Chilling the dough is key to getting the right shape for the best cookies. The snickerdoodle dough is really soft when it's mixed together and would be pretty impossible to work with at that consistency. Chilling dough helps the cookies to not spread out too quickly when baking. u003cbr/u003eDepending on where you live and what time of year it is, you may need to add or subtract some of the chill time.