Recipe: Clementine Orange Snickerdoodles | Cooking On the Side (2024)

FAQs

Why are my snickerdoodles spreading so much? ›

Excess Sugar and Fat

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

Bake just until the edges begin to become a light golden color. These snickerdoodle cookies need to be soft and chewy so watch carefully. If you want them to be flat, press the balls down in the center before placing in the oven.

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.

Slightly under-baking the snickerdoodles also guarantees a softer cookie. Take them out of the oven after about 10-11 minutes. This will keep the interior of the cookie soft and chewy.

Cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn't enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough.

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. Use a silicone baking mat.

The most common culprit behind non-spreading cookies is too much flour.

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.

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

If your snickerdoodles are too sour, you may have added too much cream of tartar. It does give the cookies a subtle sour-tangy flavor, but it should not be over-powering and should balance nicely with the cinnamon and sugar.

Why did my Snickerdoodle cookies not flatten? ›

The most common culprit behind non-spreading cookies is too much flour.

Why are my snickerdoodles flat? Snickerdoodles can come out flat if 1) the leaveners you used (for this recipe, it's both the baking soda and the cream of tartar) are on the old side and no longer work, and 2) if you baked them at a lower temperature.

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.