Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles. It's a fun word to say out loud. After baking a whole bunch for my friends for their holiday parties, I was baked out. But Scott asked me to bake one last thing for his dad. His parents have different ideas of the perfect cookie. His mom loves crunchy cookies - almost burnt; his dad loves the soft chewy type. Scott has the crunchy cookie down. Just bake them for a long time, but soft chewy cookies are a lot harder. You have time it correctly. You want a nice crunchy outer shell, but the inside has to be chewy and delicious.

He asked me to help him out. Since I was going to be stressed out about taking the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) test, I knew that baking was a great stress reliever. I bring them to work and I have a big group of people to eat them without having to force Scott to bring them to work or eat them himself. It's a great deal!

I made half of this recipe twice. So yes, I made a full recipe, but I found the second time I made it, it was much better. This is my second version of the cookie.

Snickerdoodles
(adapted from Joy of Baking)
Ingredients:
Cookie: 
1 3/8 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup of granulated white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla (or imitation)
optional: 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon


Cinnamon Sugar:
1/4 cup of granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (add more if you would like)


Directions:
If you're like me and you don't start baking until you feel like, you won't have room temperature butter. The best way to get it soft is to microwave it. If you put it straight from the refrigerator, you'll have to first put it in for about a minute and a half, and then at half minute intervals. It should be fine around 2 minutes or so. After it's soft, you can add the sugar. Mix until combined (I use a spatula, but you can use an electric mixer). Add the egg and vanilla. MIX IT WELL.


Then add the flour, baking powder, and salt together. I know most places have you mix it in a separate bowl, but really, I don't have the time to wash so many dishes. If you mix it well, it won't really matter...I hope. 


Then make the cinnamon sugar, just mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Shape the dough into a ball. I use a tablespoon to make sure that my cookies are around the same size. I like to place my sugar and cinnamon into a shallow bowl (or a ramekin) so it's easier to roll around. After rolling it in the cinnamon sugar, I place it on parchment paper or a silpat. Then press down until it's about 1/2 inch. Before placing it into the oven, I sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar on top, generously. 


Heat oven to 400 degrees F and bake for about 10 minutes. After letting it cool on the pan for 5 minutes, it's ready for consumption, or placing into tupperware for someone else to eat. 


ENJOY!