes prevents the cookies from spreading too much into thin, crispy pancakes instead of thick, chewy cookies.
Cookies and baked goods rise faster at higher altitudes, and then fall flat. We can help prevent them from falling flat by using less leavening, so that they rise more slowly and evenly.
Add an Extra Egg.
Eggs create structure and stability within cookie dough, they help to thicken and emulsify the ingredients, they add moisture and richness, and their protein makes cookies chewy. By adding an extra egg, we’re strengthening the snickerdoodle cookie dough, making it chewier, and also adding additional moisture to balance the extra flour.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter. The butter adds fat, flavor and richness to these snickerdoodle cookies. It should softened to room temperature so you can easily cream it together with the sugar.
- Granulated Sugar + Dark Brown Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture, with a hint of caramel notes from just a bit of dark brown sugar.
- Eggs. Add structure, stability and moisture to the cookies, as well as make them chewy.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour + Corn Starch. The flour provides structure to the cookies, and a little corn starch makes them extra tender and soft.
- Cream of Tartar + Baking Soda. Both cream of tartar and baking soda are leaveners, making the cookies rise as they bake. Cream of tartar adds the classic tangy flavor that snickerdoodles are known for.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Cinnamon-Sugar. Snickerdoodle cookie dough is always coated in cinnamon and sugar before baking, giving them a delicious sweet and spicy crust with the soft and chewy cookie inside.
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Scrape the bowl down, and mix in the eggs and vanilla on low. The mixture will look lumpy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix on low, just until combined. The batter will be very thick, and you’ll need to use a spatula, or your hands, to incorporate all the flour at the bottom of the bowl.
- Use a cookie scoop to divide the dough into 24 equal portions, about 1.5 ounces each. Roll each portion into a ball, then coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Refrigerate the dough balls for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chilled dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake on the center oven rack for 11 1/2 – 12 minutes, until golden brown and set around the edges, but the centers are still slightly underdone. Cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe Variations
Chocolate Snickerdoodles
Get my recipe for high altitude chocolate snickerdoodles here.
Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles with chocolate chips are a delicious variation on these classic cookies! For chocolate chip snickerdoodles, just add 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips along with the dry ingredients, and bake as instructed.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Cream of tartar is a leavening agent, and the acidity gives snickerdoodles their iconic tangy flavor, as well as adds to the soft, chewy texture of the cookies. The classic flavor is key in differentiating snickerdoodles from a regular sugar cookie.
While I haven’t personally tried substitutions for cream of tartar, many recommend using either lemon juice or vinegar in a 1:2 ratio. If the recipe calls for 2 tsp cream of tartar, you should substitute with 4 tsp lemon juice or vinegar.
The recipe you’re using has too little flour, too much sugar, and/or too much leavening. Your butter was too warm and soft. You didn’t chill the dough balls prior to baking. Be sure to follow my recipe precisely and you’ll have delightfully thick, soft and chewy high altitude snickerdoodles.
You should store your snickerdoodles in an airtight container, and they will stay soft and chewy for 4-5 days – if they last that long! A trick I often use for keeping cookies soft is to place a slice of soft sandwich bread into the cookie jar (the bread shouldn’t touch the cookies). The moisture from the bread keeps the cookies amazingly soft for days and days!
Yes, you can freeze the baked snickerdoodles in a freezer bag for 3-6 months to keep them soft and fresh. You can also freeze the unbaked dough for 3-6 months. An easy way to have freshly baked cookies at a moment’s notice is to shape the dough balls and place them in a freezer bag. Then you can bake the frozen dough balls straight from the freezer, and just add a few extra minutes of bake time.
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High Altitude Snickerdoodles
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ cup cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup (54g) granulated sugar + 1 tsp ground cinnamon)
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Scrape the bowl down, and mix in the eggs and vanilla on low. The mixture will look lumpy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, and mix on low, just until combined. The batter will be very thick, and you'll need to use a spatula, or your hands, to incorporate all the flour at the bottom of the bowl.
- Use a cookie scoop to divide the dough into 24 equal portions, about 1.5 ounces each. Roll each portion into a ball, then coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Refrigerate the dough balls for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chilled dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake on the center oven rack for 11 1/2 – 12 minutes, until golden brown and set around the edges, but the centers are still slightly underdone. Cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Storing: Leftover cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen for 3-6 months.
- Substitutions: While I haven’t personally tried this substitution, some people have successfully substituted lemon juice for the cream of tartar in snickerdoodles.
- Yield: This recipe makes 2 dozen large (1.5 ounces each) cookies, or 3 dozen small (1 ounce) cookies. For smaller cookies, bake for 8-10 minutes.
- Chocolate Chips: Snickerdoodles with chocolate chips are a delicious variation on these classic cookies! For chocolate chip snickerdoodles, just add 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips along with the dry ingredients, and bake as instructed.
These cookies tasted horrible. I live at 7,000 feet and they were not moist and tasted NOTHINGS like a cookie much less snickerdoodle.
Many people would disagree! If flour, sugar, butter and cinnamon doesn’t result in something that tastes like a cookie, then it sounds like there’s something seriously wrong with the ingredients you used.
I absolutely love this website, but this recipe didn’t seem to work. I, too, live at 7000 feet and the cookies didn’t spread and came out more like a biscuit. Is there a flour ratio problem?
It certainly sounds like you might have measured something incorrectly. Too much flour, too little sugar or too little leavening can all cause a cookie not to spread enough as it bakes. Also, if you’re at a lower altitude than me, you’ll need to make adjustments to ensure your cookies spread enough.
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/
I am near Calgary Canada, about 3800 ft. altitude. I’ve made many snickerdoodle recipes over many years, trying to find the best (IMO). These are quite possibly the best! I’ll probably stop searching. I used leftover cinnamon buttercream from the snickerdoodle cake to make a few of these into whoopie pies. Ohmygosh, soooo good. Thank you Heather!
Margo, thanks so much for your comments, and I’m so happy you loved everything!
Once again, a perfect high altitude recipe from Curly Girl. Your recipes are my go to for excellence in baking. Thank you for your creativity and hard work.