Mom’s Snickerdoodles

Yesterday, Jasper, my almost-done-with-2nd-grader told me that he volunteered to bring a snack to share with his class for the last day of school. Today was the last day of school. That snack, he said, needed to be snickerdoodles. He loves snickerdoodles. If they are not his outright favorite cookie, then, at the very, very least, they are tied for 1st place.

This recipe originally came from my mother. I’ve adapted it slightly. It makes a straight-up 100% traditional and delicious cookie. You can tell a good snickerdoodle recipe by the combination of baking soda and cream of tartar. Baking soda (a base) combined with cream of tartar (an acid) works as a chemical leavener in the presence of moisture, such the egg in the cookie dough. Baking soda combined with cream of tartar can also be used as a substitute for baking powder (which is a base and an acid already mixed together). You could, technically, use baking powder in snickerdoodles instead, but they wouldn’t taste the same.

My mother’s original recipe calls for a combination of butter and Crisco. I am too much of a food snob to bear having Crisco in the house, let alone cook with it, so I use all butter. I also use fancy, extra strong Vietnamese cinnamon, because, you know, food snob. It really does make a difference.

Mom’s Snickerdoodles

• 1 c. butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar plus an additional 2 T.
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 T. cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Cream the butter with the 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
3. Beat in the eggs until well blended.
4. Stir in the flour until just blended.
5. Combine the remaining sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl.
6. Pinch off Tablespoons of dough, roll them into balls, and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat. Place them 2-inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
7. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes, until puffed and set, but still soft.
8. Let cool and place in a large zip-lock bag for your son to take to school. Recipe makes enough for each classmate to have two, with extra left over for the teachers.

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