Thursday, September 16, 2010

Snackin on Snickerdoodles

Into every food blogger's life, Snickerdoodles must fall. I suppose it's inevitable, like death & taxes.

I don't know about you, but Snickerdoodles were the very first thing that I ever baked. They are extremely simple, yet delicious. There is something about that combination of Cinnamon and Sugar and the tang left on your palate by the Cream of Tarter... Excuse me for a moment, my mouth is watering.

Speaking of Cream of Tarter; I have noticed how many recipes there are out there that contain Baking Powder instead of the Cream of Tarter and Baking Soda... This kind of confuses me, cause I had always thought that the Cream of Tarter was part of the flavor. Without it you simply have a sugar cookie with cinnamon on it. Kind of like baking a German's Chocolate cake without German's Chocolate. Food for thought.

All I know for sure is that after trying a ton of different recipes off the Net and out of cookbooks over the years, and even experimenting with Baker's Ammonia, I have come to realize that my Great Grandmother Ruby's recipe is still the best... The funniest part about my search for the awesomest Snickerdoodle is that the recipe she used is all over the Net already. LOL Pretty good for a cookie whose history goes back at least to the late 1800's.

I guess that just goes to show that everybody's Grandmother knew what they were doing when it came to Snickerdoodles.

So here is our family recipe, that mirrors so many others. Though I must admit, this makes about 6 dozen... It's really a double recipe, cause in my family, they don't often survive long enough to actually cool, thus a single batch is not really worth the effort. The best part is that the dough refrigerates beautifully, (up to a week) so you can always have some Sinckerdoodle dough on hand in case of emergencies.

Snickerdoodles

8 oz Unsalted Butter
2 cups Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs
3 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Cream of Tarter
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt

For Rolling:
2 TB Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Coriander

Simply Cream the Butter and Sugar together until light and fluffy.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, combine the AP Flour, Cream of Tarter, Baking Soda and Salt; whisking to combine.

Add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed Butter mixture, blending well, before adding the next egg (this helps the water in the egg to create an emulsion with the butter)

With the mix on low speed, to prevent flour detonation, slowly mix in the Flour mixture, until it is uniformly moist, then increase the mixer speed and beat for a minute or 2.

Cover the cookie dough and chill for 1 hour. (though I usually don't wait)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and mix Sugar, Cinnamon and Coriander in a small dish.

Using a 2 tsp Cookie scoop, and roll into balls.

Dip each one in the spiced Sugar and coat well.

Lay them out on a Parchment lined baking sheet.

Baking time will depend on how you like your Snickerdoodles.....
  • If you like them soft and chewy, bake for about 9-10 minutes.
  • If you like them firm and chewy, bake for 11-12 minutes.
  • If you like them crisp, bake for 12-14 minutes.
I am a firm and chewy person, so I bake for about 12 minutes.

Move to a wire rack and enjoy,

but please wait until they cool a little, or you may burn your hand. ;)

Mangia!!

7 comments:

Spryte said...

I LOVE snickerdoodles!!! But I've never made them! They look awesome!!

GeoNutter said...

These are totally awesome. I now have the "give me and I wants"
Give me, Give me, Give me, Give me.
I want, I want, I want, I want.

The Church Cook said...

These look too dangerous for my waistline! Looks fantastic!

Patti T. said...

This looks just like the recipe I use and I bake them just like you, the different thing is I never heard of putting coriander in, will have to try that. I am not sure why I only bake these at Christmas time?

Unknown said...

now why have I never made snickerdoodles? These sound, look wonderful!

Joyti said...

I've never made snickerdoodles. But like you, I plan to...one day. Yours look really tempting.

RetiredWithNoRegrets said...

Oh, how this brings back sweet memories!
One of my Sisters would come to my house around Thanksgiving and Christmas each year to bake snickerdoodles. We would eat them as they came out of the oven.

Oh how I miss those cookies. My GF ones just aren't the same as hers.