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Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Name: Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 16 min
Total time: 1 h 36 min
Yield: 5
Ingredients: 125g unsalted butter (½ cup + 1 tbsp); 100g light brown sugar (½ cup, packed); 50g granulated sugar (3 tbsp + 2 tsp); 1 large egg, room temperature; 1 tsp heavy cream or double cream; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 220g all-purpose flour or plain flour (1 cup + ¼ cup + 2 tbsp); ½ tsp baking soda; ½ tsp baking powder; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; ¼ tsp salt; 30g granulated sugar (2 tbsp + 1 tsp); 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 100g cream cheese (3.5 oz); 100ml heavy cream or double cream, cold (¼ cup + 3 tbsp); 30g powdered sugar or icing sugar (3 tbsp + 1 tsp); ½ tsp vanilla extract; Pinch of ground cinnamon, plus extra for dusting

These brown butter snickerdoodles are soft and chewy, rolled in cinnamon sugar and full of nutty, toffee-like brown butter flavor. The recipe makes 5 big cookies, with an optional whipped cream cheese frosting if you want to dress them up.

20 min prep
16 min cook
1 hr 36 min total
5 serves

inactive1 hr

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A hand holding a soft brown butter snickerdoodle with a crinkly cinnamon sugar top.

A hand holding a brown butter snickerdoodle with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting dusted with cinnamon.

Soft, chewy cinnamon sugar cookies made with nutty brown butter, plain or frosted.

A Note From My Kitchen

I first made these last fall with a whipped cream cheese frosting on top. They tasted great, but I loved how the plain cookies looked with their crinkly cinnamon sugar tops, so that’s the version I shared at the time. They’re just as good either way, so now you get both: leave them plain, or add the frosting when you want something a little more special.

Plain or frosted, take them out of the oven while the centers still look soft and slightly underdone. They’re big cookies and keep cooking on the hot baking sheet, and that’s what keeps them chewy instead of cakey.

What Are Brown Butter Snickerdoodles?

Snickerdoodles are soft cinnamon sugar cookies, rolled in a cinnamon and sugar coating before baking. Classic recipes often use cream of tartar for a slight tang. This version skips it and uses browned butter instead, which gives the cookies a nutty, toffee-like flavor that goes really well with the cinnamon.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Soft and chewy. Soft in the center with slightly crisp edges, and they stay soft for days.
Deeper flavor than classic snickerdoodles. The nutty, caramel notes from the browned butter go perfectly with the cinnamon sugar coating and the chewy brown sugar dough.
A small batch of big cookies. The recipe makes 5 large bakery-style cookies, so there’s no huge batch to get through.
Plain or frosted. They’re great on their own, or topped with a light, whipped cream cheese frosting and a dusting of cinnamon.

What Do They Taste Like?

Warm cinnamon and sugar on the outside, with a rich, nutty, almost caramel-like flavor from the brown butter underneath. The brown sugar keeps the centers soft and chewy, and the edges are just slightly crisp. The frosting adds a cool, creamy and lightly sweet layer with a little tang from the cream cheese.

Ingredient Notes

The exact measurements are in the recipe card below.

For the Cookie Dough

Unsalted butter – browned until golden and nutty, which is where most of the flavor comes from. If you only have salted butter, leave out the salt in the dry ingredients.
Light brown sugar – brings out the caramel notes in the brown butter and keeps the cookies extra soft and chewy.
Granulated sugar – for the dough and the cinnamon sugar coating. It’s part of what gives snickerdoodles their texture.
Egg – one large egg at room temperature mixes in more easily and helps bind the dough.
Heavy cream – optional, but a small amount makes the cookies richer and extra chewy. You can skip it or use milk instead.
Vanilla extract – optional, for a subtle vanilla flavor.
All-purpose flour (plain flour) – gives the cookies structure while keeping them soft.
Baking soda and baking powder – a small amount of each gives a good balance of spread and thickness.
Ground cinnamon – in the dough as well as the coating. Fresh ground cinnamon has the best flavor.
Salt – balances the sweetness.

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating

Granulated sugar and ground cinnamon – mixed together in a small bowl for rolling the dough balls.

For the Optional Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese – beaten on its own first so the frosting stays smooth.
Heavy cream – whipped into the cream cheese to make the frosting light and fluffy rather than dense.
Powdered sugar – just enough to sweeten it, so the frosting doesn’t overpower the cookies.
Vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon – for flavor, with an extra dusting of cinnamon on top.

Equipment You’ll Need

You’ll need a pot or pan for browning the butter (a light-colored one makes it easier to see the color change), a large bowl for the dough, a medium bowl for the dry ingredients, a small bowl for the cinnamon sugar, and a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. A kitchen scale or cookie scoop helps keep the cookies the same size. For the frosting, an electric mixer is quickest, but a whisk works too.

How to Make Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

The full measurements and condensed method are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

1. Brown the Butter

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, stirring all the time. It will sizzle and foam, then turn dark golden brown and smell nutty and caramel-like. Take it off the heat right away and pour it into a large bowl, scraping in all the toasted milk solids from the bottom of the pan. Let it cool slightly.

2. Add the Sugars

Once the butter has cooled a little, add the light brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix until combined.

Butter foaming and turning golden brown in a pan, stirred with a wooden spoon.

Brown sugar and granulated sugar whisked into browned butter in a white bowl.

3. Add the Egg, Cream and Vanilla

Add the egg, heavy cream and vanilla, and whisk until the batter looks glossy and fairly smooth.

4. Add the Dry Ingredients

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add them to the wet batter and gently fold them in with a spoon or spatula until just combined. The dough will be soft and sticky.

Glossy brown butter cookie batter whisked smooth in a white bowl.

Soft snickerdoodle cookie dough in a white bowl with a wooden spoon.

5. Chill, Shape and Chill Again

Chill the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then split it into 5 equal dough balls. Chill the dough balls for another 30 minutes. Toward the end, preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Roll in Cinnamon Sugar

Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl, then roll each dough ball in it until it’s completely coated. Place them on the baking sheet with plenty of space between them, as they spread.

A snickerdoodle dough ball being rolled in cinnamon sugar in a small wooden bowl.

Cinnamon sugar coated dough balls spaced out on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

7. Bake and Cool

Bake until the cookies are golden but still soft in the middle. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes before you move them, as they’re too soft to pick up straight out of the oven.

8. Frost (Optional)

Let the cookies cool completely. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer or a whisk until soft and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon, and beat until thick and fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cookies (or pipe it, if you prefer), then dust lightly with cinnamon.

Thick, smooth whipped cream cheese frosting in a white mixing bowl.

A brown butter snickerdoodle topped with whipped cream cheese frosting and a dusting of cinnamon on a scalloped plate.

Tips for the Best Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Watch the butter closely. It can go from nutty and toasted to burnt very quickly. As soon as it smells caramel-like and turns dark golden brown, take it off the heat. A light-colored pan makes the color much easier to see.
Let the butter cool before adding the egg. If it’s still hot, it can start to cook the egg.
Don’t overmix once the flour goes in. Fold until you can’t see any dry flour and stop. Overmixing makes the cookies tough instead of soft and chewy.
Chill the dough twice. It’s very sticky at first. Chilling it before and after shaping makes it easy to handle, stops the cookies spreading too much and deepens the brown butter flavor. If it softens while you’re rolling, put it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
Make the cookies the same size. Weigh the dough balls or use a cookie scoop so they all bake evenly. The recipe card gives the weight of each ball.
Take them out slightly underdone. Every oven is different, so start checking at the lower end of the baking time. Smaller cookies need less time.
Adjust the salt, not the sugar. If you find them too sweet, add a little more salt to the dough. Cutting the sugar changes the texture.
Use a kitchen scale if you can. If you use cups, the flour amount allows for the fact that most people scoop their flour, so it’s higher than in many recipes.
Frost only completely cooled cookies. Any warmth left in them will melt the frosting.

Make Ahead, Freezing and Storage

Make ahead: the dough keeps in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking, and the longer it chills, the better the flavor.
Freeze: freeze the dough balls already rolled in cinnamon sugar, then bake them straight from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the baking time.
Plain cookies: keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Frosted cookies: these need to go in the fridge. Keep them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Have to Brown the Butter?

You can use plain melted butter, but I really recommend browning it. It adds the nutty, caramel flavor that makes these different from classic snickerdoodles, and it makes them even softer and chewier.

Can I Use Salted Butter?

Yes. Just leave out the salt in the dry ingredients.

Why Don’t These Use Cream of Tartar?

Most people don’t have it on hand, and the brown butter gives these plenty of flavor without it. If you’d like that classic snickerdoodle tang, add about ½ teaspoon to the dry ingredients.

Can I Make Them Without Brown Sugar?

Yes, use the same amount of granulated sugar instead. The cookies will be a little less chewy, slightly crisper and will probably spread more.

Can I Make Them Without Heavy Cream?

Yes. The recipe only uses a small amount, so you can leave it out or use milk instead. The cookies will be slightly less chewy, but still soft.

Why Did My Snickerdoodles Spread Too Much?

The dough was most likely too warm. Don’t skip either chilling step.

Why Did My Snickerdoodles Turn Out Cakey?

They were probably baked a little too long. Take them out while they’re slightly underdone, as they keep cooking on the baking sheet as they cool.

Can I Skip Chilling the Dough?

I wouldn’t. Chilling stops the cookies spreading too much in the oven and makes the flavor better.

Can I Make the Frosting Without a Mixer?

Yes, a whisk works. Beat the cream cheese until it’s soft first, then whisk in the rest until thick and fluffy. It just takes a little longer by hand.

Do Frosted Snickerdoodles Need to Be Refrigerated?

Yes. Once they’re frosted, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Plain snickerdoodles can stay at room temperature.

More Brown Butter and Cinnamon Recipes

For another brown butter cookie, try my coffee cookie recipe with walnuts and coffee ganache.

If you love brown butter in cookies, my brown butter sugar cookies are buttery, nutty and easy to make.

If you love cinnamon with cream cheese frosting, my small batch cinnamon rolls are soft and fluffy, with no egg in the dough.

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