snickerdoodle cookies

One of my roommates is getting married on August 4^th (happiness and rainbows and confetti!).  The only downside? She's the one who owns the KitchenAid mixer I’ve been using for the past year.  And since she’s been moving out bit by bit for a couple of weeks, I knew that eventually that lovely appliance would take up residence on her new countertop, and I’d have to go back to my stand mixer-less existence.  This snickerdoodle cookie recipe is the LAST thing I made with the help of the KitchenAid – it has left the building.

Snickerdoodle Cookies (from this Gale Gand Food Network recipe)

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup butter (I used unsalted)

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon light corn syrup

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For cinnamon sugar coating:

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping and set aside.

For cookie dough, stir together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. 

Cream the butter in a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or in a medium bowl with electric mixer (of course, you can do it by hand, too – but the work!).  Add sugar and continue to mix, then add eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla, mixing thoroughly.  Add the dry ingredients in two parts, and mix until blended.  Cover and chill dough for one hour.

When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll walnut-sized balls of dough with hands, then dip and roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat.  Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet about 2 1/2 inches apart (these cookies will flatten and join together if you’re not careful).  Bake for 11-12 minutes until the surface is slightly cracked.  Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to countertop or wire rack to continue cooling.  Makes 35-40 cookies.

Quantity-wise, this recipe is on the large side – so I shared with my ball hockey team and my coworkers (they were properly appreciative).  It’s important to keep the cookies in the oven until you see that the dough is cooked – you don’t want that underdone taste in the finished product.  On the whole, I liked the recipe quite a lot, though I’d also like to experiment with versions that require cream of tartar.  Snickerdoodles for the win!

Recommended for: a cookie staple for the holidays or anytime, that picky cookie-eater in your life who doesn’t want oatmeal or chocolate chips, and a delicious snack that will make your house smell divine.

Interested in other food-related posts?  Check out Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking.