Chocolate Snickerdoodles – Chewy, rich chocolate cookies are rolled in cinnamon sugar to give them a comforting spice that is perfect for the fall season.
The combination of chocolate and cinnamon has become my new obsession. Well, not entirely new since it’s been a couple years in the making. But the obsession has reached its peak this year, for sure.
My first recipe with chocolate and cinnamon was for these chocolate cinnamon muffins. The flavor was incredible – rich chocolate with a hint of cinnamon makes it so comforting and warm and perfect for the fall season. Ever since making them, I’ve been on the quest for new ways to incorporate these flavors.
I was browsing through recipes a few weeks ago and I stumbled upon this recipe for Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies by The Food Charlatan. I immediately fell in love with it. The cookies looked so chewy and rich and the cinnamon sugar coating made them divine. I just had to give this recipe a try!
Well, people. The recipe exceeded all expectations! The cookies were chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside due to the cinnamon sugar coating. Plus, they kept their shape beautifully. I made a few tweaks, like adding in melted chocolate instead of using all cocoa powder. This makes the cookies a little more rich and enhances the chocolate flavor.
Check out my version of these cookies – my Chocolate Snickerdoodles!
What is a snickerdoodle?
A snickerdoodle is defined as a soft cookie that is rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. The dough typically has cream of tartar to make the final product super soft and pillowy. It’s also traditionally made with granulated sugar instead of a brown sugar. But the defining characteristic of a snickerdoodle for me is that the dough balls are rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. The resulting cookie is crispy on the outside and speckled with cinnamon flecks.
For this chocolate version, we not only roll the cookies in cinnamon sugar but also coat them in the sugar after they finish baking. Since the chocolate cookies are so dark, you can’t see the cinnamon flecks. Therefore, coating them in cinnamon sugar after baking makes it more obvious that these cookies are snickerdoodles.
How to make these snickerdoodles
The dough for these cookies is made pretty similarly to other cookies – cream butter and sugar, add eggs, vanilla, and dry ingredients. Once the dough is formed, it needs to chill so that the cookies keep their shape when baking.
Once the cookies are chilled, they are coated in cinnamon sugar and baked for about 12 minutes or until the cracks form around the edges. Then the cookies get one last coating of cinnamon sugar to finish them off.
Tips & Tricks
- It’s so important to chill the dough so that the cookies don’t spread too much. To make the dough chill faster, I scoop the dough into small balls.
- When coating the baked cookies in cinnamon sugar, be very very gentle. If the cookies start to fall apart, let them cool for another 5 minutes so they can stiffen up a little more.
- Do not let the cookies cool completely before coating them in sugar. The heat in the cookies helps the cinnamon sugar adhere to them so if they get too cool, the sugar will slide right off.
Chocolate Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted and cooled
- 2¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the cinnamon sugar mixture:
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the dough:
- Add butter and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer. With a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together on medium until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract and cooled, melted chocolate and mix on low just until mixed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cream of tartar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together until combined. While turned off, add 1 cup of flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on low until combined. Add in another cup of flour mixture and combine on low. Add in the remaining flour mixture and mix just until combined.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop dough with a small cookie scoop and place on parchment paper. Repeat with all of the dough. Cover the balls of dough with a tight piece of plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours.
Baking the cookies:
- Once chilled, remove the dough balls from the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.
- Add cinnamon and remaining granulated sugar together in a small bowl and mix with a spoon. Roll a ball of chilled dough between your hands until smooth and even. Toss in cinnamon sugar until coated. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the balls, setting them about 1 ½ inches apart on baking sheet. You may need a third baking sheet to fit them all. Do not discard remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes or until the cookies begin to crack around the edges. Remove from oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. Very gently, remove a cookie from the baking sheet with a fork and place in remaining cinnamon sugar. Flip it to coat the other side. Place back on baking sheet and repeat with the rest. Eat them immediately or store in covered container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Pin for later:
More recipes you’ll love:
Chocolate Cinnamon Muffins
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Triple Chocolate Soft Baked Cookies
Do you have to let the dough chill or is that step optional?
You must chill it so the cookies don’t spread too much
Love snickerdoodles!! My grandma’s snickerdoodles recipe had nutmeg in the cinnamon sugar recipe and I love the taste of it, wonder if it would be good with the chocolate?
Oooh I love nutmeg. I haven’t tried with chocolate but I have a feeling it would taste yummy!
I was wondering if you can make the dough ahead of time and freeze and bake them for later?
Thank you
Yes you can! I recommend shaping the dough into balls, roll in the cinnamon sugar, and then freezing. When ready to bake, preheat oven and then add the frozen dough balls – no need to thaw them first.
Ooooh so delicious and easy to make. I’m planning a cookie decorating party and these will be perfect to have!
I mean, is it bad that I’m drooling on my keyboard while reading this?!?!
Yummy. I’m not sure if I have ever had a chocolate snickerdoodle before but it looks and sounds pretty darn delicious!
I’m a big fan of both snickerdoodles and chocolate so would like to try these. I wish I could reach through the monitor and take one right now!
Snicker-doodles and white chocolate macadamia are my two favorite cookies. I don’t have a recipe for either! I’m glad to find this one! These look so good!
We love how simple these are to make and have all of the ingredients! Trying these ASAP!
One of my all time favorite holiday cookies to make but really love the added chocolate in them!
These look soooo yummy! Definitely need to make these sometime, my kids would love them!
Kileen
cute & little
These look absolutely delicious, will be trying them soon!