Recipe: Clementine Orange Snickerdoodles | Cooking On the Side (2024)

Cookies

Over the past few years there’s been a little sleeper of a cookie trend among the food blogs. It hasn’t come through in huge waves, like macarons or hasselback potatoes. Just an isolated post here and there…but over time it’s nearly evolved into a movement.

Food bloggers have been tinkering with snickerdoodles.

Snickerdoodles – the after school cookie jar favorite that I, until recently, only knew in its classic form: rolled in cinnamon sugar. Well, the realm of snickerdoodles has expanded greatly. Check out some of the incredible flavor variations people have come up with:

Someone needs to open an all-snickerdoodle bakery stat!

If a flavor tastes great with cinnamon and sugar, it’ll probably taste great in snickerdoodles. That’s the guiding thought I had in my head as I gazed at the big bowl of clementine oranges on my kitchen island. The next thing I knew, golden hued, citrus-scented Clementine Orange Snickerdoodles were emerging from the oven. Adding clementine zest and juice to the classic recipe I shared on the blog a while back gave the cookies just enough of a flavor twist to be complementary and interesting, not overpowering. Now to give some of these other variations a spin…

Recipe: Clementine Orange Snickerdoodles | Cooking On the Side (1)

Clementine Snickerdoodles

Adapted from the Snickerdoodles recipe on the back of the Gold Medal all-purpose flour package

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes | Total time: 50 minutes

Yield: 5 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

Cookies:

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • Zest of 2 clementine oranges
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed clementine orange juice
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Combine the sugar, butter, clementine zest, juice and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
  3. Shape the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Combine the cinnamon sugar topping ingredients together in a small bowl; roll the balls in the mixture. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet, lined with parchment.
  4. Bake the cookies until they’re set and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately remove them from the cookie sheet. Cool them completely on a wire rack.

You can, of course, always substitute other varieties of oranges in this recipe. If you use a navel orange or another that’s much larger than a clementine, you’ll probably only need the zest from one piece of fruit.

Cookies

14 Comments

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14 Comments

  1. What a nice twist on an old cookie favorite!

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  2. Omg love the sound of this!

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  3. Amy wrote:

    Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie….I love them so much, I’ve converted them to a pie, muffins, pancakes… cinnamon and sugar. Sigh. Love your variation here, and I’ve also got my eye on the Chai, lemon, and spiced rum.

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  4. Dying to try these since snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies.

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  5. Colleen wrote:

    My mom’s sugar cookies have orange zest in them– they are tastier than many that I’ve tried. (I think it’s actually an old Better Homes & Gardens recipe.)

    So this seems like a naturally delicious combination– yum.

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  6. Amanda wrote:

    Gorgeous cookies, Kathy! What fun flavor combos, I could definitely get in on this snickerdoodle craze 🙂

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  7. Carolyn wrote:

    Snickerdoodles are popular, that is true. And I love your little flavour variation on them here.

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  8. naomi wrote:

    Wow- I love how creative this snickerdoodle is. I can’t wait to try it, Kathy!

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  9. Mike wrote:

    I remember my first snickerdoodle – it was after college, and my roommate’s mom sent him back to our apartment with some wonderful, chewy, delicious snickerdoodles. Changed my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you Mrs. Nudelman!

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  10. Kalyn wrote:

    Oh my, delish!

    Posted 2.15.12Reply

  11. MK wrote:

    I baked these to the recipe and they all went flat 🙁
    Tasted delicious, though! 🙂

    Posted 3.25.13Reply

    • Kathy Strahs wrote:

      I’m sorry to hear they went flat on you! Sometimes that can happen if the leavening (in this case, baking soda) is past its prime. I’m glad they at least tasted good. 🙂

      Posted 3.25.13Reply

  12. Mary wrote:

    Does this really make 5 dozen cookies?

    Posted 8.26.20Reply

    • Kathy Strahs wrote:

      All depends on what size you make them!

      Posted 8.26.20Reply

Recipe: Clementine Orange Snickerdoodles | Cooking On the Side (2024)

FAQs

Are snickerdoodles supposed to be undercooked? ›

Are snickerdoodles supposed to be undercooked? I always recommend slightly underbaking your cookies and then letting them finish baking through cooling on the pan. This will ensure you don't overbake your cookies and end up with a dry, hard cookie!

Why did my snickerdoodles come out cakey? ›

Generally when baking, cakey texture is from more flour and less sugar. The ratio of fat, sugar and flour is what achieves the texture of the cookie. Also, when you are whipping the eggs in the recipe as well.

Why didn't my snickerdoodles crack? ›

Cracking occurs from several chemical reactions during the baking process. If some of your cookies aren't cracking, it could be because those dough balls were less round than others, the dough became too warm, your oven isn't heating evenly, or (most likely) the cinnamon sugar coating wasn't applied as thoroughly.

What happens if you don't use cream of tartar? ›

Without cream of tartar, you'll get the same baked good in the end, but the consistency may not be as flawless. If you're worried about your cake coming out too flat or your lemon meringue pie going runny, adding cream of tartar is an effective way to prevent it.

What happens if you add too much cream of tartar to cookies? ›

Keep in mind that more cream of tartar doesn't necessarily mean a better, more stable result. “Too much cream of tartar will impart a metallic, tin-like taste,” Molly warns.

Why does snickerdoodle dough need to be refrigerated? ›

Refrigerating snickerdoodle dough lets the butter resolidify and prevents the cookies from flattening out in the oven. I recommend giving the dough at least 45-60 minutes of chilling time in the fridge before baking.

How do you tell if a snickerdoodle is done? ›

How do you know when the cookies are baked? The snickerdoodle cookies will only take about 10 to 12 minutes to bake, so be sure to keep your eye on them! It's best to rotate the cookies after about 6 minutes so that the cook evenly. The cookies are done when the edges are just set and the centres are soft and cracked.

Why are my snickerdoodles so hard? ›

Snickerdoodles might turn out hard if they are overbaked or if the dough is too dry.

Why are my snickerdoodles spreading so much? ›

Cookies spread because the fat in the cookie dough melts in the oven. If there isn't enough flour to hold that melted fat, the cookies will over-spread. Spoon and level that flour or, better yet, weigh your flour. If your cookies are still spreading, add an extra 2 Tablespoons of flour to the cookie dough.

Why are my snickerdoodles always flat? ›

If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot. Here's what's happening. The butter melts super quickly in a too-hot oven before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure. Therefore, as the butter spreads so does the whole liquidy cookie.

Why do my snickerdoodles taste like flour? ›

Over-measuring flour: If you use too much flour in your cookie dough, it can result in a dry, floury taste. Make sure you measure your flour correctly by using a kitchen scale or by spooning the flour into a measuring cup and leveling it off with a knife.

Why do my snickerdoodles sink in the middle? ›

Cakes sink in the middle due to several factors, including overmixing of the batter, opening the oven door too soon, or not baking at the right temperature. Expired leavening agents or incorrect proportions of ingredients can also cause sinking.

What happens if you forget baking soda in snickerdoodles? ›

baking soda allows the ingredients to rise and become airy. Without baking soda, your cookies will be very dense, perhaps not chewy, and not as tasty. Originally Answered: What happens if you don't put baking soda in cookies? Most likely, the cookies will be flat and hard.

Why do my snickerdoodles taste sour? ›

Some food historians argue that sugar cookies recipes use baking powder to leaven the cookies, while snickerdoodles recipes use cream of tartar. If using cream of tartar, the cookies will have a slightly tangy flavor.

What is the purpose of cream of tartar in cookies? ›

What Does Cream of Tartar Do in Cookies? Cream of tartar makes cookies chewy, as it precludes the sugar in the dough from crystalizing, which would lead to crispiness (ie: the opposite of chewiness).

What is the purpose of cream of tartar in this recipe? ›

The most common recipes that call for cream of tartar are those that call for egg whites to be whipped, like angel food cake, genoise cake, meringue, and macarons. Jampel says that is because cream of tartar works as an egg white stabilizer that increases both the volume and shelf life of the meringue.

Can you skip cream of tartar in cookies? ›

Baking Powder

Baking powder is a good cream of tartar substitute for cookies because it is synergistic with baking soda. You'll need 1.5x the amount of baking powder substitute for the cream of tartar called for in the recipe. Baking powder is a great cream of tartar replacement because it doesn't impart any flavor.

Does cream of tartar matter in cookies? ›

Adding it to cake or cookie batters prevents sugar from banding together and crystallizing, meaning that it results in more of a tender chew—snickerdoodles and sugar cookies wouldn't be the same without cream of tartar. The same effect is why it's added to some frostings and syrups, where it helps keep things smooth.

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