White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles - Levain Style

In full disclosure I was well into my adulthood before I had my first taste of a snickerdoodle. And up until that point I am pretty sure I had never heard of those soft, chewy, slightly cakey, full of sweet cinnamon-sugar flavor cookies before that. Maybe if I had grown up in a Dutch, German or Amish home, I would have. And it was actually mindboggling to learn snickerdoodles have been around since the 1800s. Yet, in spite of their two century's old history, they never found a way into my childhood. 

If, by chance, I could time travel back to my youth these humongous, gorgeous, divinely delicious White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles (Levain Style) would be the ones, the only ones, I would have wanted waiting for me after-school or finding in the cookie jar. Because this version of a snickerdoodle is nothing short of pure cookie insanity. Even the most loyal chocolate chip cookie eater would find these snickerdoodle cookies irresistible. 

So, what makes these White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles (Levain Style) so extraordinary, so different than the more traditional, classic version? To start with, the ingredients go well beyond butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon. This version includes the use of baking powder, the use of both an egg and (two) egg yolks, a generous amount of cinnamon, brown sugar as well as granulated sugar, cornstarch, white chocolate chips and a flaky sea salt finish. All which help to create the dreamiest, most decadent, swoonworthy type of snickerdoodles. 

But more than just the ingredients, the assembly and baking process is drastically different. While many snickerdoodle recipes call for room temperature butter, this one calls for chilled butter. An unlike most traditional recipes which are baked as soon as the batter comes together, these snickerdoodles require a 24-hour freezing time. That freezing time allows the butter and sugars to meld (creating an even richer tasting cookie), reduces the amount of spread during baking (creating a thick, luscious cookie), and enables the flour to become hydrated (contributing to an even chewier texture). 

If there is one downside to this recipe it's that it only makes ten cookies. But with the dough divided into ten 4.5 ounce balls (shaped into tall cylindrical rather than round mounds) the baked snickerdoodles end up being almost 4.5 inches in diameter, having a significant thickness as well as looking like they came from a high-end bakery. 

The baking temperature in snickerdoodle recipes ranges anywhere from 325 to 400 degrees (F). Rather than baking these cookies at a high temperature for a short period of time, these are baked at the lower 325 degrees (F) temperature for somewhere between 24-26 minutes. The longer baking time and lower baking temperature truly create the most beautiful, perfectly textured, some scrumptious snickerdoodles. Your head will be spinning after you bite into them! And the addition of white chocolate chips to them and a flaky sea salt finish are game changers.

If you have never had a snickerdoodle before or have a rather indifferent opinion about them, you need to make these bar-raising, deeply flavorful, pillowy, cinnamon-y White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles (Levain Style). I promise your cookie eating life will be changed forever (for the better!). 

Recipe

White Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles - Levain Style

Makes 10 ginormous cookies

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups (405g) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons (6g) cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

1 cup (200g) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/3 cups (230g) white chocolate chips

Flaky Sea Salt (for finishing)

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, cinnamon, and Kosher salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well combined but not overly creamy (you will still see some small pieces of butter).

3. Beat in the egg and egg yolks until well blended.

4. Mix in the vanilla.

5. Add in the dry ingredients in two additions. Beat until blended.

6. Mix in the white chocolate chips.

7. Divide the cookies into 10 even pieces (they should each weight 4.5 ounces or 127g). Shape the cookies so they are taller than they are wide (think cylindrical).

8. Mix together the 3 Tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon. Roll the cookies in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Use all of the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

9. Put the dough on a small sheet pan, cover well with plastic wrap and freeze for 24 hours.

10. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F).

11. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 5 dough balls on each sheet, spreading out even as the cookies will spread as they bake.

12. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

13. Baking one sheet at a time bake the cookies for 24-26 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet for 10-12 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

14. Enjoy immediately or wrap in glassine or cellophane bags.

15. Note: The cookies are at their absolute best on the day they are baked. They are still very delicious on day two and three (if they last that long) but keep stored in an airtight container.

Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole, Wyoming (September 2024)