Snickerdoodles…a classic, perfect, cookie

I love snickerdoodles, I really do.  They possess that perfect “cookie-ness”.  They are not too anything.  They are just perfect.  Out of all dessert recipes I have ever researched none has had such consistency between recipes.  Amounts of flour differ a quarter of a cup here.  Some people use all shortening.  Some people use all butter.  But the overall amounts are incredibly similar.  The fat issue deserves some attention.  The choice between, or the proportions of, butter and shortening affect the chewiness of the cookie.  If you like a crisp and crumbly cookie, use more butter than shortening, or even all butter.  If you like chewy, go for a little more shortening.  Shortening doesn’t taste like anything.  It doesn’t contribute to the overall goodness of the taste of the cookie, so I do not do all shortening.  But for my money, half shortening and half butter is absolutely perfect.  But know that in a jam, you can do 100% of either and get away with it, or mix the proportions as long as you end up with a cup.  I have also tried a mix of butter and oil for the fats and it turned out perfectly fine.  So, again, there is some room for play here. I know some of my people are horrified by shortening, but I, well, I’m not.

I also add a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter.  Most recipes don’t.  I like it.  Leave it out if you are not crazy about extra cinnamon.  I used Chinese Cinnamon (China Tung Hing) this time.  The last time I made it with Vietnamese Cinnamon (Saigon Cassia).  My humble tongue couldn’t detect a difference given that there were several weeks between trials.  I’d love to do a side by side comparison of the two.  If you want some really excellent cinnamon, try ordering it from the Spice House.  They deliver a very fresh and fragrant product.  They are both excellent and they have several other varieties other than those.  All of a sudden it occurs to me that it would be a great and inexpensive gift for a baker to buy an assortment of their cinnamon varieties.  Yes, as a baker, I can definitely say that it would be well received.  Anyway…

Preparation:
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
2 eggs
2¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups sugar
3 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon mixed for rolling

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream the butter and shortening and sugar in a mixer at medium speed.  Add the eggs and beat until well combined.  Meanwhile, in a separate bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.  Mix the dry ingredients together with a whisk.  Lower the speed of the mixer and add the dry ingredients.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.  Shape the dough (about two tablespoons each) into balls.  Roll the balls in the sugar and place on a silicone baking sheet  or a greased cookie sheet.    Bake for 9 to 11 minutes.  Allow the cookies to rest for 2 to 3 minutes once you take them out of the oven before removing them to a wire rack to cool.

These are really great with a cup of coffee and kids dig them.  Easy.  Yummy.  Homerun.

Check out the Spice House.