Angel Food Cake Recipe Without Cream Of Tartar

Jump to Recipe

The best recipe for snickerdoodles without cream of tartar! These cookies are made with good old fashioned baking powder and baking soda to create a chewy, tender cookie and signature crackled top.

The best soft and chewy snickerdoodles made without cream of tartar

Have you ever had the urge to make a batch of snickerdoodles but find the recipe calls for cream of tartar--the one ingredient you never have on hand?

Yep, me too. I always seem to forget about it and very rarely have it in the house.

Well, those days are over friends! This snickerdoodle recipe is made without cream of tartar and is just as soft, chewy, and delicious as the traditional recipes.

And we still achieve the signature snickerdoodle crackle top!

To ensure we get that lovely soft chew in the center, we use a combo of baking soda, lemon juice, and baking powder for the leavening and we add cream cheese for an additional chewiness. You won't be able to taste the cream cheese, but it gives these cookies the best thick and chewy center you've ever had in your life!

These cookies are best served fresh with a delicious cup of homemade hot chocolate and a roaring fire nearby.

What is cream of tartar?

Cream of tartar--also known as potassium bitartrate--is a dry, acidic powder and is a byproduct of winemaking! Who knew?

It's typically used for bringing stability to egg whites (think angel food cake) and providing a chewy texture to baked goods.

The acid helps to keep the sugar from crystalizing, giving cookies, for instance, a light and chewy texture. This is also where the "tang" flavor in snickerdoodles comes from.

When cream of tartar is combined with baking soda, the combo produces carbon dioxide gas, becoming a leavening for baked goods! This is also known as baking powder!

That's right! Baking powder is pretty much baking soda and cream of tartar, plus a little bit of cornstarch for anti-caking.

I got my info from this really great Allrecipes.com article if you want to read more about it!

What can you substitute for cream of tartar?

If a recipe calls for baking soda and cream of tartar, baking powder is a perfect substitute! That's because baking powder already contains cream of tartar AND baking soda. So it's like a shortcut! From the sources I read online, baking powder is made up of two parts cream of tartar and one part baking soda.

So when swapping out the cream of tartar for baking powder, use 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder for every teaspoon of cream of tartar.

Depending on what you're baking, other things like vinegar, lemon juice, buttermilk, or yogurt can be swaps for the cream of tartar too.

For these cookies, I went with a combo of baking powder and lemon juice as a substitute, and they made the perfect chewy cookies with a light crunch.

Sources for substitutions and conversions gathered from healthline.com and pioneerwoman.com

How To Make Snickerdoodles Without Cream of Tartar

How to make snickerdoodles from scratch without cream of tartar

This recipe makes 20 cookies

What You'll Need:

1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened but still cool
3 oz of cream cheese, softened but still cool
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For That Cinnamon Sugar Coating

¼ cup of sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Combine the cinnamon and sugar and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a shallow pie plate or dish and set aside.

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350º and line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.

Add the cream cheese to the bowl and beat until the butter and cheese are well combined and smooth.

Next, add the sugar to the mixer and beat until light and fluffy.

Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add in the lemon juice and give a quick stir.

Then add the egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

Give the sides and bottom of the bowl another good scrape with a rubber spatula.

With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is just barely incorporated.

Turn the mixer up to medium low and give one final mix to make sure everything is well combined and no streaks of flour are showing. Do not over mix!

Remove the bowl from the mixer and give the batter a quick stir by hand to ensure everything on the sides and bottom of the bowl are incorporated.

Scoop batter, about a tablespoon at a time ( a #40 cookie scooper) and drop into the cinnamon sugar mixture. The dough will be soft and a little sticky.

Roll dough around in the cinnamon sugar mixture until evenly coated and you have a nice round ball.

Place the cinnamon sugar dough ball on the parchment paper lined sheet pan. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, spacing cookies about 2" apart.

Gently flatten the center of the cookies using two fingers. This will allow the cookies to bake and flatten evenly.

Sprinkle a little more cinnamon sugar on top of the flattened snickerdoodle

Sprinkle a little bit more cinnamon sugar on top of the flattened cookies.

Bake cookies in a 350º oven for 11-12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and crackly on top. The cookies will flatten a little as they cool.

Allow cookies to sit 10 minutes before eating.

What do snickerdoodles taste like? Are they Crunchy or Soft?

Perfect snickerdoodles without cream of tartar

Traditional snickerdoodles are a lot like a sugar cookie--soft, chewy and sweet--but it usually has a slight tang that comes from the cream of tartar.

Because this is a snickerdoodle recipe made without cream of tartar, you won't get the tangy flavor. It'll resemble more of a sugar cookie coated with cinnamon.

Snickerdoodles should have a crispy cinnamon sugar exterior with a signature crackle top. The center should be tender and chewy.

What Makes Snickerdoodles Soft?

In a traditional snickerdoodle recipe, cream of tartar and baking soda is used to tenderize and leaven the cookies.

But since this recipe for snickerdoodles is made without cream of tartar, we use a combo of baking soda, lemon juice, and baking powder as a replacement.

The baking powder actually has cream of tartar in it.

This helps to make the cookie light and airy and rise, but I found when I used all baking powder for the leavening, I was getting a very thick crispy exterior--which got even crustier as the cookies cooled. Baking at a lower temp helped, but adding the baking soda with a little lemon juice really helped to tenderize the cookies and gave them a lovely chew.

I use cream cheese in this recipe and that really helps to make the cookies chewy and light also.

Can I freeze Snickerdoodles?

Yes!

You can make the cookie recipe in its entirety, including rolling in cinnamon sugar and baking.

Once the cookies are out of the oven, let them cool completely and pop them into a freezer safe bag, and keep them in the freezer for months.

When you have a sudden snickerdoodle craving, take 1 (or 12) out of the freezer and let them soften up at room temperature--uncovered.

Once thawed, your cookies are ready to eat! They'll be wonderfully soft and chewy, and the cinnamon sugar coating will still be intact.

How Long Will Snickerdoodles Stay fresh?

Chewy cream cheese Snickerdoodles made without cream of tartar

When stored in an airtight container, these snickerdoodles will stay soft and delicious for 3 days.

These also freeze really well (fully baked, see above). Snickerdoodles in July? YES PLEASE.

Other Cookie Recipes You May Like:

From Scratch Birthday Cake Cookies

Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened but still cool
3 oz of cream cheese, softened but still cool
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup of sugar (for rolling)
1 tablespoon cinnamon (for rolling)

Instructions

Make the cinnamon sugar coating by combining 1 tablespoon of cinnamon with ¼ cup of granulated sugar and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a shallow pie plate or bowl and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350º and line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
Add the cream cheese to the bowl and beat until the butter and cheese are well combined and smooth.
Next, add the sugar to the mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Do not over mix!
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add in the lemon juice and give a quick stir.
Then add the egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.
Give the sides and bottom of the bowl another good scrape with a rubber spatula.
With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is just barely incorporated.
Turn the mixer up to medium low and give one final mix to make sure everything is well combined and no streaks of flour are showing. Do not over mix!
Remove the bowl from the mixer and give the batter a final quick stir by hand to ensure everything on the sides and bottom of the bowl are incorporated.
Scoop batter, about a tablespoon at a time ( a #40 cookie scooper) and drop into the cinnamon sugar mixture. The dough will be soft and a little sticky.
Roll dough around in the cinnamon sugar mixture until evenly coated and you have a nice round ball.
Place the cinnamon sugar dough ball on the parchment paper lined sheet pan. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, spacing cookies about 2" apart.
Gently flatten the center of the cookies using two fingers. This will allow the cookies to bake and flatten evenly.
Sprinkle a little bit more cinnamon sugar on top of the flattened cookies.
Bake cookies in a 350º oven for 11-12 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and crackly on top. The cookies will flatten a little as they cool.
Allow cookies to sit 10 minutes before eating.

Notes

When softening the butter and cream cheese for this recipe, I let my ingredients sit out for about 2 hours (in the cold weather months). I want the butter and cream cheese to soften slightly, but still feel a little cool to the touch. You should be able to bend your butter without is squashing in your hand.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 106 Total Fat: 2g Saturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 14mg Sodium: 72mg Carbohydrates: 20g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 13g Protein: 2g