Name: Thick And Chewy Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 9 min
Total time: 29 min
Ingredients: 2 3/4 cups flour; 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (divided); 2 teaspoons cream of tartar; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 3/4 cups sugar (divided); 1 cup butter, (softened); 2 eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla

This cinnamon sugar cookies recipe takes your traditional sugar cookie recipe and bumps it to the next level with a double helping of cinnamon. These cookies melt in your mouth, and the cinnamon flavor in the dough and on the outside makes you forget you’re eating a simple sugar cookie.

Like most traditional refrigerator cookies, this recipe comes together with ingredients straight from the pantry.

This recipe is perfect for your year round cookie jar. Thick, chewy, and tender in the center with crispy little edges. 9 ingredients that are pantry staples are all you need to make these cookies. Quick to make, only 15-20 minutes to put together and 9 minutes to bake means you can have these freshly baked and on a plate in less than 30 minutes!

I hope you’ll check out our sugar cookie bars, no roll sugar cookies, lemon sugar cookies, and when the holidays roll around, our Christmas sugar cookies!

Let’s bake these cookies!

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE CINNAMON SUGAR COOKIES?

And as you’ve probably already realized, these cookies are also known as Snickerdoodles! Growing up, my family simply called them cinnamon sugar cookies. Whatever you want to call, they’re the epitome of deliciousness!

SHOULD SUGAR COOKIES BE SOFT OR CRISPY?

Well, that’s a matter of personal taste. I tend to prefer thick and chewy. I add cream of tartar and chill the dough, twice, to create this texture. If you prefer a thinner and crisper cookie, experiment with reducing or skipping the chilling time.

CINNAMON SUGAR COOKIE INGREDIENTS

Flour: All-purpose flour. I use Gold Medal for baking these cookies.
Cinnamon: I generally use McCormick ground cinnamon. Cinnamon has a woody, slightly sweet, flavor with highlights of citrus.
Cream Of Tartar: Don’t skip this ingredient! It helps create the wonderful chewy texture in this cookie! If you are out of cream of tartar, you can use 2 ¼ teaspoons of baking powder instead. The texture, of course, will not be exactly the same.
Baking Soda: Give the cookies some lift and fluffy texture.
Salt: Enhances the flavors in the cookie.
Sugar: Granulated sugar, a.k.a. table sugar.
Butter: I use unsalted butter. This recipe is developed and tested only with unsalted butter. If you only have salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe. Since different brands of butter use varying amounts of salt, you’ll have to experiment.
Eggs: I use large eggs. They are best used at room temperature when baking.
Vanilla: I only use pure vanilla extract. When stored in a cool, dark place, vanilla extract lasts virtually indefinitely. I buy my vanilla extract from Costco because I like the quality and the price is great.

TIPS + TRICKS

Measuring Flour: For best results use the “scoop and level method” to measure your flour. Never scoop the flour out of the bag with the measuring cup. This compacts the flour and you end up with more flour than is called for in the recipe. This can lead to dry cookies!!
Eggs: Bring eggs to room temperature. They blend into the dough much better. If you forget to set them out, this article (from Bon Appetit) will tell you how to bring them to room temperature quickly.
Timing: Before you begin these cookies, note the 2-hour chilling time. After chilling the cookie dough, the butter in them will firm back up and they’ll stay a lot thicker and not spread as much.
Parchment Paper: I bake these cookies directly on an ungreased baking sheet. Save the parchment for another recipe!
Type Of Mixer: For this recipe, I use my hand mixer rather than the stand mixer. I only lug out the stand mixer when my mixing time exceeds 4 consecutive minutes. If you choose to use the stand-up mixer, use the paddle attachment for this cookie.
Forming The Cookie Dough Balls: I like to form the cookies before the dough is chilled. It’s so much easier than trying to dig out the hard chilled dough with a cookie scoop. Because the balls are so soft when you form them, you’ll likely need to give them a little roll to attractively shape them.

STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD TIPS

Storing Tips: Cinnamon sugar cookies will dry out and go stale if left out too long. Make sure that once they are completely cooled, you store them in an airtight container. They’ll last in the fridge for about 5-7 days.
Can You Freeze This? This cinnamon sugar cookies recipe freezes beautifully. To freeze the baked cookies, be sure to allow them to cool completely. Store them in a well-sealed container for about 6 months in the freezer.
- For the dough, follow the instructions, but instead of putting the cookies into the oven, pop them into the freezer for at least an hour. Then, put the frozen balls of dough in freezer bags for up to 2 months.
Make-Ahead Tips: You can make the dough and roll it into balls then in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place on a cookie sheet, cover it with plastic wrap the night before you bake them. Place the cookie sheets directly in a preheated oven and bake. They’ll be even thicker when baked cold.
Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

HOW TO MAKE THICK AND CHEWY CINNAMON SUGAR COOKIES

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed, until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture at low speed.
Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining sugar and the remaining cinnamon.
Using a medium cookie scoop shape dough into 1-inch balls.
Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat.
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.

***See the full instructions below.

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