Snickerdoodles

I boast some pretty awesome recipes. Some I've made up. Some I've HEAVILY modified. And some I follow to the letter. Some I can easily credit to the original owner, and some it is a complete mystery as to where they came from. I suspect your recipe box/bin/book is similar.

My Farmor (Father's Mother, in Danish) has left many mysteries, since she rarely wrote down recipes and did everything "to taste" or "until it looks right". A lot of pinches and smidges on her cards. (My style is starting to make sense, I suspect.) You'll hear a lot about her on here, she's quite an inspiration.

My snickerdoodle recipe is one such mystery. My recipe card was carefully transcribed from one in my mom's files. However, she swears its my recipe... she doesn't make them.

One thing we do agree on though; these are the best damn snickerdoodles in the world. I don't bother buying them anywhere... they are never as good. I've had friends make snickerdoodles for me that are just ok. I had a friend in high school that claimed hers were better... we actually planned a bake off and blind taste test. I don't remember executing it... I'm betting it never happened. Surely I would remember proving her wrong. (Or right, that might have required therapy.)




Snickerdoodles
from ???

1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teasp cream of tarter
1 teasp baking soda
1/4 teasp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 teasp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400*F. Mix butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and the eggs. Blend in flour, cream of tarter, soda and salt. Shape the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. (Try to make them the size of small walnuts.) Mix the 2 tbsp sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll the balls in the sugar-cinnamon mixture and place them about 2 inches apart on un-greased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. (Cookies puff up first, then flatten out.) Immediately remove the cookies from the baking sheet.

Yields: 6 dozen cookies

TIPS: Watch the cookies closely. I often remove them before they flatten again... I like mine on the softer side. If you like them crisp, let them set. Remove to a cooling rack or they will dry out and overcook on the bottom.
Enjoy warm or store once cooled in airtight containers. I can't tell you how long they last, because I've never had them around for more than a day or two!!
These are a great gift around the holidays. The cinnamon screams holiday baking, and if you manage to make them as small as the recipe says (I never do) they are the perfect size for parties or large families.