Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies

It’s no secret that I love cookies. And lately I’ve been really into cookies made with sourdough discard because I love finding creative ways to use up my discard, and because they just taste delicious. This is very true for these sourdough discard snickerdoodle cookies. Unassuming, they will catch you off guard with how delicious they are. A soft and tangy dough rolled in sweet cinnamon and sugar and baked to perfection. No mix-ins, no extras. Just a perfectly baked sourdough snickerdoodle cookie.

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Why You’ll Love Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies

Are you a snickerdoodle fan? I get comments all the time from women telling me that snickerdoodles are their husband’s favorite cookie! I think it’s so interesting. But maybe that’s why you’re here looking at this recipe. If it’s your husband’s favorite cookie (or yours!) then you’ve come to the right place. You will love these sourdough snickerdoodle cookies because they’re easy to whip up – no chilling. The cookies have sweet cinnamon flavor with crunchy edges and a soft middle. Basically, it’s a cookie that is going to please everyone, unless you want chocolate – then you need this chocolate crinkle sourdough cookie recipe or my sourdough s’mores cookies!

Important Ingredients in Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies

• Sourdough Discard: In order to avoid a stronger sourdough flavor, use sourdough discard that is fresh or no more than a day or two old. If you want to play up the tang in these snickerdoodle cookies, use discard that is a couple days old. I always use 100% hydration sourdough discard. If your discard is very runny, you may need a little extra flour in this recipe.
• Unsalted Butter: I bake a lot of cookies and always use unsalted butter. You can control the flavor much better when you use unsalted butter. Salt content varies between brands of salted butter, and your baked goods may come out too salty using salted butter. If you choose to use salted butter, decrease the salt a little bit in the recipe. Use softened butter for best results.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar is the only sugar used in this recipe, keeping the cookie sweet and allowing it to take on the tangy flavor of the sourdough and the cream of tartar
• Egg: An egg adds richness and structure to the cookie dough
• Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose Flour: These cookies are perfect with all-purpose flour. Use flour with an 11.5% protein content, not bread flour.
• Cream of Tartar: This is an ingredient that is unique to snickerdoodle cookies and gives a tangy flavor that pairs well with the sourdough discard. It’s not really a snickerdoodle if it doesn’t have cream of tartar.
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Cinnamon/Sugar: Snickerdoodle cookie dough is rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before baking. This gives a little bit of texture, crunch and cinnamon flavor to the cookies.

How to Make Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies

Mix Together Ingredients

• Wet Ingredients: Use a hand mixer to whip up the softened butter. It should lighten a little in color as you mix. Add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Then add in the eggs, sourdough discard and vanilla extract. Whip again until fluffy.
• Dry Ingredients: To a separate bowl add the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon and salt. Fluff together with a fork.
• Mix Together: Add the dry ingredients on top of the sugar mixture and mix until combined.

Scoop and Roll Cookie Dough Balls

Pour cinnamon and sugar in a shallow bowl. Scoop the dough into small balls, about 2 Tablespoons each. Roll each cookie dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. The cinnamon sugar coating is what give these sourdough snickerdoodles their classic look.

Bake Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies

One of the secrets to a cookie with a delicious crispy edge and a gooey or chewy middle is convection bake. If you have the convection bake feature on your oven, use it! Bake these cookies in a pre-heated, 375ºF convection oven for 7-8 minutes until puffed up with crispy edges. If you don’t have convection, you have a couple of options:

1. Increase the temperature by 25 degrees (400ºF for this recipe) and preheat your oven for 15-20 minutes to get it really hot before baking the cookies.
2. Bake the cookies at the convection temperature (375ºF for this recipe) and add some extra time to the bake, usually 2-3 minutes.

Whatever you do, the key to baking these cookies is to avoid over-baking them. Take the cookies out when they are still a little gooey in the center. They will keep baking and set up to be nice and chewy as they cool. Enjoy!

Amy’s Recipe Tips

• If the dough feels too sticky, add a little extra flour. The dough should be able to roll into a ball in your hand without getting dough all over you. Sourdough discard can often be a little less or more runny so you may need to add a little extra flour.

Long Fermented Option: To long-ferment this cookie dough to get the fermentation benefits from the sourdough, mix up your cookie dough. Shape it into balls, roll it in the cinnamon sugar and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight or up to a few days. The longer you ferment the dough, the more benefit.

Frequently Asked Questions