Real German Snickerdoodles Recipe
Buttery, pillowy-soft and so deliciously good with hints of cinnamon spice, these are the best snickerdoodles! Check out the tips and tricks to make these yummy cookies perfectly every time!
These snickerdoodles are probably my favorite cookies of all time! Ask my family! Every time, I find these cookies – whether in cafes or coffee shops, bakeries or somewhere, I make sure to buy at least a piece or 2. My son shares my love for these cookies so I often buy one for him as well.
It must be all that buttery flavor enhanced with cinnamon spice that truly tickles my tastebuds that I could eat half a dozen of these yummy cookies if I am not careful! I love shortbread with all that yummy buttery taste so I guess that’s why I love snickerdoodles!
Besides, they always pair so well with either coffee or English breakfast tea so that is a huge bonus indeed!
When I found this recipe for Real German Snickerdoodles Recipe in a local cookbook (Hamden Chamber of Commerce Cookbook) which I bought from Goodwill, I was immediately inspired to make it. After all, it prominently titled the recipe – THE REAL GERMAN SNICKERDOODLES! I told myself, I better test it to see if it’s any good!
Besides, since it’s almost the holiday season, I thought I wanted to test a batch that, if successful, would be my Christmas giveaway. So I set off to make these snickerdoodles and give the recipe a try to make sure it works well. It looked very easy and totally doable on paper.
I’m happy to report that it worked perfectly!
I made some very minor adjustments which I would jot down below as part of the tips so when you bake these snickerdoodles they come out as lovely as the ones I made.
The taste is spot on! It’s so yummy and again full of buttery goodness perfectly complimented by the cinnamon spice.
Most of all they didn’t spread too much nor came out too flat. They were like cute little baby cookies – just about 2 inches in size so they’re the perfect nibbles!
Once you bite it, it’s pillowy soft with just a little crunch but not hard at all! For me they’re perfect!
Here are the tips and tricks you can use so you can make these Snickerdoodles perfectly each time!
- Use the right oven temperature. The original recipe called for 400 F but it made the cookies a little hard and dark in the bottom. They still tasted good but wasn’t my preference. So for the next batch I made, I lowered the temperature and the cookies came out perfectly baked. I tried baking at both 375F and 350F. I personally prefer baking the cookies at 350F because I like them softer and just slightly chewy.
- Make sure to chill the dough in the fridge for about an hour. This will prevent the cookies from spreading or flattening too much.
- Do not over cream the butter and sugar. Just mix until the mixture looks light and fluffy looking. About a couple of minutes or so in the electric mixer should do it.
- Make sure your baking soda and cream of tartar are not expired or your cookies may not rise properly.
- You can adjust the amount of cinnamon if you like the cookies with a more prominent cinnamon taste but I stay with this measurement 3 tbsp sugar to 2 tsp cinnamon.
- Do not overbake. Just bake the cookies until set but not hard. The bottom shouldn’t brown much with the tint mostly coming from the cinnamon spice. Trust me, even after a day your cookies would stay tender and delicious if not overbaked.
- Use only butter. This is my taste preference but you can also halve the butter with either margarine or shortening if you like. For me, all-butter makes it yummier but that’s my personal preference.
- To achieve a more crackly look for your snickerdoodles, do not make the dough balls perfectly round and smooth. Just quickly shape into a ball but don’t overwork it so it’s less than perfect looking. Once baked they would have that classic snickerdoodle look.
- For convenience, place the sugar and cinnamon mixture into a sandwich bag. Drop each cookie dough ball and shake to cover with the mixture. Easier than rolling the cookies into the mixture.
This recipe makes about 4 1/2 dozen 2-inch cookies! Perfect bites of deliciousness!
Real German Snickerdoodles Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2¾ cups sifted flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Mix until well combined. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls (a small cookie scooper is quite useful for this).
- Mix the remaining sugar and ground cinnamon. Roll the balls into the sugar-cinnamon mixture.
- Bake for about 10 minutes or just until set but not hard. 10 minutes is perfect for my oven but oven temperatures vary so adjust accordingly (between 9-11 minutes should do it). Remove from the cookie sheet while still hot then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If not eating right away, place the cookies in airtight containers to retain their soft and chewy goodness.
Notes
Last updated on October 16th, 2025 at 10:21 pm
Really good recipe! I added mini cinnamon chips for an extra kick of spice. Baked at 400-degrees for 9 minutes and they were exactly what I was hoping for; a soft chew with a hint of crunch.
So glad you enjoyed this! I should try this with cinnamon chips. Thanks for letting us know.
First time making snickerdoodle cookies. Love this recipe and will add to my Christmas baking list
So glad you enjoyed these! Thanks for letting us know.
Do you have an air fryer conversion recipe?
No but you can probably search for guidelines online. I usually make a big batch so I just make this in the oven. If you try this in the air fryer please let us know. Thank you!
I turned this recipe into a cookie cake for my son-in-laws birthday. Delicious.
These cookies are amazing. I was wondering if I can make them ahead of time and bake them and then freeze them?
You can freeze both baked snickerdoodle cookies and the unbaked dough for later. For baked cookies, let them cool completely, then store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. For the dough, shape it into balls, freeze them on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Hope this helps! So glad you enjoyed them!