Snickerdoodles

Folksy name and easy-ass recipe aside, these are really tasty cookies. You can usually make them with ingredients you have on hand and almost everyone likes them.

Here's what you need and how you do it

3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk (or soy milk or rice milk)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Stir together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Cream the butter and sugar together and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix well.

Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture and stir until combined. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the 3 Tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon. Place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden.

And here's an amazing recipe we found for vegan snickerdoodles (ie, no eggs or cow's milk):

1 cup margarine

1-1/2 cups granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 Tablespoons soy milk whipped with 2 tbsp cornstarch (I needed more liquid than this and ended up dumping in an extra 1/4 cup or so of soy milk)

3 cups unbleached white flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon tapioca starch or cornstarch

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

4 Tablespoons granulated white sugar

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder (optional)

(I also added 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar because I love the flavor it lends these cookies.)

Preheat your oven to 300 F.

In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together until smooth. Add the vanilla, and the cornstarch/soymilk mixture, and beat until well-mixed.

In a smaller bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and tapioca/corn starch. Stir this into the wet ingredients and combine well.

In a very small bowl stir together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and cocoa powder (if desired).

Begin rolling the cookie dough into balls of about 3 Tablespoons each. Roll each ball in the cinnamon/sugar/cocoa powder mixture until completely coated and place on an ungreased baking sheet. 

Continue until all the dough is used up. Using the bottom of a glass, press down on each ball until they are about an inch thick. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes, and no more. The cookies should still seem very soft when you remove them from the oven. Let cool on the pans for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire baking rack and let cool completely.

Comments

[Nora Bee]

These are my "signature" cookie. Mmmmmm.

[kcinnova]

Snickerdoodles = SuperDad's all-time FAVORITE cookie. Thanks for the reminder to bake some for him, soon!!

[Michele]

Snickerdoodles are JR's favorite cookies. How timely, I was planning to make these tonight.

I'm thinking of rolling this same dough in crushed peppermint candies for Christmas. What do you think?

[Bethany]

Thanks for posting this. My grandmother has given me her snickerdoodle recipe several times, and I always seem to misplace it. This looks similar - I'll have to try it out and see if they taste the same.

[SalemHouse]

These are great comfort food. I made snickerdoodles for a friend's mother when she was terminally ill, unable to eat much, but definitely enjoyed sweets. I think these simple cookies comforted all of us during a tough time.

[Amiyrah]

oh boy! my favorite cookie! yours look delightful and all-around pleasant. Please eat 3 for me :o)

[Mary]

Wow I remember those from my childhood and could never find the recipe. I'm impressed that your recipe doesn't use shortening. Thanks for sharing!