Rolled in cinnamon sugar, these sourdough snickerdoodles are made using discard with an optional full overnight ferment before baking. The combination of cream of tartar and sourdough starter make for a uniquely tangy cookie.
Why You'll Love Sourdough Snickerdoodles
- They're small chewy cookies with a punchy cinnamon flavour
- Snickerdoodles have a unique flavour from cream of tartar and adding sourdough starter boosts that even more
- They puff up in the oven, then collapse into perfectly chewy cookies
- You can refrigerate overnight for a full ferment
Love cinnamon in your cookies? Try our apple cider snickerdoodles, frosted eggnog cookies, and roll-out cinnamon sugar cookies.
Ingredients
- Sourdough starter: the cookies pictured were made with very active, freshly fed starter, not discard. You can use either discard or active starter for this recipe.
- Butter: snickerdoodles are traditionally made with shortening, but butter tastes so much better! It should be room temperature to mix properly.
- Flour: all-purpose white flour will make for the best texture of the cookies. Cake or pastry flour is too delicate here.
- Sugar: use plain white sugar for the best results. Brown sugar will make the cookies spread too much.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Step by Step Photos
Step 1: mix the dry ingredients and set aside.
Step 2: cream the butter, then add the remaining wet ingredients.
Step 3: beat until combined.
Step 4: stir in the dry ingredients.
Step 5: roll the dough into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar.
Step 6: bake for about 10 minutes, then cool and serve.
Top Tips
- Use a cookie scoop: to get evenly sized balls of dough with the least work, use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop and then roll the balls in cinnamon sugar.
- Open a fresh pack: you won't taste the cinnamon if yours is old. If you're not sure, use a freshly opened package for this recipe.
- Make them without cream of tartar: it can be omitted (see Kelly's recipe for snickerdoodles without cream of tartar) but you'll miss out on the unique flavour it adds.
Storage and Make Ahead
Make ahead: mix the dough as instructed and refrigerate, tightly covered, for up to 12 hours. Scoop, roll, and bake as instructed. This will increase the tangy sourdough flavour of the cookies.
Storage: keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing: freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months in an airtight container. For the best results, freeze the same day of baking. To freeze unbaked cookies, roll in the cinnamon sugar and freeze on baking sheets until solid. Transfer to an airtight container, then bake from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
More Sourdough Cookie Recipes
If you make this Sourdough Snickerdoodles Cookies recipe or any other sourdough discard recipes on the Baked Collective, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more baking, follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Electric mixer
- 2 tablespoon cookie scoop optional
- 2 baking sheets
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup salted butter, room temperature to soft
- ½ cup sourdough starter, active or discard
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
For rolling:
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt
- In another bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the sourdough starter, eggs, and sugar and mix until smooth.½ cup salted butter, ½ cup sourdough starter, 2 large eggs, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- Gently stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until no dry streaks of flour remain.
- In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon for rolling.1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, portion all of the dough. Roll each portion between your hands to form a smooth ball. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar until well coated, and place them 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and lightly golden around the edges. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided as a courtesy. For precise nutritional data, please calculate it independently using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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