Saturday, April 25, 2009

Snickerdoodle Cookies


A good snickerdoodle should be lightly firm on the surface while soft and chewy in the middle. I developed this recipe over 10 years ago and have especially fond memories of baking them during pregnancy with my oldest child.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Topping:
2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream together butter and sugars on high speed. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

In a small bowl combing the sugar with the cinnamon. When the dough is ready, take about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. I use a medium cookie scoop, but really you can make these cookies any size you want from dainty to giant. Roll the ball in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave plenty of space between your cookies - they spread.

Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, no longer. They may seem undercooked, but will continue to develop as they cool.