The PERFECT Christmas Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe

December 19, 2023



Looking for an easy and delicious cookie to make for the holidays? I'm a traditionalist at heart -- the tried and true cookies are my favorite. 

My sister passed on her favorite snickerdoodle recipe to me years ago. It’s a quick and easy one and I usually have everything on hand to make it.

If you can’t tell by now, quick prep and easy ingredients are my staples when it comes to cooking and baking. I don’t share many recipes on the blog but when I do you know it’s good and easy to make!

These snickerdoodle cookies are perfect for the holiday season, but I wouldn't say no to these any time of the year!:

snickerdoodle cookies on plate

YUM! Here's what you'll need to make these snickerdoodle treats: 

Easy snickerdoodle cookies 

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs (room temp)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar 
(see below if you don't have tartar handy!)
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt 

For the topping

2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

I used my mixer for this recipe but I hear you’ll get an even fluffier cookie mixing by hand. I was doing this quick so didn’t want to mess with that. They still came out plenty fluffy. :)

Before you start, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Cream together the butter, shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Then blend in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. 

The dough will be thick but easy to work with:

snickerdoodle cookie mix

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Did you know if you don’t have cream of tartar, you can substitute two teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar for one teaspoon of the tartar? 

Good to know!

After mixed well, shape them into balls and them roll them in the cinnamon sugar topping:

snickerdoodle cookie balls

Pop them in the oven for eight to ten minutes and that’s it! 

I did eight minutes on the dot for each batch and then immediately put them on another tray to cool. (These round cooling trays are awesome!) The cookies came out PERFECT.

The recipe says this makes 48 cookies but I made mine bigger so I ended up with about 30. We now have 26 left. Oops.

snickerdoodle cookie recipe

I think snickerdoodles are the perfect Christmas cookie! The first time I tried this recipe I was surprised with how easy they were to make. Maybe baking isn’t that hard? ;)

I may have had one for breakfast:

snickerdoodle on red and white plate

Do you have an easy Christmas cookie recipe you love? Feel free to share it in the comments!

You can pin this recipe for later using this image: 

easy snickerdoodle cookie recipe

This easy cake "gingerbread" village is another delicious and super easy dessert for the holidays!: 

cake gingerbread village pan


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Comments

  1. We make magic cookie bars every year. They are so easy, they make a whole pan, and they literally last one day around here! And listen, I don't even care for coconut that much, but these are my favorite cookie ever! http://www.eaglebrand.com/recipes/magic-cookie-bars-3934

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  2. They look so good and I love the plate they are on.

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  3. Please don't substitute for the cream of tarter. They never turn out as well with liquid substitutes. The other thing I do is use butter flavored crisco for the shortening which makes them even more buttery. Yum! One more comment (can you tell I love snickerdoodles?) is instead of cinnamon sugar, roll them in a mix of pumpkin pie spice and sugar. They are even better. This year I'm trying a mix of Chinese five spice powder and sugar, up it another notch I hope.
    As for my tastiest, easiest Christmas cookie ever, I suggest cherry dots. Butter, flour, sugar, candied cherries, a little milk and vanilla extract. Best of all, with no egg, I can eat all the cookie dough I want.

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  4. Snickerdoodles are my favorite too. I always keep cream of tartar around just because of that. :) They are really easy to make and oh so good!!! Enjoy!! hmmm.... will have to try the pumpkin pie spice/sugar instead of rolling in cinnamon/sugar. Another easy one is the peanut butter kiss cookies. Peanut butter cookies, but don't flatten them and then when they come out of the oven, put a hershey kiss in the middle. I have also done sugar cookies with Hershey's hugs, rolling the sugar cookies in colored sugar before baking. I make so many cookies at Christmas!! eek!

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  5. I'm so glad they turned out well! Glad you liked them! Hope your party is a hit. Love you!

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  6. Snickerdoodles rock. They've been one of my faves since childhood. You're gonna be popular. :)

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  7. I just made my snickerdoodles 2 nights ago, and we've already eaten 1/3 of them! Had to put them in the freezer before they're all gone...

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  8. I make the same snickerdoodle recipe but I use all butter instead of the shortening part. They are so good!

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  9. I just made those earlier this morning! They're my husbands favorite cookie, well, and I like them, too. Have fun at your party tonight, Sarah!

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  10. I love Snickerdoodles! I saw on pinterest that someone rolled them in colored sugar for the holidays. Can't wait to try it!

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  11. Years ago I found a recipe for Gingersnaps on a McCormick recipe card. I have been baking them ever since - very similar to Snickerdoodles, I guess, due to the spice. So good, so easy, and the house will smell amazing afterwards!

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  12. We always roll ours in colored sprinkles for Christmas.

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  13. We make snickerdoodles every year- yum! Years ago I got a recipe for snickerdoodle sandwich cookies with frosting in the middle- now it's our family favorite. I make extra small snickerdoodles, and then make up a frosting with 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1-2 tsp milk. I beat them into a stiff frosting- only adding as much milk as needed. Then I spread the frosting on the bottom of a cookie and top with another one of a similar size.

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  14. These were excellent! I made them on Christmas Eve. In the future I will try and reduce the sweetness, but that didn't stop me from eating like 5 a day. They were so easy to make. Thanks for sharing :)

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  15. Nice of you to share the Snickerdoodles recipe; we're baking batches of chocolate chip cookies this year. No matter enjoy and happy holidays.

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