PROCEED WITH CAUTION! These soft and chewy snickerdoodles have a flavor profile that will cause a complete lack of self control. I CANNOT STOP EATING THEM! (seriously, please take them away from me). This is the best snickerdoodle recipe EVER.
Don't say I didn't warn you!
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WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE
Is it just me, or do nostalgic recipes always taste better? This snickerdoodle recipe comes from my Grandma who spent years and years cooking for the farmstead. I remember eating freshly prepared hot lunches in her kitchen with my dad, grandpa and the hired hands. Most of the time, she'd even serve a homemade dessert!
One of her secret hacks for always having fresh cookies ready too serve was freezing them in Pringles containers. I'm not kidding. She knew exactly what size scoop to use to have perfectly round cookies that would fit into a Pringles container. My favorite cookies were always her mini M&M cookies or her snickerdoodles.
... BUT WHY THE BROWNED BUTTER???
If I had to pick my favorite ingredient in this recipe, it would hands-down have the fancy butter. This actually is my own twist on my Grandma's recipe. After trying browned butter with my DARK CHOCOLATE BOURBON COOKIES a few months ago, I knew I wanted to try it with this recipe! Honestly, I'll probably be doing this with all of my cookies (if I have time).
Can it be intimidating to make browned butter? Yes.
Does it take a little extra time? Also yes.
Is it completely worth it? OMG YES!
To brown the butter, you will simply put the butter into a small saucepan and heat it on medium low heat. Watch the butter melt and begin to bubble. Whisk the butter and watch as little brown flakes appear in the butter. KEEP AN EYE ON IT! About thirty seconds after noticing the brown flakes, the butter will develop a richer amber color and have a yummy nutty aroma.
It's done!
Remove the finished butter from the heat and let it cool completely. I transfer it to a glass bowl for this step to prevent the pan from continuing the browning process.
INGREDIENTS FOR BROWNED BUTTER SNICKERDOODLES
- 8 TABLESPOONS BROWNED BUTTER, ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 1 CUP GRANULATED SUGAR
- ½ CUP BROWN SUGAR, PLUS 3 ADDITIONAL TABLESPOONS, DIVIDED
- EGGS, 2 AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 2 TEASPOONS PURE VANILLA EXTRACT I like Madagascar Bourbon
- 2 CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
- 1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON, PLUS 1 ADDITIONAL TABLESPOON, DIVIDED
- 1 TEASPOON CREAM OF TARTAR
- ½ TEASPOON BAKING SODA
- ¼ TEASPOON SEA SALT
HOW TO MAKE BROWNED BUTTER SNICKERDOODLES
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the room temperature browned butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat the mixture moderately fast for 2-4 minutes. It will become light and fluffy. This is an important step! Don't skip it!
- Add the room temperature eggs to the butter mixture and beat for one minute more.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda and sea salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Do not over mix! The dough is supposed to be very sticky, resist the urge to add additional flour.
- Cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator for at two hours or overnight.
HOW TO FORM & BAKE BROWNED BUTTER SNICKERDOODLES
- Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small bowl, stir together the additional one tablespoon of cinnamon and three tablespoons of sugar. Line 3 cookie sheets with PARCHMENT PAPER or SILPAT MATS.
- Using a 2 INCH DOUGH SCOOP, form the dough into balls and roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets. These cookies grow in the oven! Allow plenty of space between them. I only put six of these cookies on a cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 11 minutes. Take them out of the oven and transfer them to a COOLING RACK.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO STORE COOKIES?
First of all, make sure the cookies have fully cooled before storing. A warm cookie placed in an airtight container will create it's own little greenhouse effect and no one likes a moist (ew) cookie.
Before judging this to be extreme, but hear me out. Instead of putting all of the different cookies (chocolate chip, gingerbread, snickerdoodle, etc) in one storage container, give them their own space. There really does seem to be some truth to the old story about everything starting to taste the same after a while. Each flavor should have it's own bag or container.
Generally speaking, cookies are best eaten within three days if left sitting out. The same cookie could last up to six months in the freezer! This is why I immediately pop my cooled cookies into the deep freeze. They taste completely fresh after they've thawed, even if they were baked months ago.
Parchment paper is also my BF when it comes to storing cookies. I place it between the layers to prevent sticking.
The cookies are stored in ziplock freezer bags or air tight containers in a single layer or tucked in gently between sheets of parchment paper.
One last tip I want to share is to make the dough balls ahead of time and freeze them. Whenever I use this timesaving trick, I just add about two minutes to the cooking time. Fresh cookies on demand, anyone?
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. For more delicious recipes from scratch and homesteading tips, follow me on instagram @NinnescahHomestead
Browned Butter Snickerdoodles
Equipment
- baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- stand mixer with paddle attachment
- saucepan & oven
- 2" dough scoop
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons browned butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar plus 1 additional tablespoon, divided
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
MAKING THE SNICKERDOODLE DOUGH
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the room temperature browned butter, brown sugar and sugar. Beat the mixture at a speed 2 (moderately fast) for 2-4 minutes until it is light and fluffy. This is a very important step, don't skip it!
- Add the room temperature eggs to the butter mixture and beat for one minute more until fully inorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon cream of tartar, baking soda and sea salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined. The dough is supposed to be very sticky. Resist the urge to add additional flour!
- Refrigerate the dough for two hours or overnight before continuing with the next steps.
FORMING THE DOUGH BALLS & BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Once the dough has been fully chilled, mix the reserved tablespoon of cinnamon and three tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats.
- Using a two inch dough scoop, form the dough into balls and roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture. I like to mold the balls until they are nice and smooth. This creates snickerdoodles that have very distinctive and beautiful splitting patterns after baking.
- Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets. I only put six balls on each cookie sheet because they really like to spread out during the baking process.
- Bake then cookies for eleven minutes. Allow them to cool slightly and firm up before transferring them to a cooling rack.
HOW TO STORE SNICKERDOODLES
- Snickerdoodles can be stored on the counter in an airtight container for up to three days for the freshest taste and texture.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before placing them in a storage container.
- Cookies can be stored in a ziplock freezer bag or freezer friendly container for up to three months.
- Snickerdoodles dough balls can be frozen prior to baking. I place them on a cookie sheet and fully freeze them before transferring them to a freezer bag. When I am ready to bake, I follow the baking process listed above. The frozen cookies will require an additional two minutes of baking time.
Notes
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Simple Broccoli & White Cheddar Soup
Is there anything cozier than a big ol’ bowl of homemade broccoli and white cheddar soup? NOPE. Made with (mostly) common pantry ingredients, this is the soup you'll be craving on the next rainy day.
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