Holiday Preparedness: Snickerdoodles

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

It's October. And October means it's almost November, which means it's getting dangerously close to the annual holiday bake-fest. And when I say "bake fest" I mean something around 12 dozen cookies and several pounds of candy bark. Which means planning has to commence immediately.

Sweet, spicy, suculent cinnamon

There are a few smells I associate with Christmas: the warmth of wood smoke, the tang of clementines, the crispness of evergreen. And cinnamon. Warm, spicy cinnamon. The ingredient that makes snickerdoodles so mesmerizing. I happen to have a small bag of super-fragrant Saigon cinnamon that I picked up at the Renaissance faire sitting in my cupboard. What better way to test it out?

I think of little Snick as the more sophisticated cousin of the sugar cookie.

The jury's out on the history of this goofy-sounding cookie. Some say its name is derived from the German word Schneckennudeln, a type of pastry. Others say that the whimsical people of 19th century New England just made the moniker up. In any event, they are delicious. So I made some.

And such a classic recipe needs sharing.

Here's what you need:

For the cookies:
1 C. softened butter
1 1/2 C. granulated sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cream of tartar
1/4 t. salt
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
3 C. APF
2 t. cinnamon

For the coating:

1/4 C. granulated sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

First, you have to prepare your dough. It will be soft and will have to chill, so don't preheat your oven just yet.

Beat your butter in a stand mixer (I did it on low) until it is fluffy. Add sugar, and beat until combined. Butter and sugar--looks heavenly and delicious, but they will make you very, very sick in large doses.

 Add the cream of tartar, baking soda and salt and beat until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.


Now, start adding your wet ingredients. Crack your two eggs into the bowl, throw in your vanilla and beat it until combined again. Next, add your cinnamon and combine.

 

Mix in flour, one cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Take the bowl off of the mixer, and mix by hand until all of your ingredients are thoroughly blended. 

The dough will be soft and sticky, far too sticky to handle yet. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. Fill that hour with some fun. Read, exercise, doodle...whatever floats your boat. I watched an episode of Numb3rs on Netflix...nerds are so cute.

 Break time's over!

Preheat your oven to 375F or your oven's equivalent.

Unwrap your dough and throw it back in the bowl if you want. Now it should feel firmer and pliable.  In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar.

 Take a little bit of dough, roll it into a ball, and coat it with the cinnamon-sugar. Place balls on a baking sheet, leaving at least an inch between balls. These cookies spread.

Bake for ten to 12 minutes. Mine took 11 minutes to cook. Remove to cooling rack, and cool five minutes. In my experience, snickerdoodles cool more quickly than other cookies.

 

Snickerdoodles are delicious in their simplicity. No exotic ingredients or difficult techniques. Put them out for Santa (when the time comes) or hide them for yourself!

Enjoy with milk and fantasize about sugar plums.

See you later, alligators!

BB