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They say the surest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I'd have to disagree - the surest way to anyone's heart is through their stomach but when I know I need to pull out the siren song to lure my husband toward a much needed chore that needs to be done, I put on my retro jello mold apron and whip up a batch of these cookies.
Snickerdoodles are the cookie of Marcus' childhood. Along with his beloved cinnamon rolls, snickerdoodles represent love and security - they take him back to those sun-filled moments most of us have of our youth - those times when we felt like everything was taken care of and we felt nurtured and adored.
When Marcus and I first met, he would wax rhapsodic about these cookies and I could never understand why he was so coo coo for cocoa puffs about them. I had many encounters with snickerdoodles in my youth, particularly at school bake sales. I could never understand why a person would choose a snickerdoodle over the gooey meltiness of a brownie, or the sticky, crunchy goodness of a rice-krispie treat. The snickerdoodles of my youth were always dusty affairs, a granular desert-like dessert. I like my cookies with crisp browned edges, and soft centers, not with a dry, desiccated sandiness that seemed to suck the moisture from my mouth.
But I loved the boy, and if he loved snickerdoodles, I was going to make them for him. This was at least twelve years ago so the internet was still in its beginning stages but I found somebody's tried and true recipe on a usenet group and gave it a shot. These cookies weren't great, but they were good and I could see the potential behind them. I kept trying recipes but never seemed to find the zenith of snickerdoodles I was shooting for - melting butteriness mixed with sugar and spice with crackly edges and a pliable center.
About six years ago, Marcus and I embarked on a baking marathon. Armed with a new DSL connection, we did a search on the internet and found six recipes that seemed promising. So in one day, Marcus and I baked our little hearts out and found the winner - Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles at Allrecipes.com. Instead of shortening, we use all butter but the rest of the recipe is the same.
With a cookie like this, using the best ingredients you can is essential. There's no chocolate or nuts to break up the flavor of the actual cookie so using the best ingredients will make these cookies sing. I use double-strength vanilla from Penzeys and I really love their Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cinnamon in this recipe. I recently used their new cinnamon blend and while it still makes a great cookie, I'm still partial to the Vietnamese Cinnamon. If you can swing it, organic butter is also a great idea. I've made test batches with non-organic and organic butter and I think the cookies made with organic butter are better.
All of the above are nitpicky things but when you're looking for the pinnacle of snickerdoodles, you're willing to go to any length to achieve perfection. My husband is coo coo for cocoa puffs over these cookies, but not as coo coo for cocoa puffs as I am about him.
Note to anyone who might have received cookies from me recently - no cookies were harmed, licked or nibbled on during the filming of this photo shoot.
Our Perfect Version of Snickerdoodles
(Adapted from Mrs Sigg's Snickerdoodles)
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
First, cream together the butter, the 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla in a medium size bowl.
Next, mix the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl, then blend into wet ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly combined but don't over mix them!
Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls approximately 1 inch in diameter. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture.
Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes (I set the timer on 9 minutes and then check them through the oven window). The cookies should still be slightly puffy when you get them out, but set around the edges.
I love snickerdoodles, which I sometimes call snickerpoodles. Hehe. I'll try this soon...I need something to make me smile these days. Snickerdoodles are it.
Miss you lady!
Posted by: Joy | January 25, 2010 at 09:14 PM
these snickerdoodles make *me* want to marry you. i'm going to try and make them for grandma this week (i'm in socal) but don't hold out much hope for them being as good as my care package cookies. :)
Posted by: jen maiser | January 25, 2010 at 10:38 PM
I am a recent Snickerdoodle convert--I felt as you did growing up. I have tried 2 very different recipes recently and really liked both. I will have to try this one next. Oh and I agree about the cinnamon.
Posted by: Laura | January 26, 2010 at 12:02 AM
ok, first I have to say.....how did I NOT know you had this blog?! lol
I am SOOO going to give this recipe a try for Steve.....what is it with men and Snickerdoodles?
Thanks for the recipe!!♥
Posted by: TidyMom | January 26, 2010 at 07:47 AM
Jamey loves snickerdoodles too, I will try this recipe on him.
Posted by: April | January 26, 2010 at 08:24 AM
They look perfect to me:) I always add extra cinnamon. My hubs loves these cookies.
Posted by: Maria | January 26, 2010 at 12:13 PM
These look great, they are one of my husband's favorites too. Although, I just started making them within the past five years or so. I've not tried Vietnamese cinnamon, but now you've got me interested. I also LOVE that apron, by the way.
Posted by: Lori | January 26, 2010 at 12:15 PM
I love the finger marks in the butter to make sure it's soft enough, right?
Marcus & I would be great buddies. I absolutely adore anything snickerdoodly. You'll have to read him the post that I read about Snickerdoodle lovers http://www.recipegirl.com/2010/01/21/snickerdoodle-blondies-snickerdoodle-heaven/
Posted by: Lori @ RecipeGirl | January 26, 2010 at 12:20 PM
Joy - I'm going to call them snickerpoodles, just to irritate Marcus. :) Glad I could make you smile but sorry you haven't had a lot of reasons to smile lately. :-(
Posted by: TNLocavore | January 26, 2010 at 12:55 PM
Jen - that's because I didn't include the light-up ring in the recipes. Wear that and your snickerdoodles will be amazingly good. :-P
Laura - isn't the cinnamon amazing? I honestly think even if you try it plain, it has a hint of sweetness to it. Love that stuff!
Cheryl - this was just a personal blog for a long time. I mainly set it up just to blog about the one local summer challenge.
Posted by: TNLocavore | January 26, 2010 at 12:58 PM
YUM! These look great!
Posted by: ErinsFoodFiles | January 26, 2010 at 01:05 PM
Thanks April & Maria!
Lori - I got that apron from an Etsy seller. She also made one with Day of the Dead sugar skulls for my best friend.
Lori - yep, fingermarks in the butter to make sure it was soft enough. And I saw your recipe for blondies. I confessed to my snickerdoodle love in the comments to that post! :-D
Posted by: TNLocavore | January 26, 2010 at 01:59 PM
SO funny! My brother is snickerdoodle crazy and I'm totally with you. Why would you choose that plain thing over something sexy and chocolatey? But a homemade cookie is a beautiful thing and I'm sure these are delicious.
Posted by: Dana | February 11, 2010 at 12:25 PM
Dana - a chocolate cookie has so much sex appeal. But sometimes simple works - I could eat my weight in these things!
Posted by: TNLocavore | February 19, 2010 at 03:36 PM
This is a good snickerdoodle recipe, and it comes from the old betty crocker cooky book. It is definitely very good. :) I must go and bake some now.
Posted by: mills | February 23, 2010 at 07:16 AM
Thanks Mills! I love knowing where recipes originated from and I always try to note when a recipe isn't mine. It's a killer recipe - I hope you like them! :)
Posted by: TNLocavore | February 24, 2010 at 11:38 AM
My daughter and I love snickerdoodles so I'm definitely going to have to try this recipe.
Posted by: Buffie | March 03, 2010 at 09:47 AM
Buffie - let me know how you like them!
Posted by: TNLocavore | March 03, 2010 at 01:15 PM
I am also a snickerdoodle addict! Can't wait to try them.
Posted by: MichaelRow | July 23, 2010 at 04:26 AM
Made these the other night and they are the best snickerdoodles that I've ever had!
Posted by: Rachel Grady | August 27, 2010 at 03:16 PM
Fantastic pictures - love the one with the cat. Not a fan of Snickerdoodles but I may just have to try this recipe.
Posted by: Gus Brownlee | August 31, 2010 at 04:11 PM
How did you know that snickerdoodles are my favorite?!? Thanks much for posting the recipe... I'm giving it a try this weekend. Also, I featured it here. YUM!
Posted by: Aimee | September 02, 2010 at 02:51 AM
My wife's favorite cookie is a snickerdoodle. We've got a tried and true recipe but I'm always open to trying another and these sound great.
Posted by: Jordan | September 06, 2010 at 10:59 PM