Soft and Chewy Sugar-Doodle Vanilla Cookies — Part soft sugar cookie, part chewy snickerdoodle, with tons of rich vanilla flavor! The best vanilla cookies you’ll ever make!
The Best Vanilla Sugar Cookies Recipe
Although these cookies are simple and unassuming, they’re a new favorite. Sometimes the simplest things really are the best.
They’re a chewy hybrid of a sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle. They have the buttery flavor of sugar cookies without any of the dryness. Too often sugar cookies are dry, bland, and horribly crumbly.
We all know those dried out poor excuses for cookies that are typically found on holiday platters and that disintegrate into a million crumbs all over your lap as you’re trying to eat neatly from a paper plate at someone’s holiday party and not get crumbs all over their carpet and couch. These are not those and they also don’t need to be rolled out or frosted or doctored up with sprinkles in order to be palatable, like many sugar cookies do.
They’re soft and pliable, with the chewy texture of a snickerdoodle, minus the cream or tartar or cinnamon-sugar coating, and I decided to call them a Sugar-Doodle.
When I made the New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies, although those cookies didn’t end my quest for the perfect end-all-be-all chocolate chip cookie, the recipe opened my eyes to the chewy, texture-filled, jaw-workout powers of using bread flour in cookie dough.
That recipe calls for both bread flour and cake flour, and although I believe cake flour is better being suited for cake-making and I’ll likely never use it in cookies again, bread flour can hop over from bread-making and into my cookies all it wants. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, usually by one to two percentage points, and the extra protein means extra gluten, translating into baked goods that have excellent structure and increased chewiness.
The cookie dough is classic, old-school cookie dough like my mom and grandma made. Cream together butter, sugars, an egg, splash of cream, vanilla, add the flour, baking soda and that’s it. Then, chill the dough for at least three hours because in order to create cookies that don’t turn into flat pancakes while baking, you need to start with well-chilled dough.
Normally I prefer cookies that are made with a higher ratio of brown to granulated sugar because brown sugar keeps cookies softer, moister, and helps impart greater chewiness and a richer flavor, but in this recipe, the equal ratios worked out perfectly.
I infused plenty of vanilla flavor into these golden discs without needing to scrape out 14 dollars worth of vanilla bean seeds from a Tahitian vanilla bean. Instead, I used a liberal dousing of homemade vanilla extract, but a heavy-handed stream of store-bought will work if you haven’t started your own vanilla-making distillery yet. The resulting cookies are well-scented with vanilla, but balanced so that the buttery sweet dough shines.
Rather adding a kitchen sink medley of different kinds of chocolate, white chocolate, or butterscotch chips, I kept the ingredient list very simple. I want to get back to basics and some classic recipes and not every cookie recipe needs candy bars stuffed into it to be successful.
These back-to-basics cookies stand on their own two feet incredibly well and are for those who can appreciate the cookie itself; the actual dough, rather than all the extras that seem to be found in cookies lately. Cookies made from cookie dough rather than leftover Halloween candy is nice for a change.
Sometimes I love well-stuffed cookies that can’t seem to hold one more chocolate chip, or decadent cakes with a myriad of flavor and textural elements going on, but sometimes rustic simplicity trumps all.
My other favorite part of these cookies, in addition to their flavor and texture, is that the recipe makes just 11 cookies. You could probably squeeze a dozen out if you like round numbers, but I weighed each mound of cookie dough out to exactly 2.25-ounces each, and yielded eleven generously-sized cookies. Heidi made similar cookies using the recipe from this cookbook and she yielded just nine cookies.
I’ve wanted to make some Lofthouse-style sugar cookies, but the popular recipes I’ve seen make four to five dozen cookies and have a pesky three-egg situation, making them tricky to halve. We are a family of three. We don’t need four dozen anything, and small batch sizes of six cupcakes or eleven cookies is plenty and perfect.
I fear the pictures don’t do my new favorite cookies justice. It’s hard for that which seems plain and basic to compete with monster-this and stuffed-to-the-gills-that, but if you’re looking for a lightly-sweetened, buttery cookie with vanilla tones, with chewy edges and pillowy soft centers, these good-old fashioned cookies are where it’s at.
I loved them so much that I made another batch because we tore through the first eleven in record time.
What’s in Vanilla Cookies?
To make this simple vanilla cookie recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Bread flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
How to Make Vanilla Cookies
Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then add in the vanilla, egg, and milk. Mix in the dry ingredients, then chill the dough for at least 3 hours.
Once chilled, scoop the dough into balls and place on a Silpat-lined baking sheet.
Bake the cookies until they’re pale golden and the edges have just set, even if slightly undercooked in the center, as cookies will firm up as they cool. Let them cool for 10 minutes before enjoying!
Do I Have to Use Bread Flour?
I made these cookies using about a half-and-half ratio of bread and all-purpose flour, and although I haven’t tested the recipe solely using all-purpose flour, the cookies will turn out, but just won’t be as chewy.
I am not one to recommend seventeen dollar strands of saffron, nor advocate that it’s the organic way or the highway, and when it comes to recommending ingredients, I don’t flippantly say things matter unless I really think they do.
For five bucks for a bag of bread flour, it’s a good one to have around. Plus, you can make bread with it.
Do I Have to Chill the Dough?
Yes! I baked a trial batch of three cookies with dough that had only been chilled 30 minutes rather than 3 hours and although they weren’t paper thin, they were definitely flatter than those shown.
Can I Freeze the Cookie Dough?
Yes! I typically keep a bowl of cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to five days after I initially make it. As desired, I bake off a couple cookies for that just-baked perfection that can’t be beat. If I happen to not use the dough within five days, I from balls and toss them into a ziplock, and then freeze it.
As needed, I can dole out the frozen balls and bake as many cookies we want. Frozen dough doesn’t even have to be pre-thawed prior to baking. Simply take it out of the freezer while the oven is preheating, and if necessary, extend the baking time by an extra minute or two.
Tips for Making Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Be sure not to overbake these cookies if you want soft and chewy results. About nine minutes in my oven is perfect based on the size of dough used and that I prefer very soft, tender, and moist cookies. Even at about nine minutes, they look quite under-done on the tops, which are set but just barely.
In general, if you wait to pull cookies from the oven until the tops are well-set, by the time they cool, they harden up too much. Plus, the bottoms will become too browned for my liking.
Cookies can fool you into thinking they’re not done but somehow they always seem to set up dramatically as they cool. If you prefer crunchier cookies, extend the baking time to your liking.
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Soft and Chewy Sugar-Doodle Vanilla Cookies
Part soft sugar cookie, part chewy snickerdoodle, with tons of rich vanilla flavor! The best vanilla cookies you'll ever make!
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 stick)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons cream or milk
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup bread flour*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed and well combined, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the egg, cream, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flours, baking soda, salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Transfer dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, parchment, or spray with cooking spray.
- Using a 2-ounce cookie scoop, form heaping mounds weighing 2¼-ounces each (weighed on a scale, which is approximately a scant ¼-cup measure) and place them on the baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until pale golden and edges have just set, even if slightly undercooked in the center, as cookies will firm up as they cool (The cookies shown in the photos were baked for 9 minutes and have chewy edges with soft pillowy centers. For crunchier cookies, extend baking time by 1 to 3 minutes).
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing.
Notes
*Flour: solely using all-purpose flour will work, the cookies will not be as chewy or rise as well because bread flour creates chewier results and gives greater rise. Also, I live in a dry climate and only need 1¾ cups flour total but if you are in more humidity or your dough is very moist or loose, adding up to ¼ cup of additional flour, for 2 cups total, is possible. The more flour, the more the cookies will stay domed and puffed while baking.
To store: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.
Inspired by White Chocolate Snickerdoodles and the Saffron-Vanilla Snickerdoodles in The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee: Growing, Roasting, and Drinking, with Recipes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 224Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 170mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 0gSugar: 16gProtein: 4g
More Easy Cookie Recipes:
Softbatch No-Roll Holiday Sprinkles Cookies — These tender, buttery holiday cookies use a no-roll dough with the sprinkles baked right in so you don’t even have to decorate them!
Cream Cheese Cookies — If you like tangy cream cheese frosting and soft buttery cookies, you’re going to be in heaven. The cream cheese stays slightly soft, gooey, and tastes much more like cream cheese frosting than it does like cheesecake.
Softbatch Funfetti Sugar Cookies — These funfetti cookies are essentially sugar cookies from scratch that have been loaded with sprinkles. They have that nostalgic boxed cake flavor but are 100% homemade!
Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies — Super SOFT sugar cookies that just melt in your mouth!! To make things even better, they’re topped with the BEST sugar cookie frosting!
Soft and Chewy White Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies — These soft and chewy white chocolate chip cookies use two special ingredients to achieve their pillowy texture: instant pudding mix and cream cheese!
Crème Brûlée Cookies – Super SOFT sugar cookies topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and caramelized sugar!
Coconut White Chocolate Chip Cookies — Soft, chewy, and so moist thanks to the coconut and browned butter with the PERFECT amount of white chocolate!
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe. Everyone in my family really enjoyed it.Regards, Tapron
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad your family really enjoyed it!
These were the best sugar cookies ever! I was intrigued by the bread flour! Will definitely be making these again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad these were the best sugar cookies ever! I went through a bread flour phase in about 2010-13 which is the era I wrote this recipe in and yes it is a great touch with cookies!
I love these cookies! Simple to bake and very tasty!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you love these cookies!
Is it fine if I don’t have brown sugar?
No not really. You need it for this recipe to have the proper texture and results.
I make brown sugar by using white sugar and then add in splash of molasses (which is what brown sugar is anyway) when I’m mixing things. I never buy brown sugar anymore, because I don’t see the need, but I do keep molasses always on hand.
I really wanted to love this recipe because your pictures look amazing.
I followed your recipe EXACTLY and these did not turn out anything like your pictures.
Very disappointing if I’m being honest.
Going out of your way to buy specific ingredients that seem to not make any difference is also super frustrating.
Thanks anyways
Thanks for trying the recipe and sorry that it didn’t work well for you. Other than possibly bread flour (but you could use regular flour), not sure what ingredients were particularly unique for a batch of cookies or even to keep on hand in your fridge/pantry, but sorry you ran into some snags.
I had only a little more than 1 c. of AP flour & no bread flour, so I used 3/4 c. almond flour to replace bread flour. Replaced granulated sugar with Splenda, sprinkled about 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon into the batter, & accidentally added about 1/4 teaspoon more vanilla extract. I baked 4 cookies (on parchment paper) before refrigerating the dough, flattening the cookies before baking. They turned out yummy, just delicate due to the almond flour, as expected. * Your original recipe is probably good, too. It’s irritating when posters rate recipes after they alter the original & now I find myself in that catagory!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am happy to have all reviews, even if it was altered because it gives others and an idea of what is possible. Glad these turned out well given the changes you made!
This recipe didn’t work very well for me. All of your other cookie recipes have worked great for me as is, but my cookies turned out very flat, even with baking them from frozen on parchment paper. I think maybe there is not enough flour, but I am a novice baker so I don’t know for sure. The flavor was great, but they don’t look great. It could also be because I added sprinkles.
Lots of confounding factors here…first above all else, for the best cookie results I recommend a Silpat, not parchment. Parchment will cause cookies to spread whereas Silpats prevent it.
Possibly you do need a touch more flour. In the summer when it’s more humid, baking can vary a bit with regards to flour.
Sprinkles…could be that they did cause some spreading too. Sometimes when they liquify in the oven and heat, they can also cause dough to spread.
These look delicious! If I want to add sprinkles to the dough (mixed in), how much would you recommend that I add?
I would start with 1/2 cup and see how that looks and then add more if you’d like.
The cookies are good but it would be helpful if you didn’t list the “Total time” as 22 minutes when you have to refrigerate the dough for 3 hours. You could have just put 3hr 22min. I just wanted to make cookies for my friends.
Hi! I love this recipe and these cookies are so delicious they never last long in our house and are definitely a favorite! I’m having trouble though with keeping them fluffy ever since my 2nd batch (the first was perfection in all ways).
. When I take them out of the oven they look perfect but then consistently flatten as they cool and I just can’t figure out why. Wondering if you have any ideas? They still taste great and no one has thought twice about the shape except me, ha!
Thanks!
Glad you love them overall. I wrote a cookie success tips post here https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/02/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html from King Arthur flour to Silpats. Those are my two biggest suggestions for puffier cookies.
Lovely, lovely dough, and nice cookies too. I didn’t have any bread flour so I used all purpose, and they look perfectly fine if not a little pale. Once the cookies cool, they seem to develop an odd aftertaste. I’m not sure whether to attribute that to the flour or the cooking spray, but I’m fairly certain that was my fault. Anyways, I’m extending the baking time of the last few in the oven to see if that effects the taste. Hopefully I’ll be able to try the cookies again when I’m in my own kitchen!
Thanks for trying the recipe and cookie baking can take a time or two to get ‘down pat’ with your ingredients and oven and the aftertaste sounds like cooking spray. I have had that many times in life and sorry you got it this time!
I usually enjoy baking but I made it through the holiday season without a sweet tooth. It was wonderful (for my “figure”). But today a storm hit Southern CA and I had some time alone with my 5-year old. So I suggested to him we bake. I was thinking Snickerdoodles to go with my afternoon lemon tea but when I mentioned that, he kept a straight face and said no–chocolate chip. Ugh! I’ve always loved chocolate but the older I get, the more I feel I don’t need so much of it. So my mind wanders to you and the cookies I made with my older son a while back where I added chips at the last minute. I planned to double the recipe and roll 1/3 of the dough in cinnamon sugar while the rest got chips. Holy moly! They are so good. I’m sort of kicking myself for not evenly dividing the dough. Thanks, Averie! I got a new phone so I had to google “sugar doodles” to find you. I realize I should just subscribe to your blog. Everything you make always looks so good. Enjoy the rain! :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And thanks for all the compliments and nice words!
I live in San Diego and yes, quite the rains we’ve had! Hope you stay dry!
Hmm something happened to mine. They chilled overnight but the dough was so crazy sticky and the cookies were pretty flat. I did use the 1 cup and 3/4 cup of the two flours. I am a pretty able baker so I just am not sure. They taste nice, just not thick and chewy at all.
It’s hard to say exactly what happened. If they were flat it sounds like maybe your baking soda wasn’t as fresh as possible? If the dough was ‘so crazy sticky’ then another few tablespoons of flour may have helped to firm it up a bit. All climates and brands of flour vary, and so does baking from day to day. This post has all my tips for cookie making success including Silpats, King Arthur, etc. https://www.averiecooks.com/2014/02/the-best-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
What is strange is the dough was not sticky when it went into the fridge…only after chilling for a day. Baking soda was new. I’ll did have some success getting a thicker cookie by reducing my ball size to 1oz, rather than 2oz.
I’ll try again sometime and see if I can get better results.
Alternatively, the Carmelitas remain my favorite ever!!!
https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/12/carmelitas.html
Thanks for LMK you love the Carmelitas and also that a smaller dough ball is working better for you.
Hello. I love your cookie recipes, I’m slowly making my way through them because they all look so delicious, and the ones I’ve had taste delicious! I did have a question though. I have a coworker that has an egg allergy. As I often bring my cookies into work because I don’t want to eat them all myself, I would love to bring some in that she can have as well! Do you have any recommendations for the best egg replacement for this recipe?
In this recipe, I haven’t tried making them egg-free and can’t comment as to what to use as a substitute.
I have a few desserts I’ve recently made that are naturally egg-free (from memory) https://www.averiecooks.com/2015/09/soft-and-chewy-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
https://www.averiecooks.com/2015/09/soft-and-chewy-pumpkin-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
https://www.averiecooks.com/2015/11/gooey-chocolate-peanut-butter-bars.html
These were absolutely delicious, and I found myself unable to stop nibbling at the dough. However, my cookies came out to be thin and flat – turning my baking pan into one big flat layer of cookie! I chilled for almost 24 hours. After chilling was when I used a cookie scoop and placed them onto the tray. It didn’t take that long, so I wouldn’t think that the cookies heated back up that much to room temperature. Next time I will try scooping AND THEN chilling AFTER! :)
You want to scoop the soft dough right out of the mixing bowl onto a plate or something flat you can put in your fridge. Chill the dough balls for as long as possible, at least 3 hours, overnight is better given your situation what you described. Then, preheat the oven, then put the cold dough balls on your baking sheet and bake. Also, make sure your baking soda is perfectly fresh and I love King Arthur brand flour b/c it has a little extra gluten so things dont spread and flatten as easily. Worth the extra couple bucks. I think if you follow all those tips you’ll be set!
I personally prefer thinner cookies, but I love the chewiness. If I don’t refrigerate them will they still be chewy? Thank you!
I think they’ll still be chewy but part of the chew factor does come from having a bit of thickness. Very thin cookies usually aren’t chewy, they tend to be crispy, in my experience at least.
I’m super excited to try these!! (just have to buy some bread flour haha) they sound delicious. Do you have a regular sugar cookie recipe? Thank you! (btw your caramel apple cheesecake crumble bars were a hit at the holidays this year). Love your recipes!! :)
Glad the caramel apple cheesecake crumble bars were a hit!
In terms of a regular sugar cookie recipe, I am not really a fan of the traditional iced sugar cookie cutouts. Fine, but I don’t go out of my way for them. What I do have are these and I love them! https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/07/softbatch-funfetti-sugar-cookies.html Super soft, drop cookies not cutouts, and so much easier :) You could probably skip the sprinkles and frost them if you’d like.
My son and I tried these today. I love bread flour for cookies as well but I don’t have any right now, as I was too cheap to buy it last time I was grocery shopping. :) Even with just all purpose flour, my cookies came out looking like your picture. And I fully intended on making them as the recipe’s written but at the last minute added chocolate chips for my son. I actually made pretty big cookies, which don’t usually seem to work out well for me. The edges brown before the center is done. Yet this recipe pulled it off. My husband and 4 kids all enjoyed them. The only change I will make next time is adding more salt. That really makes a difference to me. Thanks for the recipe!
Glad the big cookies came out okay (I know what you mean about edges brown before the center is done) but glad this recipe beat the odds for you. And salt, such a personal thing, so yes just add as much as you prefer. Sounds like you had a happy family!
My dough is in the fridge now, but I must say the batter is pretty good. I can’t wait for the last hour to finish so I can start baking. Thanks for the recipe!
Enjoy! You could probably cheat and do 20 mins in the freezer if you just cannot wait… :)
I love love love a good vanilla cookie and was anxious to try this out. But even with following the recipe to the exact the first time out, the cookies were terribly flat and a bit ‘uncooked’ in the center despite baking to fairly browned edges. I do a ton of baking and thinking I may not have chilled the dough long enough the first time, I gave it second shot with boosted vanilla and a bit extra flour and about 5-6 hrs chilling. They came out of the oven with a little bit of lift but as soon as they started to cool they again went completely flat. They were more evenly baked this time with a few extra minutes of time but just didn’t have any resemblence to anything close to mildly puffy. Wasn’t looking for a lofthouse, but was hoping for a lighter cookie in the end.
Thanks for trying the recipe and for being so diligent and trying it twice and sorry they didn’t work out for you. The recipe is adapted from the Saffron-Vanilla Snickerdoodles from The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee Cookbook that I linked in the post. They aren’t a super puffy cookie as you can see from my photos but I’ve never had the experience with them that you did where they went flat. I use King Arthur flour which has a bit higher gluten in it than say Gold Medal or others which can give things a bit more lift. That would be my only suggestion? Sorry I can’t offer any more advice because they’ve always come out great for me.
I have been a fan of snickerdoodles and cookies in general all my life, hence the name of my website. I plan to try your Sugar Doodle recipe soon. I moved from Dallas to the Denver area a year ago and am wondering if I should make any high altitude modifications to the recipe. I know that cookies in general require minimal modifications for altitude, but for reference, could you tell me the approximate altitude where you live?
I live at sea level, San Diego. I am definitely not an expert in altitude baking based on where I live. I know the King Arthur website has a page on altitude baking tips (google it) that’s very helpful and thorough. Good luck and let me know how things go, and what if any changes you make!
Hello!
I’m new to baking and I have to say my dear, finding your site is tantamount to a kid being let loose in the playground! So many “colorful rides” to choose from, so spoilt for choice, but I’m going straight for your choc chip and chunk cookies first, and then trying this out for my significant half because he loves all things vanilla, and not too chocolatey.
My only issue though is that I reside in Singapore, and the climate is pretty humid here. Warm weathers all year round. Question is, are there any noteworthy tweaks I should be administering to your recipes? eg: baking time/ lowering/ increasing temp? I’m interested in the science of baking, and like i feel that once I know all the “how’s and why’s” I will be able to avoid disappointing results in the end.
I mean, your cookies!! I would be so sad if I toiled for these babies and not get to tasting it. You make vanilla cookies look like every PMS-ing lady’s best friend.
Sincerely,
Your fan all the way from across the globe
xoxo
Averie, the cookie dough was amazing i could not stop eating it! The cookies were good too. Only problem is i didn’t add enough flour so they were flat. But still good! :)
Glad you loved the dough :) And yes these cookies can be a little prone to spreading so next time bulk it up with slightly more flour if you think your dough is a little too loose and you’ll be set! :)
Hi I tried these cookies and although they tasted wonderful, they spread like crazy and required a longer cooking time. I chilled the dough and followed all directions except I used all purpose flour and may have actually added a little less than I intended. Still, it would have only been about a 1/4 cup difference in flour. Could this have been the cause?
Yes all signs point to not enough flour: spread like crazy and required longer baking time. Even 1/4 cup in baking, in a recipe of this size, that’s monumental. Re-make with the correct amounts and you will be in much better shape! Because that said, they are prone to a bit of spreading regardless, so being sure to use the proper amount of flour is essential to combat that.
the best ever cookies i have ever made! didn’t put batter in fridge, but they were very delicious when warm!
Glad to hear they’re the best cookies you’ve EVER made!! That’s awesome! :)
This will be the only sugar/hybrid cookie recipe I will make for the rest of my life! I have tried many recipes (from sugar cookies to all kinds of snicker doodles) and all of them turned out blah (I’ve been searching for years and too many baking fails to count), this recipe is by far the best. These taste very similar to Mrs. Field’s butter nibblers but much more yummier.
Just tried the recipe yesterday in the morning before running errands so was perfect to pop in the fridge and come back and bake. End up not baking till today but they turned out delicious!!! They baked beautifully and also quickly. Also took your advice and added a but more ap flour just in case and a bit more vanilla–vanilla bean paste (the good stuff). Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
So glad you love them and they’re one of my fave cookies. Simple ingredients but combined in such a way that just works. Glad you love them as much as I do! I, too, have tried umpteen blah, dry, bland, flat-baking, boring snickerdoodle, sugar cookies, etc and finally found these to be the answer to all those issues. Vanilla bean paste would be excellent in these (great thinking) and glad the bit more AP flour did the trick, too!
Because I’m currently OBSESSED with your chewy Snickers cookie dough, I was wondering if you’ve tried this recipe with just all-purpose flour, with cornstarch added? Do you think it’ll work?
I haven’t tried it but it would probably work just fine – although the texture will be a little bit different (less chewy, more softbatch-style). I would use 2 tsp cornstarch and at least 1 3/4 cup AP flour. Possibly up to about 2 c of AP flour.
Usually I need a smidge more AP than bread flour, ounce for ounce, in a recipe.
If you try it, LMK!
Hello! I made these and they came out very soft and tasty! :) The only problem I had was that they had a weird aftertaste and I’m pretty sure it was the baking soda. I don’t know if I have put too much of it or if it’s because I’ve had that baking soda in the cupboard for more than a year. Although, I have used that baking soda before and never had that problems. Or I wonder if maybe I should have baked the cookies for a bit longer?
Not sure but a year sounds like…awhile. I normally replace every 3-6 mos. For a dollar or so, it’s well worth it. You could always bake longer and see, too. Or it could have been your sprinkles maybe? Glad they came out soft for you!
Yeah I will definetely replace it then! I think they were slightly underbaked as well, I will try to bake them for longer. Thanks for your suggestions! :)
Don’t snickerdoodles have cinnamon in them?
These aren’t a true snickerdoodle. They’re a hybrid of a couple fave cokies. Enjoy!
Plan on making these tomorrow!
Do I leave the dough out for a few minutes to soften up before I start rolling them into balls?
Also considering adding an extra egg yolk. Do you think this will be a good move?
Make the recipe as written, no extra yolk – unless you also want to start tinkering with flour, baking soda, and sugar ratios, too. It will have a cascade reaction. Your call but I love the recipe as written.
I personally like to shape my dough into balls FIRST – then refrigerate them on a plate and bake as needed. See this post for visual example https://www.averiecooks.com/2013/06/reeses-pieces-soft-peanut-butter-cookies.html
LMK how you like them!
Def don’t want to mess with all those ratios, no extra yolk!
Ahh good thinking! That totally didn’t dawn on me. Will def form the dough balls first =)
Will update you tomorrow on how they came out!
They came out soft and chewy but there was a strange after taste…almost acidic….not sure where that came from =( Any thoughts?
Maybe your baking soda? Maybe an un-fresh egg or cream past it’s prime?
I love them and have never had that happen. Butter, sugar, egg, cream, flour, baking soda. Nothing too crazy there that I would think would give a strange aftertaste.
These cookies aren’t bad, but they don’t have much taste. The three hour wait seemed like forever too. The dough was pretty good, though. I took quite a few finger fulls. I’ll be sticking to the chocolate recipes. That’s where it’s at. ;)
Thanks for trying them and it’s very hard to compare a subtle, vanilla-scented cookie with bold chocolate. It’s apples and oranges. These are a sugar cookie. Or sugar/snickerdoodle hybrid and I know they’re a little ‘plain’ for some people but I do love them. Thanks for trying the recipe. The dough chilling is just for your benefit so your cookies don’t spread as much and I recommend it with ALL cookie recipes; but if you don’t find it helpful, omit and bake immediately but your cookies will be thinner and flatter.
I made these cookies today and they are completely AMAZING. I added white baking chips for extra vanilla flour and I love them SO much! These are definite keepers. Thank you SO much for this fantastic recipe!!
I am so glad to hear you liked them! Since you like these flavors and you like white chocolate, even if you don’t love-love-love coconut oil, I cannot say enough good things about these. They’re magically good as well! http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2013/01/coconut-oil-white-chocolate-cookies.html
LMK if you try any other recipes b/c I love the field reports! :)
Ooh, thanks for the suggestion! I’ve never used coconut oil before, so I will definitely have to get some and give these a try. They sound fabulous!
You will love love love baking with it. It’s opened up a whole new flavor and baking world for me!
I absolutely love baking cookies but do to my family’s lack of adventures taste buds I have been limited to chocolate chip cookies for far too long. When I came across this recipe I was so excited to try it. This hybrid brought my two favorites together! Ignoring the complaints from the little peanut gallery I decided this recipe looked too good to pass up. When my family finally gave them a try they all agreed that this cookie made it to the top of the list! Looks like I will be making this one over and over and over…and over again! ! This of course is fine by me;)
I love these cookies, too, and so glad you were able to try them! Thanks for coming back and telling me about them! I have a cookie based on this cookie coming out on Monday – and in the meantime, there are a few other hybrids to check out if you liked these. Brown Sugar Cookies, Maraschino Cherry & White Chocolate Chip, and Cranberry & White Chocolate Chip. All under the ‘Cookie’ header on this page http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/recipes/desserts
Thanks so much for the great feedback and glad you broke away from the choc chip cookies to try these!
These cookies are the best things I have ever eaten. Huge hit at our Christmas dinner! Thanks so much for the bread flour idea!
I am so glad they are a huge hit with you and your family – and glad they’re the best things you’ve ever eaten! :) I love these cookies so much, too! And bread flour makes them extra special I think!
Tried these out last night and they turned out wonderful! Nice and chewy! I actually forgot to buy the light brown sugar (gerr) so I mixed together a little bit of molasses and sugar. It turned the cookies… lets say, a bit more brown than they were supposed to be but it added a great flavor! I rolled them in cinnamon and just made them into snickerdoodles!
My cookies also seemed to puff up quite a bit in the oven but when they came out they flattened completely, but all the while, still very good! Thanks for the recipe, it will be going into my recipe book!
The fact that you added molasses to sugar rather than using commercially-made brown sugar (and yes, that’s a great makeshift solution – good thinking!) but I am thinking that the slight extra moisture your sugar may have had could have contributed to the flattening situation. Or, the dough wasn’t chilled enough, or it was lacking maybe 1 to 3 tbsp of flour. Just thinking out loud for the next batch. Glad they’ll be going into rotation!
Hello, I have to say I was super excited to find this recipe. I decided to try it right away. Made a trip to get the bread flour, even. I made the dough, just as you instructed, waited an agonizing 3 hrs for it to chill, made balls weighing b/t 2.0-2.5 oz, and they hardly spread at all. They were raw in the middle, and still quite round. I let them sit on the baking sheet, hoping they’d depuff or fall or something, but no such luck. I flattened them, put them in another 5 mins, still pretty underdone. I had dough left because my pan wouldn’t fit 11 2.5 oz.balls of dough, so I made them smaller, less round, and still they didn’t flatten. They look like biscuits lol and are still raw in the middle. I dunno what I did wrong. I want to try them again, maybe I should decrease the flour? I live in Fl, so I added a little more flour, since u suggested it for the humid climes. Could that be the culprit? I know my other half is more than happy to get rid of the rejects, lol, and the dough tastes great, I just want them to look right and not be raw. Any suggestions?
Cookies that stay overly-domed while baking tend to have too much flour in them. So, yes, I think you over-added the flour. For your next attempt, reduce the flour. The dough should just be ‘normal’ cookie dough; whatever normal looks like for you, in your climate, approximate that – sometimes with dough 1 to 2 tbsp flour can make a big difference especially in a small batch recipe, so just use common sense to get normal dough; not stiff as a board, not mush. In the middle.
And then, you may not even need to chill your dough; warm dough spreads more so maybe allow it to be warm.
And maybe make your dough mounds smaller. Just play around with things until you strike a happy balance!
Thanks for the quick reply! I took your advice, and left the flour amount the same as is originally given in your recipe. I also didn’t chill it. And made the mounds smaller. All of which worked! The cookies spread, they’re cooked thru, and stayed chewy, and of course tasted great. Thank you so much! :-)
I love that you made a few little tweaks and that you had success! Sometimes just some veryyyyy tiny little things can make all the difference & so glad you’re in business now! Thanks for coming back to tell me what worked!
Okay, you’ve got me convinced. :) I will definitely be trying these cookies out for myself.
So to make snickerdoodles like your sugar doodle vanilla cookie just roll them in cinnamon sugar before baking? I followed your snickerdoodles recipe minus the white chocolate chips and although they were very good, I missed that nice soft puffy cookie, like your sdv cookies.
Yes – roll them in cinnamon/sugar before baking if that’s what sounds good to you. Any combination of white chocolate chips and/or cinnamon-sugar will work in any of these similar cookie recipe – feel free to mix and match based on what you prefer!
Hi, I’m fairly new to baking and I just found your website – truly a treasure trove of recipes I’m dying to try! – and I wanted to try both these cookies and the Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies for an upcoming Christmas party. I had two questions:
1) Regarding this recipe, would you recommend cream or milk?
2) If I wanted to bake half a batch of these and half a batch of the Chocolate Chip and Chunk cookies, would it simply be a matter of halving all the measurements for each recipe?
Thanks for sharing these!
1. Either cream or milk is fine – I use half-and-half that I use in my coffee
2. Both of these cookie recipes are very small batch – this one makes 11 cookies! And the Choc Chip & Chunk Cookies is also a small batch recipe, making about 18. You could theoretically beat one egg in a bowl and halve it, or freeze the extra dough for months and bake as needed as I detail in the recipes, so I wouldn’t be worried about batch size on either of them. I never bake huge batches of anything, trust me!
Found you through Crazy Sweet Tuesday and I’m so glad I did – you have some awesome-looking cookie recipes and I love your write ups. Pinned a couple of recipes to try later and I’m sure I’ll find a lot more. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for finding me and for pinning things & the nice compliments! :)
your photos do like every food justice…I love the pic where you see inside the cookie….it looks oh so good…again I love all the information and tips you provide.
oh my gosh those look SO GOOD!!
I’m in the middle of baking these right now and I just don’t know what happened to make them turn out so flat! Obviously, looking at your pictures there’s something I didn’t do right…mine don’t have those puffy ridges. They’re smooth and as flat as a dollar :(
I followed the recipe exactly, even weighing out the two flours and both sugars. I used a handheld mixer because I don’t have a stand one, but I beat at the speeds and for the amount of time you recommended. My baking soda is fresh and I refrigerated the dough for 3 hours. Was the dough supposed to be really soft initially? Almost like a thick frosting consistency? I had felt like it needed more flour but thought the refrigeration would work some magic on it. It warmed up really quickly in my hands when I was shaping the dough balls afterwards so I even stuck them in the freezer. Any thoughts on what went wrong would be much appreciated…I SO had wanted these to turn out :(
“Was the dough supposed to be really soft initially? Almost like a thick frosting consistency?” — I am sorry that these turned out flat for you and based on those two questions, yes the dough is soft but not soft like a thick frosting. It has more structure than that. I am thinking you needed to increase the amount of flour.
And then “It warmed up really quickly in my hands when I was shaping the dough balls” could indicate again that you need more flour.
I live in San Diego where it’s incredibly dry this time of year and it’s possible that I need less flour than you do. I would say try again by increasing the flour so that the dough is thicker. This could be 2 tbsp of flour, could be more. Without being right at your mixing bowl with you, I don’t know. I did follow the recipe from the cookbook I linked in the post; and there’s also a link to a post that Heidi/101cookbooks did in my post and you can see her cookies are puffy, too. With the 1 3/4 cup flour….good luck and if you try again, LMK!
I had the same problem, even with weighing exact amounts. I even put the second round in the freezer while the first cooled on the racks. They looked nice and puffy (no ridges, though) coming out of the oven, but as they cooled they flattened out same as the first. They taste great, just lack a bit in appearance. I’ll try adding a bit more flour next time.
Sorry they deflated on you – which is usually a sign of slight underbaking (but I actually don’t mind that) or maybe a touch more flour is needed. Everyone’s flours, ovens, climates, etc. can make a difference in things and if you figure out what it was, LMK! I would venture to say a bit more flour or 1-2 more mins in the oven. Thanks for trying the recipe!
holy shhhhhhh you make the best. looking cookies.
you should consider a cookie making class/vlog/something so we might all be able to come close to your level of cookie-mastery.
Well thanks for the praise! :)
As soon as the current batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are gone, and they are going fast, I will be making the Sugar-Snickerdoodle Vanilla cookies. Yum! Pinned!
thanks for pinning and LMK how they go for you!
I love sugar cookies but most of the time I find them very disappointing. These sound perfect. I can’t wait to give them a try. I have an awesome sugar cookie recipe coming after Thanksgiving. I make them over and over and they’re just great. Baking cookies for the perfect amount of time is one of the hardest parts of baking. They’re so much less forgiving than cakes or bars or pies, but the more I bake them the more I learn they need to look seriously underdone when you take them out or they will be seriously overdone by the time they cool.
ohhhh so these are what you were talking about??
nicely done!
excellent creation indeed.
I can see why you were so happy with the outcome–I would be too
I love that you had to make a second batch. I’m sure I would have to do the same. I have no self-control!
Well and 11 cookies goes darn fast anyway!
There is nothing worse in cookie world than a dry, crumbly, lackluster sugar cookie. I am so thrilled you share the same views, and for that reason I HAVE to try these. They look incredibly soft and delicious.
For something so simple, they turned out so great – they’re a new fave!
I have yet to find a sugar cookie recipe to fall in love with…they’re all too grainy, crumbly, or just plain bland. I’m definitely bookmarking this recipe! Sometimes simple and unassuming can be very pleasantly surprising. :D
What you just described is exactly what I loathe about traditional sugar cookies and these have none of that going on! It’s the polar opposite and I was thrilled and for as simple as the ingredients are, the cookies just come together beautifully! Thanks for the pin :)
I love this combination you’ve come up with! They look so soft and chewy. My fave!
I really like sugar cookies, especially when they are soft. I love this recipe because I always have all of these ingredients on hand so this is something I could easily whip up on a whim after work, before dinner.
These are totally ‘whim’ cookies – they are a small batch, everyone has the ingredients and they turn out far better than their seemingly simple ingredients list if I do say so :)
This is my kind of cookie! I always want snickerdoodles to be more chewy than crisp – these look perfect!
Hey girl! I just showed Zoe this post as she loves sugar cookies and snicker doodles. She totally wants to make them over winter break all by herself. The recipe looks simple enough for her to do all by herself! I will take a photo of her when she makes them and email it to you!
Have a great night girl! I’m off to catch up on Monday’s RHBH :)
Jackie
These are perfect teenage girl cookies, or younger. They are a basic cookie but somehow taste way better than the sum of their uncomplicated parts. I think Zoe will love them and I KNOW she will be able to make them. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Wow, I love the sound of your sugardoodles…and they’re exactly the kind of cookie my family loves. I’d have to add some white chocolate chips like in your white chocolate chip snickerdoodles! In fact, I could eat every single one of your cookies!
These are gorgeous! I need to remember to chill my dough longer. But I’m so impatient! ;)
These cookies are so cute. I love the name!
I bake snickerdoodles every Christmas just because they’re so crinkly wrinkly cute! Can’t wait to try these!
crinkly wrinkly = I love that!
I love snickerdoodles, they are one of my favorite cookies! I love that you added the vanilla to them!! I have to make them! I have so many of your recipes bookmarked to make this weekend! I can’t wait!
Well I feel pretty honored! And please keep me posted! I remade the bread btw with 1/4 cvital wheat gluten and about 1/4th of the wheat replaced with white bread flour, much less temperamental rising situation, just fyi
Averie I think you and I need to form a vanilla lovers anonymous club, these are calling to me, loudly!
I am loving all your white/vanilla-based cakes and the cookies and yes, we need a club! lol
I just love the name: Sugardoodle. Awesome! Your pictures absolutely DO do these babies justice. They look soft and chewy and moist and honestly, out of this world. I am typically a texture gal when it comes to my preferred cookie, i.e., various layers of textures like chocolate chips, coconut, etc. but these could definitely tempt me any day! I have never tried bread flour in cookies but I love your results so I am thinking I must give it a try. Another great recipe, Averie! Do you ever have an off day??! ;-)
I am normally a texture girl but these are sort of a special exception! They do have chewiness so there is texture there – but the flavor is just so good, not having anything in them to ‘clutter’ it is really nice!
Day off? Not so much :)
There is nothing plain about a vanilla cookie! SImple, sure, but plain? NO way! My favorite recipe that I posted around this time last year was for vanilla cookies. They are always a hit when I make them.
https://cookiesandcrafts.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/cookies-a-refined-vanilla-cookie-and-one-for-the-kid-in-your-heart/
These would become a very fast favorite of mine. The texture looks so perfect!
I never knew about that tip to chill cookie dough before using it – thanks for the advice; I’ll be sure to use it in the future!
Makes a huge difference in results!
Your cookies have such adorable wrinkles! That’s a sign of a perfect cookie. Love the marriage of sugar cookies and snickerdoodles!
I use them as a ‘perfect cookie sign’ too! I always reach for the ones with the most wrinkles, first!
Why YES, I’ll take about a dozen of those… Thanks for asking!
What do you do with all of these sweets that you make every day?! It seems so unhealthy!
Not sure if you read the part in the post where I mentioned this makes a batch size of 11 cookies. They go pretty fast when you’re feeding a family!
And what we don’t eat, there is always school parties, office parties, co-workers, friends, etc who are more than happy to take anything extra off our hands.
These look perfect! I love the simple beautiful dishes that can often get overlooked because they aren’t filled with nutella, or bacon or biscoff. AND I SOOOO want to make ice cream sandwiches with these with brown butter ice cream.
Browned butter ice cream and these cookies would be a match made in HEAVEN!
Snicker doodles are becoming my all-time favorite cookies…those look dangerously good ;)
They’re seriously a new fave – I love them!
I just want to squish about 7 in my face right now! Mmm pillowy solftness!
Pillowy softness was right. I loved that part about them :)
I love a pillowy vanilla cookie!
These cookies look like perfection. When Hubby and I were first dating he told me sugar cookies were his favorite. After making no less than a dozen different recipes in search of the ones he likes, I finally realized he didn’t really like sugar cookies at all, but chocolate chip cookies minus the chocolate chips!! Ha!! He will absolutely flip for these!! Gorgeous!!
Omg doesn’t that just drive you NUTS!!! My hubs has told me over the years he’s liked things, then I make them – and he’s like meh about it. Come to find out, he really doesn’t like X, he likes Y. But he didn’t know that! And then by coincidence I’ll make Y and it gets rave reviews. But the detective work can span YEARS to figure out. Choc chip cookies minus the choc chips is kind of what this dough is like, but better – something about it is just great. I bet your hubs will actually like these ‘sugar’ cookies :)
These look so chewy and delicious. And the name? Cutest EVER.
Oh my gravy. I’m speechless! I’m the girl who likes her chocolate chip cookies well, without the choc chips :) the plain, brown sugary batter is more than enough for me. When I saw these, I thought “omg, they’re an oops cookie!!” but realized they were a sugar and snickerdoodle hybrid which got me MORE excited. How cool is that? They look SO insanely puffy, and I will definitely need to pick up a bag of bread flour to give ’em a try. However, I’m afraid I’ll eat all 11.
Hayley they are the exact kind of cookie you’d want to eat if you like chipless-chocolate chip cookies! Except the dough is better than choc chip cookie dough, minus the chips. There is just something about them that I love love love!
Hi Averie, I am so glad to win the An Edible Mosaic Cookbook! Thank you, that is a perfect gift for me for my wedding anniversary! :)
I do love rustic simplicity in all kinds of cooking, including cookies. Although, I don’t mind some sophistication of modern recipes and ingredients. I think those type of cookies are from my favorite list: http://www.picnicatmarina.com/2012/06/zaletti-polenta-cookies-from-veneto.html
However, add some lemon zest and reduce the sugar amount and any cookie could be my favorite! Oh yes, and vanilla, love it! But in this case with sugar – doodle, or any sugar cookies, the amount of sugar has to be unchanged, that’s where all chewiness comes from, and that’s why they are called Sugar cookies! (at least I think so). :)
Congrats on the book and I know you’re going to love it. It’s so you!
:) Thanks!
These look so fat and chewy – perfect! I’ll have to restock my bread flour soon and try these out.
I love the idea of adding bread flour to cookie dough. You can certainly tell from your pictures that it yields very chewy and fluffy cookies-the ONLY way cookies should be. There is nothing worse than flat, crumbly, hard cookies. Blah. Can’t wait to experiment with this recipe and try different variations! :)
Flat, crumbly, hard cookies are just a waste – of time, ingredients and not good! Fluffy & chewy is the only way :)
I LOVE snickerdooles, and the idea of combining them with a sugar cookie is oh so intriguing. I have yet to try bread flour in cookies (since I have oh, 500 other types of flour on hand, I’m trying to minimize), but with the promise of amazing cookie chew + holidays coming up, it looks like an investment I need to make.
You will love the bread flour in them! Plus, just think of all the bread you can make with it, too :)
My mom used to make snickerdoodles all the time. I only liked them when they were soft and not thin and crisp (which they tended to be). I can almost smell them baking right now…..
And these are nice and plump!
I am a fan of thick, chewy cookies so I’ve been wanting to try out a recipe using bread flour–and a bag of King Arthur is on my list for the rolls anyway! Freezing extra dough and baking as desired is a great idea….though I think I like raw cookie dough as much as baked. I received my vanilla bean sampler yesterday and am trying to decide which variety of bean to use for my next batch of extract. Have you tried the boubon or Tahitian? My current batch has Madagascar beans in it (but from Kroger). Thoughts/suggestions welcome!
So glad you got your sampler! I made two batches of extract – each with 5 beans in it – but almost 4 mos later, I can’t remember what I used in what!
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/11/homemade-vanilla-extract.html
I saw read the descriptions and go with your gut and/or save what you really want to use in cooking and use the rest of the extract. LMK what you end up doing!
I love basic cookies sometimes. These are so pretty!!!
I wouldn’t fear that your pictures won’t do the cookies justice, Averie. They look SO buttery, so so so soft, so dough-y, and they look like each bite is ready to melt in your mouth. I am a firm believer in dough chilling and even the cornstarch recipe dough that I did not chill previously, I just began to and I am loving the results even more. I do the same freezing trick – if I don’t feel like baking up the batch in its entirety, I freeze the remaining balls of dough. These cookies look and sound incredible and when it comes to desserts, i’m starting to feel that less is more. I love these photos and the fact that you use a different backdrop/food placement on your cookie sheet! I have to try bread flour in my next cookie recipe!
I made the C.S. cookies and there was no way that I was going to bake them without chilling, even tho I remember you had said that previously you didn’t, when I bake off right away, the results aren’t as good. I waited and all was well! As a dough base goes though, I have to say, I love this dough base more than the CS dough base. I need to try this dough base w/ choc chips in it. It’s a little sweeter and more buttery and more flavorful than any other ‘plain’ dough bases I’ve tried; from CI to CS to NYT doughs. This is a serious new fave!
You will love love love bread flour in cookies and will never go back to without! Knowing you, it will be an instant hit!
I love “plain” cookies! Sometimes simple is where it’s at. On a side note, I’m doing something Snickerdoodle-related today, too! I went to BB&B yesterday. Lost control. :)
Can I borrow your credit card? I’d like to lose control in BB&B! And plain is where it’s at sometimes, yes! I love choc chips and well-stuffed gems but I truly adore cookie DOUGH, raw or baked :) Can’t wait to see what you’re up to!