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Brown Butter Snickerdoodle cookies are a truly delicious cookie. Banish boring basic snickerdoodles and amp up the flavor with brown butter and brown sugar to make these a decadent and chewy snickerdoodle!
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Do you love snickerdoodles? I’ll be honest – they never reached the top of my favorite cookies list. They always remind me of Christmas cookie exchanges because that was usually the only time I would see them. I love a good cookie, but usually it needs to involve some chocolate.
I recently decided to take on the challenge of making the best snickerdoodle cookie. I made a basic snickerdoodle recipe and I was…underwhelmed. Surely I could figure out how to make a chewy, moist and flavor packed snickerdoodle?
What is a Snickerdoodle cookie?
A Snickerdoodle is a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar. However, there is one more major difference between a sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle – cream of tartar.
Why is cream of tartar used in snickerdoodles?
Cream of Tartar is a leavening agent, and it also gives snickerdoodles their signature tang. It helps the cookies become light and pillowy instead of crisp.
When I first made a basic snickerdoodle recipe, I found the results lackluster. I decided to amp up the flavor of the cookie by using browned butter and adding some brown sugar. Traditional snickerdoodle cookes are made with all white granulated sugar. But I found that substituting brown sugar for some of the white sugar gave me a more complex and chewy snickerdoodle cookie.
What are the ingredients in a Snickerdoodle?
Traditional ingredients in Sinckerdoodle cookies are butter, granulated white sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda. I decided to swap out some of the granulated white sugar for brown sugar to give the cookie a more flavor and a chewy texture. In addition to the brown sugar, I also decided to use brown butter because it adds such a delicious complex, nutty flavor. I didn’t want average snickerdoodles, I wanted the best snickerdoodles!
How to make a brown butter snickerdoodle cookie
- First make the brown butter, see my tips below on making brown butter.
- Cream together brown butter, 1 cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, eggs and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and blend until just mixed.
- Chill dough for at least 45 minutes or even overnight.
- Shape dough into balls about 1.5 Tablespoons in size. I use THIS cookie scoop
- Mix the 4 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silcon baking mat – I use THIS ONE.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are set and golden and centers are puffed.
How to brown butter
- Add butter to a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.
- Whisk as the butter melts to keep it melting evenly.
- Butter will foam up and then subside. You will notice solid bits fall to the bottom of the pan.
- The butter will turn brown and smell nutty. Remove from heat and transfer to a heat safe bowl until ready to use.
Tips for making brown butter
- Use a pan with a light bottom so you can monitor the color of the butter as it browns, which will help you to remove it from heat before it burns. I use THIS ONE.
- Cut your butter into slices so it melts more evenly
- whisk the butter as it melts or swirl the pan to keep the temperature more even.
- As soon as your butter is browned to your liking remove it from heat and pour it into a heat proof bowl to keep it from continuing to cook.
More cookie recipes to love
Easy and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie
Double Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie
Brown Butter Snickerdoodle
Ingredients
- 1 cup browned butter
- 1 cups white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Make Brown Butter
- Add butter to a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat.
- Whisk as the butter melts to keep it melting evenly.
- Butter will foam up and then subside. You will notice solid bits fall to the bottom of the pan.
- The butter will turn brown and smell nutty. Remove from heat and transfer to a heat safe bowl. Allow to cool slightly before using in cookies.
Make Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
- Cream together butter, 1 cup white sugar, ½ cup brown sugar. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed until butter and sugar are well mixed.
- Add eggs and vanilla extract, continue to beat until mixture is pale and thick.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and blend until just mixed.
- Chill dough for 45 minutes or overnight.
- Shape dough into balls about 1.5 Tablespoons in size. I use a cookie scoop.
- Mix the 4 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are set and golden and centers are puffed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you make the dough ahead of time and freeze it. Do you roll them in cinnamon/sugar before or after you take them out to thaw?
Hi Sarah – I haven’t frozen the dough ahead of time so I can’t be sure. But I think I would wait to roll them in the cinnamon sugar until after they have thawed. Let us know how they turn out!
I normally don’t leave comments, but this is really the best Snickerdoodle I have ever made or tasted. They are usually a gooey mess to roll up, even when chilled, but these were awesome. I have also never made brown butter before but the butter does make a huge difference. Even my husband commented about how good they are and he could actually taste the cinnamon. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you!!!!
Hi there, do you measure a cup of butter before browning or after? Thanks.
Hi, measure before browning.
These are delicious!! I added some cinnamon to the dough, didn’t measure, just tossed some in. You can taste the brown butter. Amazing!!
Perfectly easy to make and on so very delicious! I will definitely use this recipe again for Snickerdoodles. The browned butter elevates the flavor and is so much tastier than the shortening used in the recipe I had used since the 70’s!
So happy you loved them Patti!
I was never impressed with snickerdoodles. Then I made these! This is my snickerdoodle recipe from here on out. They are fantastic!
Yay, I’m so happy to hear that Susan!
Do you put the butter in melted or do you need to allow it to set up again before mixing it in?
Hi Lauren – it doesn’t need to set up, it can still be liquid. But it does need to cool slightly. Just make sure it isn’t hot.
Perfect, thank you!!
My first batch is in the oven right now. I can already tell that this is a remarkable recipe because I always taste test the dough. The flavor is out of this world. There’s a caramel or maple essence to this cookie thanks to the brown butter and sugar. It’s amazing. Thank you for this recipe. I’ll not make the basic snickerdoodle cookie again.
I’m so happy to hear that!
I made these as a Valentine’s day treat for our family. I have one daughterwho Absolutely loves Snicker Doodles. You should’ve seen the look of sheer pleasure when she tried these! We all agtee- They are absolute delicious! They will be My signature Snicker doodle. Thank you So much!
Yay! So happy you loved them, Sylvia!
I made these today. Ran out if white sugar so ended up using 3/4cup white and 3/4 cup brown in recipe and then mixed the cinnamon with brown sugar as well. OMG they are delish!
Yay! So glad to hear that.
These are magnificent! Put my browned butter in the freezer, stirring every 30 mins or so until it came back to a soft spreadable state and mixed up my dough adding 1/2 tsp of baking powder because I am a scaredy cat. Rolled these up and refrigerated each tray as I rolled up the next and began to bake. Since my tray and dough were cold the bake time was 12 – 13 minutes. I will never make regular snickerdoodles again! These are the BOMB! <3 <3 <3
Hi Laura – YAY! So glad you loved them!
I was lucky enough to taste test these and they are awesome! Pillowy on the inside, with slightly crispy edges. One of the best snickerdoodles I’ve had!
Yay! So glad you and the fam loved them!