These Pan-Banging Snickerdoodles are a super fun twist on a classic cookie. These giant cookies are soft, chewy, crispy with beautiful rippled edges. Insanely delicious and hard to stop at just one (even though they’re giant)!
It’s 11 days into the new year and I haven’t posted a cookie recipe ye (gasp!), so today I’m sharing these Pan Banging Snickerdoodles that are going to rock your world if you love snickerdoodles. If you don’t love snickerdoodles, then I’m really sorry and I also don’t know if we can still be friends because I love snickerdoodles!
Do I love them more than chocolate chip cookies?
Probably not, but I would never turn away a good snickerdoodle (and yes, it has to be good because I have tasted some not so good ones before).
These Pan Banging Snickerdoodles are buttery, chewy, crispy and absolutely delicious! Oh and they’re also giant in case you couldn’t tell.

If you’ve made these Pan Banging Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, these snickerdoodles are baked with the same technique. Let me explain in case you’re wondering. . .
WHAT ARE PAN-BANGING COOKIES?
Pan-banging cookies are made by simply raising the pan of cookies while they’re in the oven baking, and then letting the pan fall against the oven rack. You repeat this pan-banging technique several times, the first time being after they’ve baked about 8 minutes and then about every 2 minutes until they’re done.
The dropping/banging of the pan causes the warm, soft cookie dough to spread out flat and wide, into giant circles. creating large cookies with beautiful crinkly ripples at the edges. FYI, I swear the crinkly ripples magically make cookies even better.
This recipe comes from the book 100 Cookies by Sara Kieffer which I happily bought myself for Christmas. There are several pan banging cookie recipes in there and I cannot wait to try them all.

JUST SIMPLE INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THESE COOKIES:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Cream of tartar
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
I always use freshly grated nutmeg, so I always have it on hand, but if you don’t have any you can use ground nutmeg in its place. However, if you ask me, freshly grated is worlds better than the ground nutmeg you buy in the jar.
You guys, these cookies are so good. I wish you had one to eat right now.
A cold glass of milk and one of these Pan Banging Snickerdoodles is the perfect way to start your Monday. And while you’re at it, if you haven’t made the pan banging oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, then you might as well make those while you’re at it.
PrintPan Banging Snickerdoodles
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 10 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup butter, room temperature*
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three baking sheets with aluminum foil, dull-side up.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cream of tartar, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1½ cups of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and the cinnamon.
- Form the dough into 3-ounce balls ( about ¼ cup). Roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 3 or 4 cookies an equal distance apart on the prepared sheet pans. Bake the cookies one pan at a time. Bake until the dough balls have flattened but are puffed slightly in the center, 8 minutes. Lift one side of the sheet pan up about 4 inches and gently let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookies set and the center falls back down. Cook 2 more minutes (the cookies will puff up again) and repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times to create ridges around the edge of the cookie. Bake for a total of 14 to 17 minutes total, until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown but the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked.
- Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days (or refrigerate for up to 3 days).
Notes
- The recipe calls for unsalted butter, but I use salted.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-17 minutes
I received that cookbook for Christmas from my son’s girlfriend! It’s wonderful. My first bake from it was the pan-banging ginger molasses cookies. So delicious and buttery and chewy! Have fun baking your way through the book!
Oh, I can’t wait Colleen! You’ll have to let me know which recipes you make and love! Take care.
Could I leave out the ginger altogether? P.S. I have used a number of your recipes and enjoy your website. Thanks for all you’re doing.
Hi Whitney. There is no ginger in these cookies, just nutmeg. And yes, you could leave out the nutmeg, but it gives these cookies the most amazing flavor. So glad you enjoy my site, thank you!
Oops. I meant nutmeg. Thanks, Jodi!