Five-Spice Snickerdoodles

The only thing better than a snickerdoodle is these Five-Spice Snickerdoodles!

These cookies are super soft, light and chewy with the slightest crispiness around the edges.

All of the classic hallmark flavors and textures of a snickerdoodle are here, with a bit of five-spice powder to give them some jazzy hands.

If you love classic cookies as much as I do, try these Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies or these Fudgy Brownie Cookies. I also have a Brown Butter Snickerdoodle recipe (that is DIVINE) and a  Classic Super Soft Snickerdoodle that is so warm and cozy.

For even more cookie inspo, check out The Cookie Book!

Why Cream of Tartar?

When cream of tartar is combined with baking soda, it acts as a leavening agent. It’s also what gives snickerdoodles their awesome tangy flavor and chewy texture.

Could you replace cream of tartar with baking powder in this cookie? You could, but you wouldn’t have a snickerdoodle anymore…it would be more of a soft, sugar cookie-esque cookie.

Cream of tartar is also often used to stabilize meringues as well. I use it in both these crispy french meringues and this chocolate pavlova recipe.

Can I Make These Cookies Ahead of Time?

This dough needs refrigeration time to firm up a bit…a minimum of several hours and up to several days. So yes, they can!

Make sure the dough is wrapped tightly and stored in an airtight container so that it doesn’t dry out.

The longer your dough stays in the fridge, the more pronounced the flavors will be and the puffier a cookie it will yield. 

Let’s Talk About Chinese Five-Spice Powder!

I love Chinese Five-Spice Powder around the holidays for baking.

Five spice is typically a blend containing any combination of the following: star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger and fennel seeds.

I wrote a collection of five-spice recipes for Bake From Scratch magazine, you can see it here (including links to some of the recipes).

I also have recipes for Five-Spice Cranberries, Five-Spice Cherry Pie (the pictures suck, but it’s delicious) and Five-Spice Fig Jam (great on a cheese board!!). 

The Baker’s Guide to Measuring Flour

One of the biggest (and most common) mistakes in baking is how we measure flour. If you find yourself without a scale, see my top tips on how to properly measure flour for the perfect amount every time!

Shop Classic Super Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe

Either an Electric Stand Mixer or this is my favorite Hand-Held Mixer (it’s in all of my videos!)

This isn’t necessary for these cookies, but I love a mixer moment. 

My favorite extra-large Cookie Sheets

These will let you bake more cookies at a time (make sure they’ll fit in your oven). These are restaurant grade and I love them for everything from cookies to roasting veggies and sheet-pan dinners!

The Spatula that I use for literally EVERYTHING

The set of heat-safe Glass Bowls that I use for mixing

My favorite Baking Scale 

More Yummy Cookie Fun

Grab My Favorite Cookies Tips for Perfect Cookies, make these Crinkly, Fudgy Brownie Cookies (they’re so good!) or try my favorite, small-batch (one bowl! no rest!) Mega Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

I love a snickerdoodle cookie! Along with this classic recipe, I also have a Brown Butter Snickerdoodle recipe (that is DIVINE) and a Classic Super Soft Snickerdoodles that is so warm and cozy.

Let’s make some delicious Five-Spice Snickerdoodles, shall we?

Five-Spice Snickerdoodles

Classic tangy, tender and fluffy snickerdoodles with mega jazz hands from a sprinkle of five-spice powder! This cookie dough does need to chill prior to baking so allow time for that. You will love these cookies!

5 from 3 reviews

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes minutes

Chill: 2 hours hours

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cookies

Keyword: Snickerdoodles, Cookies, Chinese Five-Spice

Servings: 35 Cookies

Author: Rebecca Firth

Ingredients

For the Cookie

• 1 cup (186 g) granulated sugar
• 10 tablespoons (141 g or 5 oz or 1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter ( room temperature)
• 1/2 cup (105 g) light brown sugar (packed)
• 2 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) sunflower seed oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) milk (room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) real vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups (238 g) bread flour (see note below)
• 1 cup (136 g) all-purpose flour (how to measure flour)
• 2 teaspoons (6 g) cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) sea salt
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda

For the Cookie Coating

• 1/2 cup (65 g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon (2 g) ground five-spice powder

Instructions

For the Cookie

• In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar and mix on medium until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. With the mixer on low, add in the eggs one at a time, taking care to fully blend the first before adding the second. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. Add in the oil, milk and vanilla and mix 1 minute more. Take the bowl out of the mixer.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the bread flour, all-purpose flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and stir until the flour just disappears. Wrap tightly and put in the fridge for several hours, or until firm.
• Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and cover several baking sheets with parchment paper.

For the Cookie Coating

• To make the cookie coating, in a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and five-spice powder.

To Assemble

• Roll 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of dough into a nice ball. Give the dough ball a generous coating of the cinnamon mixture and set on the baking sheet, allowing 2 inches (5 cm) of space between dough balls.
• Bake one sheet at a time, in the center of the oven, for 11 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack.
• Thank you for baking these Five-Spice Snickerdoodles! Tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife #12DaysofSweetTreats so that I can see all of your gorgeous cookies!!

Notes

Bread Flour

This cookie will still turn out if you replace the bread flour with all-purpose flour. Simply use 2 3/4 cups (372 g) all-purpose flour for the entire recipe.

Mixer vs Your Arms

I mention a mixer in the instruction, however, this is definitely a recipe that can easily be made with a bowl and spatula. Make sure you really cream your butter and sugar so that you get that awesome cookie texture.

Freezing Ya Balls

For long-term storage wrap the entire lump of cookie dough tightly (in plastic wrap, ideally) and then stash in an air-tight container.

For short-term storage (I’m talking about wanting to have a fresh cookie (or two) every night after dinner), freeze the cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once frozen, after several hours, stash in an air-tight container. When baking, they can go straight from the freezer to the oven, just tack on a few extra minutes to the bake time. This will result in a puffier cookie.

If you want the cookies to look similar to the photos here, then let the dough come closer to room temperature (just sitting out while you pre-heat the oven is fine). Add 1 to 2 minutes bake time if the dough still has a slight chill.

Want More Cookie Inspo?

Head over to My 10 Favorite Tips for Better Cookies!

Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo