It had been, literally,years since I last made Snickerdoodles. When I asked my husband what he thought I should make to take to some new neighbors, he suggested them and it was just right. So very right.
In high school, I was the party queen. I loved having my friends over for game nights, movie nights, birthday parties, Christmas parties — you name it, really. I would make these a lot back then and they were something of a signature cookie. I honestly don’t know why I haven’t made them in such a long time.
A cookie should be crispy on the edges and soft in the center, don’t you think? I have very little respect for the thin and crispy cookie. So you can bet your bottom dollar that these are soft. Perfectly pillowy. I also almost always make a double batch of cookies. I guess I figure that if I’m going to take the trouble of scooping a rolling and baking in batches, I might as well make a bunch. So this is a double batch. You can easily halve it, if you like. Extra cookies can be scooped and rolled, and then frozen for later use.
You’ll notice, if you’ve made a lot of Snickerdoodle recipes, that this one does not include cream of tartar. I’ve always found its sharp flavor a drawback to the traditional, mild snickerdoodle, so that suits me fine.
My Favorite Snickerdoodles
Ingredients:
1 c. butter, softened
3 c. sugar
4 eggs, at room temp.
1/2 c. milk, at room temp.
1 Tbsp. vanilla
7 c. flour (31.5 oz.)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
10 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. cinnamon
Directions:
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, then mix in milk and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture a little at a time until well incorporated.
In a small bowl or pie plate, combine sugar and cinnamon for topping. Scoop dough by tablespoons (I use a small scoop), roll between palms to smooth, then roll in coating. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets 2″ apart, then set the tray in the fridge and let chill for 15 minutes or so.
Heat oven to 375º. Once dough has chilled, bake cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until puffy and crackled on top. If underbaked, they will be puffy in the oven, but fall once cooled. (Mine took 9 minutes to be perfect. At 8 minutes they fell flat.)
