Can you believe it is almost winter break?! Despite the fact that Ohio hasn't seemed to get the memo that it is winter yet, I have been in the mood to decorate the house, listen to my favorite Christmas albums, and bake cookies. I am linking up with my fellow bloggers at Classroom Tested Resources today to share one of my favorite recipes to bake during the holidays... snickerdoodles!
You will want to start by gathering all your ingredients to make sure that you aren't missing anything. Does anyone else ever get halfway through a recipe only to discover you are missing a key ingredient? It happens to me all the time. I really tried to avoid it this time... but sadly discovered mid-recipe that I didn't have enough cream of tartar.
You will need:
- 1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup shortening or margarine (room temperature)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Topping: 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Add the butter, margarine, eggs, and sugar into a large bowl. Beat until they are nice and creamy.
Next, add the cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. This is where I sadly realized that I didn't have enough cream of tartar, but I opted not to drive to the store to buy more. Thankfully, they still turned out delicious, but I could definitely tell the difference.
After that, add in the flour and mix well.
This is the part of the recipe that people often skip, but it is so important! I swear that the cookies are fluffier and softer when I chill the dough in the fridge before baking. I try to chill the dough for 24 hours, but if you are on a time crunch, you can chill for a minimum of 2 hours. But don't skip this step, no matter how tempting it is to save time. The cookies really are worth the wait!
After you have chilled the dough and are ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together for the topping in a small bowl. Roll the dough into balls that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, then roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until evenly coated. Place on an engrossed baking sheet about 2 inches apart. I like to put parchment paper on my baking sheet first because the cookies will just slide right off, but it isn't necessary!
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cookies turn a golden brown and start looking cracked on the top. Remove from the oven and let stand for one minute, then place cookies on a cooling rack. My original recipe says it should make about 3 dozen cookies, although I never seem to get that many out of it. It may or may not have something to do with my habit of eating raw cookie dough out of the bowl while I bake. ;-)
You can download a printable version of the recipe HERE or by clicking on the photo above. If you try these cookies, let me know how you like the cookies in the comments below!
You can't go wrong with Snickerdoodles! Yummy
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