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Snickerdoodles are already one of the best cookies in existence. Soft, chewy, rolled in cinnamon sugar, with that signature slight tang from cream of tartar that you won’t find in any other cookie. This version takes everything that makes a snickerdoodle great and adds one step that makes it exceptional: browning the butter.
Browned butter adds a deep, nutty, almost caramel-like flavor that takes the warm cinnamon notes in this cookie to a completely different level. It’s not a subtle difference. The cookies taste richer, more complex, and more interesting than any snickerdoodle you’ve had before, and the process only adds about ten minutes to the recipe. The one-hour chill time is non-negotiable and well worth the wait. Chilled dough bakes up thicker, chewier, and with better structure than dough baked straight from the bowl. Plan ahead and these cookies will reward you.
Ingredients Needed to Make Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Two components, a short ingredient list, and one technique that changes everything. Here’s what you need:
The Cookie Dough
- All-purpose flour
- Cream of tartar (the ingredient that gives snickerdoodles their signature tang and chewy texture)
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Large eggs
- Milk (adds a small amount of extra moisture for a softer cookie)
- Unsalted butter, cut into half-inch pieces (cut small so it melts and browns evenly)
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar, firmly packed (adds moisture and a deeper sweetness than white sugar alone)
The Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- Granulated sugar
- Cinnamon
How to Brown Butter for Cookies
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat.
- Melt until the foam subsides some and the butter turns nut brown, swirling the pan occasionally. This process takes about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Pour the browned butter through a strainer into a bowl.
- Beat the butter with a mixer on medium speed until it cools to room temperature, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Once the butter is browned, you will follow the steps to incorporate the other ingredients.
Baking Tip: It is important to let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This helps the flavors combine and creates the soft texture and round shape of the cookies.
How to Make Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
This recipe has a few steps but each one matters. Here’s how it all comes together.
Step 1: Whisk the Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside. Mixing the dry ingredients separately ensures the cream of tartar and baking soda are distributed evenly throughout the dough, which affects both the texture and the rise of every cookie.
Step 2: Whisk the Eggs and Milk
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together until smooth. Set aside. Having this ready before you start on the butter means you can move quickly once the butter is browned and in the mixer.
Step 3: Brown the Butter
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, swirling the pan occasionally. The butter will foam, then go quiet, then develop a golden color and a rich, nutty aroma. This takes about 8 to 10 minutes. Watch it carefully during the last few minutes because the transition from browned to burnt happens quickly. Once the butter is a deep amber color with small brown bits visible at the bottom, immediately pour it through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl of a stand mixer. Those brown bits are flavor, but straining removes any that have gone too far.
Step 4: Cool the Butter and Add the Sugars
With the paddle attachment in place, beat the browned butter on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes until it cools to room temperature. This step is important. Adding sugar to hot butter results in a greasy dough that won’t hold its shape. Once the butter has cooled, add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again for a few more seconds to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
Step 5: Add the Eggs and Flour
With the mixer on low, pour in the egg and milk mixture and mix until just combined. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until barely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stop mixing as soon as you no longer see streaks of flour. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour and produces a tougher, less tender cookie.
Step 6: Chill the Dough
Gather the dough into a mound in the center of the bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least one hour. Chilling firms up the fat in the dough so the cookies spread less during baking, resulting in a thicker, chewier cookie with a better texture. This step cannot be rushed. If you try to bake warm dough, the cookies will spread too thin and lose the soft, pillowy center that makes a great snickerdoodle.
Step 7: Preheat and Prep
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the coating.
Step 8: Scoop, Roll, and Bake
Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball between your palms. Roll the ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture until completely coated on all sides. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing the cookies at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes until the tops are slightly cracked and the edges look set. The centers may look underdone, but they will set as the cookies cool. Pull them at 10 minutes and don’t go longer, that slight underbake is what keeps them soft and chewy.
Step 9: Cool
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They firm up as they cool and reach their best texture about 15 to 20 minutes out of the oven.
Storing and Reheating
These cookies stay soft and chewy for days when stored properly. Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Adding a slice of white bread to the container is an old baker’s trick that works remarkably well. The cookies absorb moisture from the bread and stay soft long after they’d normally start to dry out.
To freeze baked cookies, let them cool completely and store in a single layer in a freezer-safe container or zip-lock bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before eating.
To freeze the unbaked dough, roll the dough balls and coat in cinnamon sugar, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen at 400°F, adding 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time. Fresh-baked cookies from frozen dough taste just as good as the original batch.
FAQs
Cream of tartar is what makes a snickerdoodle a snickerdoodle rather than just a cinnamon sugar cookie. It reacts with the baking soda to create lift and contributes the slightly tangy, almost sour flavor that’s characteristic of the cookie. It also affects the texture, producing a softer, chewier result than cookies made without it. There really is no good substitute for cream of tartar in this recipe if you want a true snickerdoodle.
Browning the butter causes the milk solids in the butter to caramelize and develop hundreds of new flavor compounds that simply don’t exist in plain melted butter. The result is a deep, nutty, toasty flavor that amplifies the cinnamon and sugar in the cookie significantly. It’s the difference between a good snickerdoodle and an unforgettable one. The process takes about 10 minutes and is absolutely worth it.
Technically yes, but the results will be noticeably different. Unchilled dough spreads more during baking, producing flatter, thinner cookies that don’t have the same soft, chewy center. The chill time allows the flour to fully hydrate and the fat to firm back up after being melted, which gives the cookies better structure. One hour is the minimum. Chilling overnight produces an even richer, more complex cookie.
Flat cookies usually mean the dough was too warm when it went into the oven, the butter was too hot when the sugars were added, or the oven temperature was too low. Make sure the browned butter is fully cooled to room temperature before adding the sugars, chill the dough for the full hour, and verify your oven temperature with an oven thermometer if you’re unsure. Baking on a cool baking sheet rather than a warm one from a previous batch also helps.
Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies are a favorite for a reason. They are soft and slightly chewy. They taste great for any occasion, but are especially fun as a Christmas cookie.
Add these cookies to a plate with a few other classic cookies to create the ultimate cookie plate. Enjoy!
Other Classic Cookie Recipes
- Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
For the snickerdoodles:
- 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
For the cinnamon sugar coating:
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, melt the butter until the foam subsides and the butter turns nut brown, 8 to 10 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally.
- Pour the browned butter through a strainer into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat butter on medium speed until it cools to room temperature, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again for a few seconds.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and add the egg mixture. Mix until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just barely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Gather the dough into a mound in the middle. Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon for cinnamon sugar coating.
- Using a cookie scoop or spoon, scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough and form a ball. Roll the ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining dough. Place the cookies on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until cookies are slightly cracked.
Notes
- All Purpose Flour: You can substitute with 1-1 gluten free all purpose flour, if desired.
- Light Brown Sugar: Darn brown sugar is not recommended as it alters to flavor of these cookies.
- Cream of Tartar: This helps give the cookies the signature snickerdoodle texture and flavor. You can substitute the cream of tarter AND the baking soda with 2 teaspoons of baking powder, but the cookies may not have the traditional snickerdoodle flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ashley! Brown butter snickerdoodles changed my life. Such a simple and small step makes these cookies amazing!
I didn’t try snickerdoodles until wayyy late in life but they’ve become one of my favorite cookies. Just tried this recipe and absolutely love it, think it’s going to become my new go to!