Pumpkin Snickerdoodles {Recipe & Video} (2024)

FAQs

Why are my snickerdoodles always flat? ›

The Problem: Your Oven Is Too Hot

If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot.

If yours aren't cracking, your oven may not be hot enough or your ingredients may not be fresh enough! Are snickerdoodles supposed to be undercooked? I always recommend slightly underbaking your cookies and then letting them finish baking through cooling on the pan.

Why are my snickerdoodles puffy? Too much flour - spoon and level the flour correctly how I show it in my chocolate chip cookie post. Inaccurate oven temperature (too hot) - I advise using an oven thermometer for accurate baking results.

Without cream of tartar, you'll get the same baked good in the end, but the consistency may not be as flawless. If you're worried about your cake coming out too flat or your lemon meringue pie going runny, adding cream of tartar is an effective way to prevent it.

What Does Cream of Tartar Do in Cookies? Cream of tartar makes cookies chewy, as it precludes the sugar in the dough from crystalizing, which would lead to crispiness (ie: the opposite of chewiness).

Refrigerating snickerdoodle dough lets the butter resolidify and prevents the cookies from flattening out in the oven. I recommend giving the dough at least 45-60 minutes of chilling time in the fridge before baking.

When they're done, the snickerdoodles will be puffed, a parts of the cookie will look set. There will be parts that look a little doughy (the crinkles) and that is a good thing. Every oven is different, but in my oven I cannot bake them more than 10 minutes or they're overdone. Sometimes I pull them out at 8 minutes.

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

Excess Sugar and Fat

Measuring is key in baking. If your cookie contains excess sugar or fat, it will spread while baking.

Over-Aerating the Batter

For the most part, the air bubbles created by creaming and expanded by leavening are all you need. If you beat in more air when you add eggs and dry ingredients, you can create large bubbles that weaken the cake's structure and cause it to collapse.

What can you substitute for cream of tartar in snickerdoodles? ›

You can either replace cream of tartar with baking powder at a 1:1.5 ratio (1 teaspoon cream of tartar : 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder), or you can replace cream of tartar with the combination of baking soda and either lemon juice or vinegar (as with this recipe).

Improper flour measurement is the #1 cause of your cookie dough being too dry or the cookies tasting like flour.

Snickerdoodles might turn out hard if they are overbaked or if the dough is too dry.

Using too much flour will make your cookies too cakey, so try reducing the flour amount by two tablespoons. Avoid using cake flour instead; try a mix of all-purpose flour and bread flour for a more dense and chewy texture.

In some recipes, you can leave out cream of tartar if there is no suitable replacement. You can simply omit cream of tartar from the recipe if you're making whipped egg whites, syrups, frostings, or icings.

The most common recipes that call for cream of tartar are those that call for egg whites to be whipped, like angel food cake, genoise cake, meringue, and macarons. Jampel says that is because cream of tartar works as an egg white stabilizer that increases both the volume and shelf life of the meringue.

Adding it to cake or cookie batters prevents sugar from banding together and crystallizing, meaning that it results in more of a tender chew—snickerdoodles and sugar cookies wouldn't be the same without cream of tartar. The same effect is why it's added to some frostings and syrups, where it helps keep things smooth.

When you skip the cream of tartar, the playdough might not be as stretchy or stiff, making it harder to craft into figurines. The playdough may also not last as long since the cream of tartar acts as a preservative. However, you can replace the cream of tartar with distilled white vinegar to achieve similar results.