Snickerdoodle Recipe Without Cream of Tartar

Name: Snickerdoodle Recipe Without Cream of Tartar
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 23 min
Ingredients: ⅔ cup unsalted butter (160 g/ 5.5 oz, soft); 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g/ 9 oz ); ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 large eggs; 2¾ cup all-purpose flour (330 g/ 11.5 oz); pinch of salt; 2 teaspoons baking powder; ¼ cup granulated sugar (60 g/ 2 oz ); 1 tablespoon cinnamon

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Try this easy Snickerdoodle recipe without cream of tartar. Baking powder is used as a leavening agent, yet the snickerdoodles are just as delicious and soft as ever. And they are ready in less than 30 minutes.

stack of snickerdoodles and a cinnamon stick.

This easy snickerdoodle recipe without cream of tartar is made from scratch. The cookies have a melt-in-your-mouth quality, and they are sure to please your entire family.

What's not to like? They are soft and comforting, full of cinnamon flavor, and are just perfect for dunking into your milk on a cold evening spent in front of the TV.

Check out more delicate, soft cookies: Eggless Almond Cookies, Polvorones, or Custard Creams.

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🔔Reasons to use this easy recipe
🫓What are snickerdoodles?
🥄Can I make snickerdoodles without cream of tartar?
📋Recipe ingredients
👩🏻‍🍳How to make Snickerdoodles without cream of tartar?
🔊Expert tips
❓Recipe FAQ
🍪More Christmas cookies
📖Recipe
Snickerdoodle Recipe Without Cream of Tartar

🔔Reasons to use this easy recipe

Ingredient substitution: You might be out of cream of tartar and want to substitute it with other ingredients, in this case, baking powder.
Availability: Cream of tartar might not be readily available in some places. In such situations, using alternative ingredients becomes necessary to bake snickerdoodles without compromising on taste and texture.
Allergy or sensitivity: Some individuals might have an allergy to the cream of tartar or prefer to avoid it due to dietary restrictions. In such cases, you can omit cream of tartar entirely or use alternative ingredients to achieve a similar result.
Preference for different flavors: Cream of tartar adds a slight tanginess to the cookies. If you prefer a milder flavor, omitting cream of tartar could be an option.

🫓What are snickerdoodles?

They are a type of sugar cookie. But unlike typical sugar cookies, which are thin and crunchy, snickerdoodle cookies are soft and pillowy.

Although I heard that they might have German origins, I really cannot think of any German cookie I know that is anything like these snickerdoodles. As far as I am concerned, these easy Snickerdoodle cookies are as American as they can be.

🥄Can I make snickerdoodles without cream of tartar?

The classic cookie recipe is made with cream of tartar; that's what makes them soft, unlike typical sugar cookies.

However, a great cream of tartar substitute is baking powder. So, I replaced the cream of tartar and baking soda required by the recipe with 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

I could not have been happier with the result: the best Snickerdoodle cookies, soft and pillowy, perfectly spiced with cinnamon.

📋Recipe ingredients

the ingredients for making snickerdoodles without cream of tartar arranged on the table.

Butter: Unsalted butter; make sure it's at room temperature so that you can cream it well.
Baking powder: As mentioned above, we will use that instead of cream of tartar.
Spices: Vanilla extract for the dough and cinnamon mixed with sugar for coating the snickerdoodles.
Other ingredients: All-purpose flour, white sugar, eggs, salt.

👩🏻‍🍳How to make Snickerdoodles without cream of tartar?

Beat the soft butter and the sugar with a hand mixer until the mixture is creamy.

making batter for snickerdoodles in a bowl.

Add the eggs and continue beating until incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape.

flour mixture for snickerdoodles in a bowl.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and incorporate shortly. Don't overmix!

rolling dough balls in cinnamon sugar to make snickerdoodles.

Make dough balls and roll them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture.

unbaked snickderdoodles on a baking sheet lined with white parchment paper.

Flatten them slightly and place them on baking sheets, leaving some space in between

12 baked snickerdoodles without cream of tartar on a baking sheet.

Bake cookies for about 8 minutes or until just set around the edges. The middle should look slightly undercooked.

snickerdoodles resting on a round wire rack on a brown table.

Let set on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

🔊Expert tips

Best tip: Use a digital kitche n scale (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab) when measuring the ingredients; it guarantees for best results. Using too much flour will make the cookies too puffy and floury; using not enough flour will make them too flat and crispy.

After adding the flour mixture, don't overmix the batter; that could cause the snickerdoodles to become tough, and that is the last thing you want; these cookies should be nice and soft.

You will probably need to bake the snickerdoodles in 3 or 4 batches, depending on the size of your trays. Keep the "waiting" dough or formed cookies refrigerated until it's time for them to go into the oven.

Oven: If using a fan oven, you can bake two baking sheets at a time. If using a conventional oven, bake the snickerdoodles without cream of tartar one cookie sheet at a time. Use the time the first batch is in the oven to form and coat the second batch of cookie balls with the cinnamon sugar topping.

snickerdoodles on a silver platter and on a black cloth.

❓Recipe FAQ

What's the difference between using cream of tartar or baking powder?

The higher acidity of the cream of tartar imparts the traditional snickerdoodles a tangy flavor, a bit metallic, while the baking powder causes them to be milder. This is why I prefer to use baking powder instead of cream of tartar.
Also, the snickerdoodles without cream of tartar are slightly less puffy but still puffy enough; just have a look at the pictures.

Do I have to chill the dough?

No. Instead, work quickly and don't leave the dough sitting around at room temperature for too long.
If your kitchen is very warm, and you are worried about the cookies spreading too much during baking, you might want to chill the formed and coated snickerdoodles for about 30 minutes.

How to make the snickerdoodles stay soft?

Don't overbake them. It is better if you slightly underbake them, the edges should be set, but they should be slightly underdone in the middle. Remove the tray from the oven and let the cookies rest on the tray for about 10 minutes; the residual heat will continue to bake them. After that, transfer them to a cooling rack.

How to store?

Keep the snickerdoodle cookies in an airtight container; otherwise, they will become crispier. But that's not bad; I love them when they are crispier just as much.
They will keep well for at least 3 days.

Can I freeze them?

Freeze the dough for up to 3 months and defrost in the fridge.
Freeze unbaked cookies: form the cookies, freeze them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper until they're solid. Then, transfer the cookie dough balls to freezer bags. Bake from frozen as instructed but increase the baking time to 10-11 minutes.
Freeze baked cookies in airtight containers and defrost them on the counter.

overhead view of snickerdoodles made with baking powder on a black cloth with cinnamon sticks around.

🍪More Christmas cookies

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