These snickerdoodle cookies are spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg for extra festive flavor yet subtle enough that everyone will enjoy – even the classic cookie lovers! Enjoy with a hot mug of chai for extra spicy comfort!
When cookie season hits, it hits hard. I’m of the mindset that you can’t ever have enough cookies – or holiday desserts for that matter. So even if you think you don’t need one more cookie recipe, think again.
Even though it’s full-on cookie season time now, these babies don’t have any time constraints. They’re perfect year-round, especially cozied up with a warm cup of tea… or coffee…or spiced hot buttered rum… or you know what? Even wine. Yep, I said it. If you haven’t tried a rich, buttery, sugar cookie with wine, prepare for a wonderful combination.
What is a Snickerdoodle?
Snickerdoodles are kind of like sugar cookies (in fact, this recipe is based on these sugar cookies). They’re soft, light, and have a bit of tang from their classic cream of tartar ingredient. And chewy! You know, that soft bite that ends up a little chewy and yet melts in your mouth? Yeah, these are that kind of cookie.
The real mark of a snickerdoodle cookie is that they are rolled in a sweet blend of cinnamon sugar. What’s better than the normal cinnamon-sugar mix? Adding in some extra warm spices!
This version has a healthy dose of cinnamon mixed in with nutmeg and cardamom.
The nutmeg adds a lovely warm spice that’s a bit nutty, and the cardamom brings in a pinch of citrus and herbal flavor. Both pair SO LOVELY with cinnamon. A match made in cookie heaven, if I do say so myself!
The Ingredients Needed
We’re looking at a pretty basic, simple ingredient list for these cookies.
The main ingredients you’ll need are:
- all-purpose flour – be sure to measure accurately!
- granulated and powdered sugar – for that melt-in-your-mouth texture
- butter and vegetable oil for moisture
- cream of tartar– that classic sugar cookie tang
- then the usual suspects: eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt
For the lovely spice mixture, we’ve covered that: sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg!
How to Make The Cookies
As many delicious things start, you’ll begin creaming together the room temperature butter, vegetable oil, and sugars.
Add in the eggs (room temperature too!), and the vanilla extract.
Stir together the dry ingredients and then mix them into the wet ingredients, just until incorporated.
Once the dough is formed, I highly recommend chilling the dough. It’s not super required, but I like to chill them because it results in a fluffier (i.e. less spread out) and a little chewier of a cookie. It results in a luxurious texture.
Once you’ve chilled the dough, use a cookie scoop (I like using a #40 that results in about 1 3/4 TBSP of dough balls). Roll the dough balls into the sugar and spice mixture until thoroughly coated.
P.S. If you’re looking for a more classic snickerdoodle cookie, you can easily omit the nutmeg and cardamom! Just use the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Then you’ll bake the cookies for about 9 minutes, just until the edges are set and just starting to turn golden brown. It’s important to not overbake the cookies so the soft, fluffy texture remains.
Enjoy with a warm cup of tea, coffee, or you know, a glass of wine after opening some presents on Christmas Eve (my favorite way, anyway).
More Sugar Cookie Recipes to Love
- Cut-out Sugar Cookies
- Amazingly Soft Sugar Cookies
- Giant Sugar Cookie with Raspberry Buttercream
- Individual Fruit Pizzas
Get the Recipe Spiced Snickerdoodle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Equipment
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, vegetable oil, 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, and powdered sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a separate mixing bowl. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined. Cover the bowl, and chill the dough for 15-30 minutes (for a chewier, “fluffier” cookie).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F while cookie dough chills. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom.
- Create dough balls using a medium #40 cookie scoop; roll the ball in the sugar-spice mixture until thoroughly coated and place cookie dough 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until edges are set and just turning golden brown. Be careful to not overcook to ensure a soft center. Transfer to a wire cooling rack almost immediately to let cool. Store in an airtight container.
This post was originally published in December of 2018. The text and photos were updated for clarity in December of 2020. No changes were made to the recipe.
When I m deciding what to bake, I have to remember that these guys are going in the mail and some to faraway destinations. I need a sturdy cookie, that will hold up for a few days. Last year I made Orange Cranberry Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies. (So, so, good, I need to make them again soon.) This year I decided to update one of my favorite cookie recipes, my Snickerdoodles. Snickerdoodles are probably my favorite cookie, they are sturdy, and you have a few days with them. And this recipe is my favorite, I ve tried quite a few. I added some spice inside of the cookie, and a lot in the sanding sugar mixture. Next time, I would add the regular sugar, vanilla bean, and spices and give it whirl in the food processor to break up the vanilla bean. Mix in the sanding sugar after so that you don t lose the bigger chunks. I wanted to use gold to make them shimmery and pretty.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thank you!
I’ve doubled the batch and was planning on freeze the dough till next week to have them to roll out for Christmas. My dough is very.. runny. Almost like a cake batter.. is this normal?!
Hi Alisa – it is soft, but it shouldn’t be runny. You should be able to form a ball with it (even before chilling). How is it now, assuming it has chilled?
Better! Resting helped ! Thanks, Baking off today
Good to hear! Enjoy!!
Snickerdoodle’s are my absolute favorite cookie! I couldn’t find my “normal” recipe and I know FITK always has wonderful recipes. I was hesitant to use this one due to the cardamom, only because I have never used it before; was unsure of the taste it would have. Let me tell you that these are THE BEST snickerdoodle cookies I have ever had!! 😍 This will definitely be my go to recipe from now on!! Absolutely delicious!!!
This made my day! I am so happy to hear you gave them a try and loved them!
I haven’t made these cookies before and I was so pleased with how they turned out. Not only did they look beautiful, they taste amazing. The perfect mix of crunchy and moist. Great recipe.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them, Kelley! Thanks for giving them a try 🙂
Terrible snickerdoodle recipe. Too moist in the center, never fully baked even extended baking time and had indigestion after sampling before serving. Ended up tossing the batch and served a different cookie.
Sorry to hear you had this experience, Pat. I’d be interested in trying to troubleshoot with you as this hasn’t been a problem before and it’d be helpful to figure out what happened.