Chewy Snickerdoodles Without Cream of Tartar

This is the best recipe for snickerdoodles without cream of tartar!

Have you ever had the urge to make a batch of snickerdoodles but find the recipe calls for cream of tartar--the one key ingredient you never have on hand?

Well, those days are over friends! This easy snickerdoodle recipe is made with no cream of tartar and is just as soft, chewy, and delicious as the traditional snickerdoodles-including the signature cinnamon crackle top!

We use a combination of good old fashioned baking soda, baking powder, and lemon juice to get the flavor and texture just right. We also add a little cream cheese to make these cookies melt in your mouth tender and delicious.

These cinnamon spiced sugar cookies are best served fresh with a warm cup of homemade hot chocolate or on a cookie platter next to some old fashioned iced oatmeal cookies, or buttery cinnamon pinwheel cookies.

Here's how we make them:

How To Make Snickerdoodles Without Cream of Tartar

This recipe makes 20 cookies

What You'll Need:

• 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened but still cool
• 3 oz of cream cheese, softened but still cool
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For That Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• ¼ cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Combine the cinnamon and sugar and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a shallow pie plate or dish and set aside.

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350º and line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.

Add the cream cheese to the bowl and beat until the butter and cheese are well combined and smooth.

Next, add the sugar to the mixer and beat until light and fluffy.

Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add in the lemon juice and give a quick stir. 

Then add the egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

Give the sides and bottom of the bowl another good scrape with a rubber spatula.

With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is just barely incorporated.

Turn the mixer up to medium low and give one final mix to make sure everything is well combined and no streaks of flour are showing. Do not over mix!

Remove the bowl from the mixer and give the batter a quick stir by hand to ensure everything on the sides and bottom of the bowl are incorporated.

Scoop the snickerdoodle dough, about a tablespoon at a time ( a #40 cookie scooper) and drop into the cinnamon sugar mixture. The dough will be soft and a little sticky.

Roll the dough around in the cinnamon sugar mixture until evenly coated and you have a nice round ball.

Place the coated dough ball on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookie dough balls, spacing cookies about 2" apart.

For best results, gently flatten the center of the cookies using two fingers. This will allow the cookies to bake and flatten evenly.

Sprinkle a little bit more cinnamon sugar on top of the flattened cookies.

Bake cookies in a 350º oven for 11-12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and crackly on top. The cookies will flatten a little as they cool.

Allow cookies to sit 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before eating or transferring to a wire rack.

What is cream of tartar?

Cream of tartar--also known as potassium bitartrate--is a dry, acidic powder and is a byproduct of winemaking! Who knew?

It's typically used for bringing stability to egg whites (think angel food cake) and providing a chewy texture to baked goods.

The acid helps to keep the sugar from crystalizing, giving cookies, for instance, a light and chewy texture. This is also where the "tang" flavor in snickerdoodles comes from.

When cream of tartar is combined with baking soda, the combo produces carbon dioxide gas, becoming a leavening agent for baked goods! This is also known as baking powder!

That's right! Baking powder is pretty much baking soda and cream of tartar, plus a little bit of cornstarch for anti-caking.

I got my info from this really great Allrecipes.com article if you want to read more about it!

What is a good cream of tartar substitute?

If a recipe calls for baking soda and cream of tartar, baking powder is a perfect substitute! That's because baking powder already contains cream of tartar AND baking soda. So it's like a shortcut! From the sources I read online, baking powder is made up of two parts cream of tartar and one part baking soda.

So when swapping out the cream of tartar for baking powder, use 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder for every teaspoon of cream of tartar.

Depending on what you're baking, other things like vinegar, lemon juice, buttermilk, or yogurt can be swaps for the cream of tartar too.

For these cookies, I went with a combo of baking powder and a teaspoon of lemon juice as a substitute, and they made the perfect chewy cookies with a light crunch.

Sources for substitutions and conversions were gathered from healthline.com and pioneerwoman.com

What do snickerdoodles taste like? Are they Crunchy or Soft?

Classic snickerdoodles are a lot like a sugar cookie--soft, chewy and sweet--but it usually has a slight tang that comes from the cream of tartar.

Because this is a snickerdoodle recipe made without cream of tartar, you won't get the tangy flavor. It'll resemble more of a sugar cookie coated with cinnamon.

Snickerdoodles should have a crispy cinnamon sugar exterior with a signature crackle top. The center should be tender and chewy.

What Makes Snickerdoodles Soft if you don't use cream of tartar?

In a traditional snickerdoodle recipe, cream of tartar and baking soda is used to tenderize and leaven the cookies.

But since this recipe for snickerdoodles is made without cream of tartar, we use a combo of baking soda, lemon juice, and baking powder as a replacement.

The baking powder actually has cream of tartar in it.

This helps to make the cookie light and airy and rise, but I found when I used all baking powder for the leavening, I was getting a very thick crispy exterior--which got even crustier as the cookies cooled. Baking at a lower temp helped, but adding the baking soda with a little lemon juice really helped to tenderize the cookies and gave them a lovely chew.

I use cream cheese in this recipe and that really helps to make the cookies chewy and light also.

Can I freeze Snickerdoodles?

Yes! Meaning you can have a batch of chewy snickerdoodles any time the craving strikes!

You can make the cookie recipe in its entirety, including rolling in cinnamon sugar and baking.

Once the cookies are out of the oven, let them cool completely and pop them into a freezer safe bag, and keep them in the freezer for months.

When you're ready for cookies, take 1 (or 12) out of the freezer and let them soften up at room temperature--uncovered.

Once thawed, your cookies are ready to eat! They'll be wonderfully soft and chewy, and the cinnamon sugar coating will still be intact.

How Long Will Snickerdoodles Stay fresh?

When stored in an airtight container, these snickerdoodles will stay soft and delicious for 3 days. They can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge.

For long term storage, fully baked cookies freeze really well (see above), for indulging at any time of year.

Other Cookie Recipes You May Like:

From Scratch Birthday Cake Cookies

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies