High Altitude Snickerdoodle Recipe
A classic that is reliable at high altitude every single time. These High Altitude Snickerdoodles are without a doubt my husband and kiddos favorite cookie!
Is it getting too hot where you are to turn the oven on? Thank goodness here in the mountains it’s usually cool enough first thing in the morning that if I get a hankering for baking, it’s not too hot. I totally understand if cookie baking is the last thing on your mind but indulge me if you would. It’s a little late that I’m just now posting a recipe for high altitude snickerdoodles, don’t you think?
I can’t tell you how many snickerdoodle recipes I’ve made over the years that fell just short. Tasty, yes, but often too flat, too buttery, and not cinnamon-y enough. If I do say so myself, these cookies are perfection. They’re puffy, not overly sweet, and the cinnamon-sugar coating is heavy on the cinnamon- just how I like it.
This recipe makes a ton! It’s easily halved but I always make the full recipe. Snickerdoodles don’t last long around here. And even if I do have leftovers, they freeze beautifully. So if you can bare it, crank your oven and getting you cookie baking on!
photos by Kellie Hatcher/ recipe by Mountain Mama Cooks
PrintHigh Altitude Snickerdoodle Recipe
Prep Time: 10- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 dozen 1x
Prep Time:
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Pin RecipeDescription
A recipe for perfect Snickerdoodles at high altitude every single time!
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 35oF degrees.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, salt and baking soda; set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add eggs and beat just until combined.
- Slowly add in flour mixture and stir just until combined, don’t over mix.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.
- Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place cookie balls 2-inches apart onto lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.. Don’t overtake! Remove from oven when cookies look just barely done and let them cool on tray 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.
- Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days or in the freeze for up to one month.
55 Comments
These look super delicious! I am wanting to try them out. It’s nice that this is a recipe for high altitude! Thanks for always sharing your amazing recipes!
1 cup of butter, room temperature is what I see in the recipe. I am going to try to make some of these for sure, they sound delicious!
These look delicious! Can you clarify whether you use baking powder or baking soda? In the ingredient list it states baking powder, but in the instructions it says baking soda. Help please!
It’s baking soda! Thanks for catching that.
Awesome
So tasty !!!!
I feel a little retarded, but…
Does the recipe call for 2 “3/4th cups” of flour, or 2 cups and 3/4 cups flour? Lol
hi, it means 2 cups of flour in the full cup measuring cup and 3 more cups in the 1/4th measuring cup
happy baking
Turned out great! Thank you!
I live at a high altitude in Puebla, Mexico and was looking for a great snickerdoodle recipe…I found it! Thanks so much for your recipe. The cookies not only have a great flavor, but they stay soft after cooling down.
Omg this is the best recipe I have found . Now just have keep the kids away from them till they are done
These are amazing !!
What if I’m low altitude? Can I still use this recipe?
I LOVE these!
I would recommend however using a bit more of the sugar/cinnamon since the 4 times I have baked these I have found myself needing to use a bit more.
Also I would recommend 7 minutes but maybe its just my oven
My friends love these and I have made them 4 times in 2 weeks!
Thanks for the feedback. I like a heavy hand with the cinnamon as well!
I live in Colorado Springs at 6035 feet and these came out delicious, but flat. I am totally admitting to fault, but I just don’t know what I did. Ha! 🙂 Do you know what would’ve made these flat? The taste was amazingly delicious! Thank you!
Was the butter too soft? That will result in a flat cookie. Perhaps add a tablespoon extra of flour next time??
I’m at the north side of the Springs, 6800ft. Mine also came out flat. 🙁
Make sure that your butter isn’t too soft and that you’re measuring the flour correctly. Warm butter and lack of flour can add to flat cookies. You can also try decreasing the leavening by a pinch.
I grew up in Kansas City, and I always loved baking snickerdoodles. When I moved to a higher elevation (Boulder, CO), I discovered things do not bake the same at high altitude but had no idea how to go about adjusting the recipe I had. I am so grateful to have found this. These turned out absolutely AMAZING – even better than my original KC recipe! Thank you so, so much!
6035 here, Colorado Springs. These baked perfectly (at 8:30-9 minutes) and my Cream of Tartar was six years old!
Seriously the best cookies I’ve ever made/eaten!!!!
Thank you!
I can’t wait to try these! Just want to check first – I notice there’s no vanilla in the ingredients list is that correct or an oversight? Thanks so much!
It’s correct 🙂
I moved from mid-Michigan to Denver a year ago, and have had mixed results with baking at high altitude. These snickerdoodles were as good as the ones my kids grew up on except I always use 2 parts sugar, 1 part cinnamon.
Thank you!!
Can you use kosher salt? If so, would I need more than the recipe calls for?
Yes, you can use kosher salt. I would use a little bit less.
How much butter I am all of a sudden not seeing the butter amount listed in the ingredients list.
Thanks for the recipe!!!
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Made tonight in Fort Collins and I used a disher to make the balls. They didn’t spread out much at all so they are a little mound-like but so yummy….
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Might flatten them a little with a spatula next time…. Tasty, thick, and soft!!!!
Hello Kelley,
I am getting ready to make some cookies for the Family tomorrow…I was wondering about two things…First of all do you recommend Salted or Unsalted Butter? Also, I usually set my butter out the night before I do my baking, Do you recommend that or the day of just to get it at room temp?
Thanks so much for posting, I will let you know how it goes.
Kind Regards,
Jim Franklin
My kitchen is fairly cold so I leave my butter out overnight. You want it just barely soft. It it’s too soft the cookies will spread! I mostly use unsalted butter for baking but will use salted if that’s what I have on hand. Not sure I can really tell the difference!
Hi Kelley,
Can you make the dough a few day ahead and refrigerate?
Sure! I make cookie dough ahead all the time. It can hang in the fridge for a few days or you can shape into balls and freeze the cookie dough. Just add a few minutes to the cooking time.
Hands down best high altitude snickerdoodle recipe. Cookies will be light, fluffy and crisp on the edges. Say goodbye to pancake cookies.
Going to bake these today, because everything I’ve made from your site turns out and tastes great!
(Fyi, instruction step 7 it reads “overtake”… overbake )
Thanks for sharing your HA recipes!!!
Thanks for that. I’ll correct. Though my teenager has been know to overtake these as soon as they come out of the oven. Ha! 🙂
Seriously, all of the high altitude baking recipes have been better than perfect, including this one!
This recipe is amazing. What I do to make the cookies stay softer for longer is substitute 1/4C of the butter for 1/4C shortening. It just makes the cookies so soft without compromising on the buttery taste
Thank you!! Finally soft snickerdoodles! These are my first snickerdoodles in 25 years that didn’t break a tooth.
Wish I could post a pic.
No vanilla???
Not in this recipe but feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon. It would be delicious!
Thanks for the info. I’m not changing the recipe at all. Finally have soft snickerdoodles after 21 years.
Even my old Betty Crocker recipe calls for vanilla. Try it.
in the ingredients list sugar is on there twice should i add 1.5 cups or 1.25 cups im confused please help
in the ingredients list sugar is on there twice should i add 1.5 cups or 1.25 cups im confused please help!!!!
Soft, chewy with a lit crisp around the edges. Yumm! Thank you! Do you have a high altitude cupcake recipe??
What am I doing wrong? Kids tried to do these tonight, dough is so mushy and sticky i can’t even roll it into balls. We live in Ecuador and I can’t get cream of tartar here, so i put a pinch of baking powder too. Is that what’s wrong?
I’m not sure….. I’m so sorry. I hate when a recipe doesn’t turn out.
Would the recipe need to be adjusted if I wanted to add some cinnamon chips?
Yes, they can!
I made these cookies. I put twelve on a cookie sheet; ten baked up beautiful. Two were runny and mushy.?. Any idea why? Cookies are yummy.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I’ve been using it for our Christmas cookie trays for 3 years. So delicious – and a cookie recipe I can finally bake since moving to Colorado! You are so appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Kelley. Made these today and they turned out perfectly! I baked them for 10 minutes and they were crispy on the outside and chewy inside. Thanks so much. I live at 6,533 ft altitude in Castle Rock, CO.
Recipe list doesn’t have butter (or shortening, which is used in equal parts to the butter in the original Betty Crocker recipe).
Living at altitude (7,000 feet), I’ve tried a few tricks but the cookies come out either under cooked, or don’t last long when stored air tight. Less leavening, more heat, shorter cook times – I’ve had limited success and since this recipe (I think omitting the butter was a simple mistake) doesn’t use shortening, I’m curious is this might be the difference?
The recipe calls for 1 cup of butter
Thank you for the wonderful snickerdoodle recipe! Finally, a cookie recipe that works at high altitude. 🙂 It worked great in Colorado Springs. We have been making these a few years. Thanks, again!