Snickerdoodles

I first heard about snickerdoodles a few years ago from the TV show “Veronica Mars”. Veronica always made Wallace snickerdoodles, and I had no idea what they tasted like. Let’s get this out of the way: snickerdoodles have nothing to do with Snickers bars. They’re basically cinnamon sugar cookies, but then again, I feel criminal underselling them like that. They’re so much better.

The cookies themselves are soft and chewy; something that your teeth can sink wonderfully into. They have a comforting mildness and lack that sophisticated intensity, the kind you might get with a flourless dark chocolate cake. It’s all fine and well to have a decadent treat like that on occasion, decorated with a gooseberry and drizzled with some organic raspberry puree, but sometimes you want something nostalgic and uncomplicated for those rainy days.

I encourage people to make these simply for the pleasure of being able to eat them fresh out of the oven. Not all cookies benefit so much from this, but when snickerdoodles are still warm, their outsides are crisp and spicy with cinnamon while their insides are amazingly light and soft. Not gooey. Soft. Their texture balances out more after they’ve completely cooled, so woe to those who’ve tried my cookies the day after. Just kidding. I still think they’re marvelous cookies, but when I tried them warm, I think I fell in love.

What differentiates these cookies from regular sugar cookies is the cream of tartar used in the recipe. I think that is what rounds out the flavor, and is what brings lightness to the sugar.

I used this recipe from Recipezaar.com. Please enjoy it as much as I have!

Snickerdoodles (24 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs altogether in a large bowl
3. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl
4. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients into the butter mixture
5. Chill the cookie dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes in the fridge
6. While your dough is chilling, mix together the 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl
7. Take the dough out of the fridge, and scoop teaspoon size amounts of dough
8. Roll the balls of dough gently in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat
9. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 10 minutes
10. Remove from pain immediately to a cooling rack.