Snickerdoodles (Alice in Cookiewonderland)
It has been 1610 days since I sat down and penned my inaugural post, Jamigos 2.0 to launch 3jamigos. As I reflect on that number all I can think is WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG TO INCLUDE MY FAVORITE COOKIE? I mean, sheesh, of the 100 cookie recipes I have posted, it doesn’t include my all-time favorite non-shortbread cookie (notice how I slipped in that qualifier, shortbread=cookie perfection). Unbelievable, and how did I discover this faux pas?
I was tasked with making cookies for an End of Summer Party for our political action group (sanity saver). I automatically went to my blog and typed in S N I C K E R D O O D L E S in the search box and waited, NOTHING popped up. A quick search of my cookie index revealed, what the heck, no Snickerdoodles.
Are you kidding?
I’ve never posted Snickerdoodles on my blog? Hellooo, time to fix that. I got busy, made a batch for the meeting, snitched a couple to have with an ice-cold glass of milk, and sat down to write this post.
EVERYONE needs a scrumptious recipe for Snickerdoodles. Buttery, sweet and spicy, crispy edges, soft chewy center, finished with cinnamon sugar. The quintessential cookie. My favorite recipe comes from the cookie maven, Alice Medrich. Unlike other recipes I have seen, hers are made with just butter. Yep, no shortening in these bad-boy bites of sweet cinnamon bliss. The recipe is from her small but mighty book, Cookies and Brownies, long out of print but available on the secondary market. The book is worth getting just for this and her Lemon Bar recipe. Well written with easy-to-follow directions, it’s a keeper. My copy is frayed and tattered, well worn from use.
Cream butter and sugar together to smooth but NOT fluffy. Add eggs, beat until blended.
Add flour and stir just until combined. Don’t overmix. The mixing changes the consistency of the cookie. Fluffy butter-sugar mixture gives a cakier cookie, go for smooth and creamy. After adding the flour mixture do not beat the dough too much or you will end up with a tough cookie.
Gather dough into a disc, shape doesn’t matter. Keep the thickness to about an inch. This will make it easier to scoop and form the cookies after chilling.
After chilling the dough, use a 1 tablespoon ice cream scoop (#70) to form balls. Shape the scoops into smooth balls and roll in cinnamon sugar. Use a good quality cinnamon, like Penzey’s . This is a great cookie to make with the kids or grandkids, never met a kid that didn’t like to roll balls of cookie dough in copious amounts of cinnamon sugar all the while licking their fingers.
The one tablespoon scoop yields a cookie about 2 inch in diameter. All well and good, BUT, the smaller you make the cookie the harder it is to end up with a cookie that has crisp edges and a soft center. If that is what you are looking for, try making bigger cookies. Increase your baking time by a couple of minutes.
Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until the edges are golden brown. I like the centers soft, if you like crunchy cookies, bake them a bit longer. How long? Don’t know, I don’t like them that way.
Snicker Doodles
Equipment
- Cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper or greased
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (13.5 ounces)
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ pound unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- 1½ cups sugar 10.5 ounces
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° Position rack in the middle of the oven.
- Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
- In a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the 1½ cups sugar until smooth and creamy, not fluffy. Beat in the eggs just until blended. Add the flour mixture and stir or beat on low speed just until incorporated. Gather the dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
- Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Form level tablespoons of dough with an ice cream scoop, into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place 2 inches apart on the lined or ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, until the cookies puff and begin to settle down. To create crevices, when cookies puff, tap cookie sheet on rack. This causes the cookie to sink, creating crinkles. Rotate the cookie sheet from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. Bake until the edges are golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Remove cookies with a spatula to a wire rack. Don't let them cool completely or the cookies will stick to the sheet. I bake on ungreased sheets to minimize spreading.
- Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. May be kept in an airtight container for several days.