Better Than Crumbl Snickerdoodle Cookies

Better Than Crumbl Snickerdoodle Cookies are filled with classic snickerdoodle flavor–buttery with a slight tang, and plenty of cinnamon sugar. My recipe makes a dozen giant soft and chewy snickerdoodle cookies with cinnamon sugar swirls inside and out. Whether you’ve tried Crumbl Cookies or not, you’ll love these indulgent cookies!

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Okay, okay, as much fun as Crumbl is, sometimes you end up purchasing a cookie that is a complete dud. Snickerdoodle for me would be one of those times. Some of the cookies on the Crumbl menu lack flavor and instead just taste overly sweet and glue-y. No good!

So I knew this was a recipe that I really wanted to bake not as it was, but as it should be!

What are Crumbl Cookies you ask? Check out my full review of Crumbl! And, if you want to know alllll the Crumbl flavors, I’ve got you covered with a complete list of the 200+ cookie flavors.

Do These Cookies Taste Like Crumbl’s?

I wanted to re-create that giant Snickerdoodle cookie effect, but with WAY more flavor than the Crumbl version. So we’ve got a cookie here is that is Crumbl-size (over 4″ in diameter), perfectly textured with a combination of butter and shortening, and filled with cinnamon flavor both inside and out.

We’ve also got that classic tang from cream of tartar (which Crumbl omits from their cookie altogether if their nutrition information is accurate) which is a hallmark of traditional snickerdoodles and sets the cookies apart from just a regular ol’ cinnamon sugar cookie.

These Crumbl Snickerdoodle Cookies are everything you love about Crumbl, but better!

Ingredients You Will Need

Sugar – granulated sugar is used in the cookie dough and for the cinnamon sugar coating.

Ground Cinnamon – used in the cinnamon sugar coating, which is also dispersed throughout the cookie dough.

Unsalted Butter – I always use unsalted butter when baking. Be sure to soften the butter in advance of baking (about two hours at room temperature will do it) so it’s easy to cream together with the sugar.

Vegetable Shortening – This recipe uses Crisco Shortening Sticks (found in the baking aisle) in place of half the butter. I tested the recipes with all butter as well and found that the combination of the butter and vegetable shortening yielded soft chewy cookies that spread just the right amount.

Eggs – allowing the eggs to come to room temperature before baking with them means they will cream into the butter and sugar more easily and generally improve the final texture of the cookies.

Vanilla Extract – I use a bit of vanilla extract in my recipe for extra depth of flavor.

All-Purpose Flour – I use all-purpose unbleached flour for my cookie recipes. Measuring flour accurately is very important for the final taste and texture of the cookies. 

Weighing the flour is preferred, but you can also spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off with a butter knife if you don’t have a kitchen scale. I like to gently aerate the flour by mixing it briefly with a whisk before spooning it into a cup to make sure it’s not overly packed.

Cream of Tartar – find this ingredient in the baking aisle if you don’t already have it on hand. Check the notes below if you aren’t sure what cream of tartar is and what it does.

Baking Soda – a leavening agent that reacts with the cream of tartar and creates chewy yet soft cookies.

Salt – a bit of regular table salt.

What is Cream of Tartar and Do I Need It?

Cream of tartar (or potassium bitartrate) is actually a pretty interesting ingredient! You can read more about it at AllRecipes.com, but it can transform baked goods. Find it in the dried herbs and spices aisle of your grocery store.

Cream of tartar is often used to stabilize whipped egg whites (think Lemon Meringue Pie) and it’s a key ingredient in snickerdoodle cookies. It helps create chewy cookies–and in the case of snickerdoodles, adds the classic tangy flavor.

You do need to use both the cream of tartar and baking soda in this recipe. They work together to leaven the cookies and create the classic flavor and chew that snickerdoodles are known for.

All this being said, baking powder can be substituted for the combination of cream of tartar and baking soda in baked goods. I haven’t tried it yet in this recipe, but it’s on my list to test, so I’ll report back with correct quantities and the final results.

Can I Use All Butter Instead of Vegetable Shortening?

Not everyone is a fan of vegetable shortening–I often avoid it myself. However, I found after testing these cookies with all-butter versus a mix of shortening and butter that the texture of the second variation was greatly improved. The butter-and-shortening cookies were soft, chewy, and spread just the right amount.

The all-butter cookies were denser, a bit greasy, and spread far more (yielding thinner cookies). That said, you may use all butter if you wish. Just realize that the final result will be different!

Do I Have to Chill the Dough?

Snickerdoodles bake up best when the dough has been chilled for two hours in the fridge. If you skip this step, the cookies will spread too much and be very thin. Chilled dough will bake up into soft chewy cookies that are large, but not overly spread.

I found that the combination of the butter-shortening kept the dough soft enough that the cookies were easily scooped right out of the fridge–which I appreciated too!

How to Make Giant Crumbl Snickerdoodles

Find the complete printable recipe at the end of the post!

Cinnamon Sugar (1-2): Mix together cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.

Cream (3-6): Using a large bowl and a hand mixer with the beater attachments, beat the softened butter, vegetable shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add eggs (one at time) and vanilla extract.

Dry ingredients & Cinnamon Sugar Swirl (7-10): Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix together until dough is just combined. Sprinkle in about 2.5 tablespoons of the prepared cinnamon sugar into the dough and fold in until swirled throughout. Don’t overmix.

Chill Dough: I do recommend chilling snickerdoodle dough. Chill for two hours or overnight.

Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Scoop cookies with a 1/3 cup cookie scoop and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Gently press down the tops of the cookies to flatten to about 1″ tall. Bake about 15-17 until the cookies have puffed and are lightly crackled throughout the tops.

Can I Make the Cookies Smaller?

How large are the cookies? These cookies are about 4.25″ in diameter. As we know, Crumbl Cookies are high in calories, so if you’d like to make the cookies smaller, you absolutely can.

Use a 1.5 or 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the cookies and roll them in cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 10-13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and lightly crackled throughout.

The cinnamon sugar makes it tricky to tell if the cookies are becoming golden-brown, so I usually pull them when they are puffed, crackled, and seem set but still fragile. If you aren’t sure, bake a few test cookies to get the timing just right.

More Tips and Tricks

Cookies too sweet? Like all things Crumbl, these giant snickerdoodle cookies are sweet! You can prepare 1/2 the amount of the cinnamon sugar and eliminate swirling it through the dough if you’d like to cut down on sugar. The recipe also halves well if you want to make just six large cookies instead of twelve.

Cookies too dry? Over-measuring the flour is usually the culprit. Pick up a kitchen scale and you will LOVE it. Perfect cookies every time and you can skip washing measuring cups.

Another possibility with dry cookies is that they were overbaked. If you aren’t sure, I find it helpful to test bake a cookie to figure out the exact timing in my oven. Generally a bit underbaked is preferable to a bit overbaked. It makes for softer and more chewy cookies. Overbaked cookies will be too crisp and dry.

If you have lots of problems with overbaked recipes, try ordering an oven thermometer to check if your oven temperature is inaccurate (as they often are).

How to Freeze Cookie Dough for Later

The snickerdoodle dough can be frozen for later. After portioning out the cookies, “flash freeze” them by arranging the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and allowing to freeze until solid (or at least hard on the outside).

Then you can add all the cookie dough balls into a gallon size freezer safe storage bag (don’t forget to date and label) and save for 1-2 months.

To bake, I usually take out the bag of frozen cookie dough and allow to thaw in the fridge overnight before baking as the recipe instructs.

How to Store Crumbl Snickerdoodle Cookies

Snickerdoodle cookies can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to four or five days. I think they are best the first few days though!

How to Freeze Cookies for Later

For long-term storage, cookies can also be frozen for 1-2 months in freezer-safe packaging. Thaw cookies you plan to eat at room temperature and don’t refreeze.