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.