spiders

snickerdoodle

For some reason I had been thinking about snickerdoodles lately, almost obsessively. I was lacking cream of tartar (I think the funniest sounding baking ingredient) and didn't want to modify, so yesterday while Ste investigated Lowe's timber, I acquired cream of tartar.

I have to admit that after making them, I think I do prefer a nice chewy molasses cookie or oatmeal raisin, but they are still very satisfying.

Snickerdoodles
Adapted from Martha Stewart & Smitten Kitchen

Makes three dozen 3 to 4-inch cookies. Or 4 dozen 2.5 inch cookies. Your mileage will vary by the size round you make.

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 stick or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400°, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Either use a small ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough (as Martha and Smitten advise) or use your hands - I made 1-inch balls by hand - and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about five minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack.

Yum yum yum.

bunny of the week 60

bunny wall

scandinavia

I have an affinity for mid century Scandinavian design.

I have a greater affinity for finding deals locally.

We acquired a pair of these chairs yesterday via a Craigslist ad. Adding these two dining chairs to the two we already have, we can now have others over for food and they will not have to use an office chair :)

liberty + nike

They've done it again, Liberty of London and Nike have teamed up to produce more of their adorable shoes (see above and below). I resisted the first time, but oh, geez, are they cute or what? My only possible chance of resistance is to remind myself that they have mainly used the new season fabrics, none of the classics that I love.

Also, to prolong the drama, they are only releasing them in spurts. So that means that the first 4 designs are available now (some already selling out online), and the other 6 will be released over the month. Hm, and I will be in England over the later part of this month, hm...

In the meantime, you can check out their Twitter to keep up to date on design releases.

Umbel Print D

Tatum Print Mid Dunk

Tatum Print Air Force 1 Premium Dunk

Kara's Trees High Skinny Premium Dunk

Tom's Jets High Skinny Premium Dunks

Umbel Print D Air Force 1 Premium Dunks

Kara's Trees Print Blazer Low Dunks
(I think these are my favorites)

Which style are your favorites?