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These sourdough snickerdoodle cookies take a cozy classic to new heights with nutty brown butter and a hint of tang from sourdough discard. Each cookie bakes up soft and chewy inside with crisp, cinnamon-sugar edges.
Ready in under an hour, these cookies are the perfect way to give your sourdough starter a sweet twist.
Here’s Why This Sourdough Snickerdoodle Recipe Works
Brown butter boost: Browning the butter adds a rich, toasty depth and removes excess moisture, which helps offset the liquid in the sourdough discard. The result? Chewier cookies with concentrated flavor and better structure.
Discard that pulls its weight: Sourdough discard brings a subtle tang and just enough moisture to loosen the crumb without making the cookies cakey. No waiting for rise time and no waste. Just deeper flavor and a chewier texture.
Eggs, adjusted: Skipping the second egg white keeps the moisture in check after adding sourdough discard. The result: soft, chewy centers without excess spread.
Cinnamon sugar for days: A thick roll in cinnamon sugar before baking creates crisp edges and a signature crackled finish.
For more ways to use your discard, try my sourdough peanut butter cookies or sourdough sugar cookies. Both recipes are easy and built to let that tangy starter shine.
Ingredient Notes and Tips
Butter: Use unsalted butter. Browning evaporates water and concentrates the flavor.
Sourdough discard: Use unfed discard from a 100% hydration sourdough starter. Older discard adds more tang and acidity. Plus, it’s often thinner, which can loosen the dough.
Cream of tartar: Essential for snickerdoodle flavor and texture. There is no real substitute, but in a pinch, lemon juice plus baking powder can fake it.
Baking soda: Reacts with the cream of tartar for lift and chew. Don’t swap it for baking powder.
Recipe Tips
Cool your brown butter: Don’t skip the 5–10 minute cooling period after browning. Hot butter can scramble the eggs and wreck the dough texture.
Measure the flour right: Use a scale if you have one. Too much flour and the dough turns dry; too little and it spreads too much.
Don’t skip the chill: That 30-minute rest firms up the dough, so your snickerdoodle cookies bake thick with those classic ripples.
Bake until just set: Pull them as soon as the edges look dry and the centers still look soft. Overbaking will result in dry snickerdoodles.
Watch your spacing: These cookies will spread a bit. Give them 3 inches and don’t crowd the pan, or you’ll end up with one giant cookie blob.
Use fresh cream of tartar: This old-school ingredient is key to the classic tang and crackly tops of snickerdoodles. Stale cream of tartar loses punch, which can flatten both flavor and texture.
Mix just until combined: Overmixing can make the cookies tough. Once the flour is in, stir only until the dough comes together. It should be soft but not sticky.
Looking for more holiday cookie ideas? Try my whipped shortbread cookies. They are light, buttery, and perfect for gifting or adding to a cookie tray.
Recipe Testing Notes
This recipe is adapted from my brown butter snickerdoodles. Adding sourdough discard brings in extra liquid and flour, so I removed one egg white to offset the moisture, and I reduced the fresh flour slightly.
I didn’t replace the flour one to one, since fermented flour from the starter doesn’t absorb liquid or build structure like regular flour. The result is a cookie dough that’s soft but not sticky, and snickerdoodles that bake up thick, chewy, and balanced.
Sourdough Discard Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles are classic comfort cookies, and this sourdough snickerdoodle recipe takes them deeper. They are richer in flavor, have chewier centers, and a hint of tang from the discard. They bake up soft in the middle, crisp at the edges, and tend to vanish fast. Consider a double batch.
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Sourdough Discard Snickerdoodle Cookies
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Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, 2 sticks
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar, 267 grams
- ½ cup sourdough discard, about 120 grams
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour, 320 grams
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Brown the butter: Cut the butter into cubes and melt it in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. It will melt, then foam, and the milk solids will turn golden brown. Watch closely toward the end so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and cool for 5–10 minutes, until warm but not hot to the touch. Pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar to the cooled brown butter and beat on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the sourdough discard, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Set a sifter over the bowl and sift in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dough comes together, pausing once or twice to scrape the bowl. The dough should be soft, not sticky. If it feels sticky, mix in 1–2 tablespoons more flour.
- Make the topping: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Scoop the dough into balls (about 2 tablespoons each) and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Place them on a plate and chill for 30 minutes.
- After chilling, space the dough balls 3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, until the edges just look set and dry. The centers may look slightly underbaked. Don’t overbake if you want that soft texture.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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