Sophia’s Snickerdoodle Shortbread Cookies

I love to eat shortbread and snickerdoodle cookies. Shortbread cookies are amazing because of their buttery flavor while snickerdoodles have a delicious cinnamon flavor that is absolutely to die for. I began thinking about how it would be delicious if there was a recipe that was a hybrid of both of them. I took my shortbread cookie recipe and altered it a bit so it would include elements of a snickerdoodle. The first time I made the recipe and tasted the final product, it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. The cookies melted in my mouth. I gave them to my family and they could not get enough of them. The cookies have the perfect ratio of snickerdoodle to shortbread and the most delicious thing I have ever eaten.

I am going to show you how I make the cookies so you can try them at home. Below, I will put the recipe as well as pictures that depict step by step how I make them.

Sophia’s Snickerdoodle Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks (Softened to room temperature)
• ½ cups granulated white sugar
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cinnamon sugar
• nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°F
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a medium-size bowl attached to a stand mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes or until fluffy.
4. Gradually combine the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture on low speed until fully combined.
5. In another medium-sized bowl, pour the cinnamon-sugar mixture and set aside.
6. Using a small ice cream scoop, roll the dough into a ball similar to the size of a ping pong ball.
7. Dip the dough into cinnamon-sugar mixture and roll around covering the dough ball completely.
8. Place cookie dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Press down on the cookie dough slightly and bake for 15–20 minutes.
9. Allow to cool and serve.
10. Enjoy!

The images below will show you how I make the cookies. Enjoy!

These are the brands of the ingredients I use but feel free to use any brand you like.

These are the measured ingredients. The ingredients in this picture are all-purpose flour, granulated white sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. The cinnamon sugar will be used later so it is not in the picture.

Begin by sifting the all-purpose flour, salt, ground cinnamon, and baking powder together in a medium-size bowl. This creates the dry mixture for the cookies.

Once you sift all of the dry ingredients together, whisk so they are fully combined. Set aside this mixture for later.

Next, we need softened butter. By softened butter, I mean butter that you could easily spread on a piece of bread without it being completely melted. It is important to use softened butter and not melted butter in this recipe because we are going to cream the butter. If you use melted butter, the fat in the butter loses its ability to be creamed and hold the air. We want there to be air so the butter becomes fluffy. Some recipes will call for melted butter but this one does not. The most popular way to get softened butter is to let the butter sit at room temperature for an hour or two before you begin baking. However, if you don’t feel like waiting an hour or you forget to take out the butter ahead of time, I have a trick for you! All you need is a microwave save bowl or hollow dish that can hold two sticks of butter if covered.

Sophia’s Softened Butter Trick

First, microwave a glass dish without a lid or anything in it for two minutes. Carefully remove the dish from the microwave and be careful, because the dish will be very warm. Place the butter on a countertop and place the hot dish on top of the butter, so the butter is completely covered. Let the butter soften for three minutes. That’s it! The butter should be perfectly softened afterward.

This is what the dish on top of the butter should look like.

Place the softened, unsalted butter in a stand mixer. For this recipe, I use a stand mixer but you can use a hand mixer as well.

Add the white granulated sugar to the butter.

Cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for three minutes or until fluffy.

Add the dry mixture in small batches to the butter and sugar and mix on low speed so you do not make a mess.

When the dry and wet ingredients are fully combined, the mixture should look something like this. Set aside.

Pour your cinnamon sugar mixture into a small bowl. If you run out of cinnamon sugar, it is extremely easy to make more.

Sophia’s Sweet Cinnamon Sugar:

• 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Scoop the dough using a small ice cream scoop and roll it into a ball using clean hands. Drop the dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Roll the dough around in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until it is fully covered.

Place the cookie dough on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Slightly press down on the cookie dough balls.

Place the cookies in a preheated oven at 300°F and bake for 15–20 minutes. You will know the cookies are done when they no longer feel like dough and the exterior has a slight crust.

Once the cookies come out of the oven, let them cool for about thirty minutes before serving them.

Enjoy!

These cookies are my absolute favorite! They melt in your mouth and taste like a piece of heaven. I promise, once you make these and give them to people, everyone will beg you to make more. This recipe is for bakers of all levels so please try it. Don’t forget the most important ingredient, love. Let me know how they turn out in the comments. I hope you enjoy them!