Snickerdoodles Light

All the cinnamon-sugar crackle of a classic snickerdoodle with less butter and fewer whole eggs. These lighter cookies use margarine instead of butter, skim milk, and extra egg whites in place of whole eggs, cutting the fat without losing the chewy center and crinkled top that make snickerdoodles irresistible.

Cream of tartar is what separates a snickerdoodle from any other cinnamon cookie. Combined with baking soda, it gives these cookies their signature slight tang and that distinctive crackled, crinkled surface. Without it, you’ve just got a sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon.

The dough is intentionally sticky. Don’t add extra flour to compensate. Flour your hands lightly, roll into 1-inch balls, and coat thoroughly in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. That sticky surface grabs the coating and holds it through baking.

Flatten each ball slightly before baking. Snickerdoodles should spread into soft, chewy rounds, not stay puffed like little spheres. Eight to ten minutes in the oven gives you cookies that are barely set in the center. They firm up as they cool on the sheet for those critical five minutes.

Kitchen Tips

• Don’t overbake. Pull when lightly browned on the edges but still soft in the center. They’ll firm up during the 5-minute pan rest.
• Use a generous amount of cinnamon in the coating. A full teaspoon mixed with ¼ cup sugar should coat all 24 cookies.
• Cookie sheets sprayed with nonstick spray work better than parchment here. The bottoms get a slight crispness from direct pan contact.

Variations

• Brown butter snickerdoodles: Brown the margarine first and chill until solid for a nuttier, deeper flavor (adds fat back but worth it).
• Chai spiced: Add ¼ teaspoon each of cardamom and ginger to the cinnamon-sugar coating.
• Double cinnamon: Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon to the dough itself, not just the coating, for cinnamon in every layer.