Snickerdoodles Lab215 recipes
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What goes into snickerdoodles

The main ingredient list of all 215 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • Nearly all snickerdoodle recipes use butter (97%); 8% use shortening, and 7% use both.
  • For sugar, 46% use white and brown sugar together, 46% white sugar alone, and 4% maple syrup or honey (with or without sugar).
  • For leavening, 72% use baking soda and cream of tartar together, 12% baking powder alone, and 5% baking soda, cream of tartar and baking powder together.
  • For eggs, 81% use whole eggs alone, 7% no egg, and 5% egg yolks alone.
  • 70% add spice, 20% fruit and 9% coconut, candy or chips; 22% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 340 g of flour, the size of a typical batch. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical batch on every ingredient.

Butter, oil or both

Each recipe counted once, by the fats in its main ingredient list.

  • Butter only

    median 214 g fat · closest to typical: Snickerdoodles (onceuponachef.com)

    88%191 recipes

  • Butter and shortening

    median 213 g fat · closest to typical: Snickerdoodles (foodnetwork.com)

    7%17 recipes

  • Everything else

    3%7 recipes

Margarine and vegan butter count as butter (2 recipes). Oil includes coconut oil (2 recipes).

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

  • White and brown sugar

    median 313 g sugar · closest to typical: Apple Cider Snickerdoodles (foodnetwork.com)

    46%101 recipes

  • White sugar only

    median 297 g sugar · closest to typical: Snickerdoodles (onceuponachef.com)

    46%101 recipes

  • With maple syrup or honey

    median 365 g sugar · closest to typical: Maple Snickerdoodles (iambaker.net)

    4%9 recipes

  • Everything else

    1%4 recipes

"With maple syrup or honey" means any liquid sweetener (maple syrup, honey and molasses), with or without dry sugar. Coarse and cinnamon sugar are usually sprinkled on top, so they do not count here.

Baking soda, baking powder or both

Each recipe counted once, by what it relies on to rise.

  • Baking soda and cream of tartar

    median 6 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Snickerdoodles (onceuponachef.com)

    72%156 recipes

  • Baking powder only

    median 6 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Snickerdoodle Cookies without cream of tartar (amiraspantry.com)

    12%27 recipes

  • Baking soda, cream of tartar and baking powder

    median 7 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: The Perfect Snickerdoodle Cookies (momontimeout.com)

    5%12 recipes

  • Baking soda only

    median 4.8 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Soft Honey Snickerdoodles (iambaker.net)

    4%10 recipes

  • Baking soda and baking powder

    median 7 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Snickerdoodles (laurasbakery.nl)

    3%7 recipes

  • Everything else

    1%3 recipes

Cream of tartar is the acid that baking soda reacts with.

Whole eggs, yolks or whites

Each recipe counted once, by the parts of the egg it uses.

A large egg is about 50 g out of the shell, a yolk about 18 g, a white about 32 g.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 22% add none of these.

  • Spice70%

    cinnamon 61% · spice blend 14% · nutmeg 8%

  • Fruit20%

    pumpkin 15% · apples 1%

  • Coconut, candy or chips9%

    candy or cookies 5%

  • Chocolate6%

    white chocolate 3% · chocolate chips or chunks 2%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 215 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 340 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. Granulated sugar97%

    210 recipes · median 247 g

  2. All-purpose flour97%

    209 recipes · median: all of the flour

  3. Butter97%

    209 recipes · median 206 g

  4. Salt95%

    206 recipes · median 2.7 g

  5. Eggs86%

    186 recipes · median 91 g (about 2 large eggs)

  6. Baking soda86%

    185 recipes · median 5 g

  7. Vanilla85%

    184 recipes · median 7 g

  8. Cream of tartar79%

    171 recipes · median 5 g

  9. Cinnamon61%

    133 recipes · median 5 g

  10. Brown sugar51%

    110 recipes · median 120 g

  11. Baking powder22%

    49 recipes · median 4.2 g

  12. Pumpkin15%

    34 recipes · median 127 g

  13. Spice blend14%

    31 recipes · median 6 g

  14. Egg yolks10%

    22 recipes · median 21 g

  15. Nutmeg8%

    18 recipes · median 1 g

  16. Shortening8%

    18 recipes · median 101 g

  17. Candy or cookies5%

    12 recipes

  18. Ginger5%

    11 recipes · median 1.2 g

Toppings and extras

58% of recipes (125 of 215) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Granulated sugar49% (107)
  • Cinnamon49% (106)
  • Spice blend3% (7)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out. Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 340 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.