A big, giant, single Snickerdoodle cookie with buttery crisp edges and a soft and chewy center. This Giant Snickerdoodle cookie is perfection!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Butter – Use real butter.
- Granulated sugar
- Egg yolk – If you’re making a double batch, feel free to use one egg instead of two egg yolks.
- All-purpose flour
- Cream of tartar
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
How to Make a Giant Snickerdoodle
- Start by softening/melting your butter in a heat-safe mixing bowl. It doesn’t need to be ALL the way melted. I’ve found the best stage is when about half the butter is liquid, but the rest is super soft. Like the texture of pudding. You want it to easily stir completely smooth when you touch it.
- For the snickerdoodle, we just use white sugar, and one egg yolk. Stir those in there and then you can sprinkle your dry ingredients on top.
- Chill your dough. I know people hate chilling cookie dough because it’s delayed gratification, but we’re only talking 10 minutes, here! I’ve found best results when I pop my dough in the freezer for 5-10 minutes at this point. When that is done, form your dough into a ball.
- I mix the cinnamon sugar mixture right in the mixing bowl and then roll my dough ball around to cover it in cinnamon sugar.
- Place your dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and gently flatten to about 1/2 – 3/4″ thick.
- Bake! All ovens cook differently but I’ve found it’s important not to overbake this one if you want the center to stay soft. My cookie took about 11 minutes. I took it out when I saw those crackly lines ONLY around the outside inch of the cookie. As my cookie sat on the counter, it kept cooking and those crackles formed over the whole top of the cookie after coming out of the oven. It was perfect after it cooled. Crisp edges and super soft center.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Homemade cookies are safe to eat for a week or more when stored this way, but they will definitely have the best taste and texture the first couple days.
- Because we are working with such small ingredients it’s important that you measure them correctly. It’s very easy to alter your dough for any of these giant cookies simply by not measuring your flour correctly, packing your brown sugar too much, or using a small egg. We’ve included details in the recipe to help with this!
Gifting Giant Cookies
- Giant cookies make a great gift for neighbors, teachers, and friends! 10-inch pizza boxes lined with parchment paper* hold one cookie perfectly and are adorable for gifting. *Make sure to line your box and use parchment or waxed paper and not tissue paper. Otherwise the box will absorb some butter and look greasy.
- If you are making several large cookies, I recommend setting out several bowls, one for each batch, and measure ingredients into each one by one. This will help prevent confusion when measuring ingredients and ensure that each dough ball is the correct size for one cookie. Alternately, you can use a food scale to accurately divide your dough into individual cookies.
- If you’d like to, use one bowl for every two cookies, so you can use one whole egg (instead of two yolks) and then just split the dough evenly into two pieces before baking. Again, a food scale is helpful!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make regular sized cookies with this dough?
If you’d like a small batch, just divide your dough into 4-6 portions before rolling in cinnamon and sugar. Check for doneness after about 8 minutes– these will cook faster than the large cookie! If you’d like a full batch, follow this recipe for Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles
How do I get a nice, round snickerdoodle?
While the giant snickerdoodle is hot out of the oven, gently shape by pushing the edges inward with a spatula. Once cooled, you’ll have a nice, round cookie!
Big Giant Snickerdoodle Cookie
A single big giant snickerdoodle with buttery edges and a soft center!
Servings giant 9″ cookie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter melted (see note in instructions before melting)
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Additional Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- Melt/soften your butter in a heat-safe mixing bowl. Note: It doesn’t need to be ALL the way. See photos for an example- I’ve found the best stage is when about half the butter is liquid, but the rest is super soft. Like the texture of pudding. You want it to easily stir completely smooth when you touch it. If you butter is all the way melted, no worries!
- Beat in white sugar and egg yolk.
- Measure flour by spooning it lightly into the measuring cup and then leveling with a knife.Sprinkle flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl over the butter mixture and mix until it forms a cohesive dough. *At this point I like to pop the bowl of dough in the freezer for 10 minutes. It's a great time to wipe down your counters and put ingredients away!
- Form one single ball of dough and set it back in the mixing bowl off to one side. Sprinkle the 1 tablespoon of additional sugar and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon to the other side and mix them together. Roll your dough ball around in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until it’s coated.
- Place dough ball on your parchment-lined baking sheet and gently press down with your hand until it’s about ¾-inch thick. If you have extra cinnamon-sugar left in your bowl, you can sprinkle more on top!
- Baking Note: All ovens are different!My snickerdoodle is done after about 11 ½ minutes. I would set a timer for 10 minutes and watch it closely after that. It should take anywhere from 10-13-ish minutes. I've found the best time to take it out of the oven is when you see those signature crackly edges around about the outside inch of the cookie. As it cools it will continue cooking for a few minutes and the rest of those crackles will appear! This produces a cookie with crisp edges and keeps the center soft.
- Cool for at least 15 minutes before using an extra large spatula to transfer cookie to cooling rack.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Homemade cookies are safe to eat for a week or more when stored this way, but they will definitely have the best taste and texture the first couple days.
- Because we are working with such small ingredients it’s important that you measure them correctly. It’s very easy to alter your dough for any of these giant cookies simply by not measuring your flour correctly, packing your brown sugar too much, or using a small egg. We’ve included details in the recipe to help with this!
Nutrition
Serving: 1Cookie, Calories: 1391kcal, Carbohydrates: 215g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 52g, Saturated Fat: 31g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 315mg, Sodium: 938mg, Potassium: 443mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 101g, Vitamin A: 1660IU, Vitamin C: 0.02mg, Calcium: 65mg, Iron: 8mg
Calories: 1391kcal
Cost: $4
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Questions & Reviews
does this freeze ok and still turn out soft when thawed?
Yes, all of my giant cookies freeze great! You can freeze them before OR after baking.
What a great idea! Big Giant Cookies are just enough to share with another or not!!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
This was my personal favorite so far this week! The taste & texture were everything a big giant bakery-style cookie would be, with a flavor that took me to Christmas. My 8-yr old exclaimed, “No vanilla?! How will we make it smell good?!” Fun to see what they’re picking up during this week of cookie baking!
Is there a post for today’s cookie on your Facebook page? Having trouble finding the pinned post.
sorry I forgot to add it, it’s up now!
Interesting, the only cookie out of the four with no vanilla (and cream of tartar instead). I liked seeing the minor adjustments in ingredients between the four. Extra TBS of flour or adjusting the baking soda and salt.
It’s totally the cream of tartar that makes it taste like a true snickerdoodle to me. Now to hunt through my cupboard to see if I have any… = )
You can use lemon juice instead of cream of tartar. If your recipe calls for 1 tsp of cream of tartar and you don’t have any you can substitute 2 tsp of lemon juice.