Sunday, September 9, 2007

Snickerdoodles


First off, last week I started my food technology program. Sadly, this means I won't have a lot of time to update my food blog, and to read other people's blogs. I really love having a food blog though so I'm going to try to keep all this up. Unfortunately my posts will be more infrequent and probably shorter. And most likely I'll be posting about baked goods or quick, healthy and easy to make vegetarian meals. Anyway, on to the food!

I made snickerdoodles not too long ago, and discovered that they are the most delicious cookies ever in existence. Ever ever ever. Okay after writing that I had to go through the list of all the cookies I've had that have stood out (and for those of you that don't know, I am an extreme cookie lover). There are some other cookies that have been extremely delicious, but these snickerdoodles kind of blew me away with how addictively tasty they were, and are now definitely in the top rankings for cookies.


I've always wanted to make snickerdoodles, but for various reasons never did. One day I felt like making cookies, looked through my trusty Martha Stewart cookie magazine, saw these, and knew they were it. They're simple cookies so it's very likely that you have all of the ingredients in your house already (butter, sugar, cinnamon). I think it's probably key to use butter and not margarine in these cookies, to get the delicious soft butter cookie. You roll them into little balls and then coat them in cinnamon sugar before baking them. When I make cookies I always end up with less than what the recipe says I will, but with these cookies, possibly for the first time ever or at least one of the very rare times, I got more cookies. I made the first 20 or so pretty small, but then got tired of rolling balls near the end so made them a bit bigger.

When they first came out of the oven, they had slightly crispy outsides and perfectly soft cookie insides. I thought after cooling, they would become completely soft as a lot of cookies seem to, but they retained some of their outer crispiness. It was incredibly difficult to stop myself from eating all of them. I know I'll be making these again. I want them to be one of the cookies I make this Christmas for sure.

Snickerdoodles
(Adapted from Martha's Holiday Cookies 2005)

makes about 20 (or 40, if you make the balls very small)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs

3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

2. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

70 comments:

Deborah said...

I love snickerdoodles! They are one of my favorite cookies.

Anh said...

Yum! I have been dreaming of snickerdoodles for a while and haven't had time to bake them. yours look soooo good! Well-done.

Anonymous said...

Yummy! Your snickerdoodles look delicious. I have a favorite snickerdoodle recipe that uses whole wheat flour. I'll send it to you, if you'd like to try a new version.

Sarena Shasteen - The Non-Dairy Queen said...

Snickerdoodles are a favorite in this household too! What could be bad, though with all the cinnamon and sugar. I think it may be time to make batch!!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

snickerdoodles are one of those quintessential cookies that never get boring - what gorgeous little cookies!

I'm sorry to hear that you won't be posting as often, but I do hope you won't completely disappear from the blogging world - I enjoy your posts! :0)

Peabody said...

My favorite cookie. If you love the cookie, you should try my Snickerdoodle muffin.

Anonymous said...

Mmm, snickerdoodles are so delicious, and perfect for the fall, too. Being the cinnamon addict that I am, it's a wonder that I don't make them more often. Yours look delicious!

Anonymous said...

Snickerdoodles without cream of tartar? That's just plain madness. Try a batch with the cream of tartar sometime, they're so delicious.

Anonymous said...

The 5th ingredient is missing - it just says "1 1/2 cups"!

eatme_delicious said...

deborah: They are now one of my favourite too. :)

anh: Thanks. :)

lynn: Oh yea I'd love your recipe! I'll comment on your blog.

sarena: I agree, about the cinnamon and sugar!

veggiegirl: Thanks for the kind words. :D I'm really looking forward to making (well mostly eating) them again!

peabody: Oh I'll go check that out!

hannah: Thanks. :)

melody: Hm interesting I wonder how they would be different with cream of tartar.

paul: Oh no! I'm so sorry. I just added it in - it was sugar!

Unknown said...

Well, I followed this recipe yesterday, and I must say, they were absolutely delicious!

Having never had, or even heard of Snickerdoodles before I found them on here, it was something of an adventure! I found that following the recipe my mixture was rather too liquid/sticky, so I resorted to adding quite a bit more flour - I'm guessing that this was a result of the eggs I used being exceptionally large eggs, even as large eggs go.

Still, when they came out of the oven, they were delicious! (Especially when still warm)
Wonderful recipe, thank you! :)

Anonymous said...

I just tried this recipe, and it is by far my favorite snickerdoodle recipe (and I have tried a few)! What IS cream of tartar, anyway?

eatme_delicious said...

conrad: I'm happy to hear they turned out well for you! Could've been the large eggs, yea. I used "large" eggs but they seemed kind of small for large eggs.

anonymous: That's awesome that it's now your favourite recipe! Cream of tartar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream_of_tartar

Anonymous said...

I just published a Snickerdoole recipe on our blog.

It is using a tool we developed for food bloggers. Basically creates a YouTube-style recipe player with a recipe in it.

We're looking for feedback. Would this be useful to you? If so, drop me a note to david@keyingredient.com and I will get you an account to play with.

Thanks!

eatme_delicious said...

david: Thanks for the link, I will check it out. And thanks for stopping by. :)

Anonymous said...

add some fresh groung nutmeg! it makes them amazing! :)

eatme_delicious said...

anonymous: I should try that as many people have recommended it. :)

Anonymous said...

I am baking these now. They look fab, but seem to be spreading a lot more than yours did, oh well flavour counts!

Anonymous said...

I am just about to start a business with desserts and one of my friends suggested snickerdoodles. So I looked on the internet and the only cookie that actually looked good at all was yours!!!!! Once my mom gets home and picks up a few ingredients to make these cookies! Can't wait:)

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: Aw that's very sweet of you. :) Good luck with your business! Hope the cookies turn out for you.

Anonymous said...

I am working on this recipe right now. Mine aren't turning out as well as I'd hoped, I think my butter was going bad. :D

Anonymous said...

I have made these cookies many times before and they are always a big hit! However, they never seem to turn out so fluffy and light as it shows on the page. Can you give any tips to me to make that happen? It would mean a lot!



Thanks!

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: Glad that you like these cookies! :) As for why mine look fluffy and light - I'm not sure exactly what to suggest, sorry! My best guess/suggestion would be to make sure that you use softened/room temperature butter and make sure that you beat the sugar/butter until it's light and fluffy. Good luck! :)

shweetpotato said...

Thanks so much, made these today, still have some in the oven, blogged them too :D Carm

Anonymous said...

For them to turn out fluffy, I suggest using VERY fresh baking soda. See how that works.

Anonymous said...

Add two teaspoons of cream of tartar for real snickerdoodles

Anonymous said...

I made these the first time and they were beautifully fluffy. Then, the next time, they were flat. It was because I used the wrong size eggs, I think. I like to make sure that I have properly sifted all the dry ingredients, too.

My baking soda was not all that fresh either time, though...

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this recipe! I wanted to find a quick recipe but had no idea what cream of tartar was, and this was the only recipe I could find without it. They were fantastic! Definitely plan on making them over and over!

eatme_delicious said...

Maureen: Oh no! Hopefully you can figure things out.

Lena: Glad you liked them. =)

Anonymous said...

I've never made snickerdoodles until I saw yours.. I mean.. they're puffy! and taste like heaven :D I just love them! because you always see snickerdoodles flat and cracked but yours.. they're pure love!

I made your recipe last weekend.. I can't wait to bake them again!

here's a pic if you want to see them

xoxo!

http://s429.photobucket.com/albums/qq12/calabaza_azul/?action=view&current=6.jpg

eatme_delicious said...

calabaza-azul: Yaey glad you loved them! =) Yours look great.

Lauren [= said...

I love these cookies.
Love them! Love them! Love them!
They just came out of the oven and are like HELLO yummy.
I am eating one right now!
They are easy to make as well.
And it requires ingredients that most people already have.
I'm only 15, and have always had trouble with my recipes coming out right and this was just a piece of cake.
I would definitely recommend this recipe to all my friends. I've already given the link to two of them!

eatme_delicious said...

Lauren: Aw I'm happy to hear they turned out so well for you! =)

caseybeth said...

What kind of pan do you use for cookies? I am also having a problem with getting my cookies to fluff up.

eatme_delicious said...

caseybeth: I use a Chicago Metallic jelly roll pan with a Silpat. I've made these cookies several times, and I think one thing that makes them flatter is not using enough flour. Also might have to do with placement in the oven - my oven is small and when I have 2 sheets in there they don't seem to puff up right. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

This was a great recipe. My kids love these SDs...thanks for posting. I'm glad I don't have to use the cream of tartar...

Monica said...

I made these last night and they were fabulous! They were like, fluffy and very buttery. I'm embarrassed to admit I ate four in a row. They look exactly like your gorgeous photo. I am curious about the old school cream of tartar version so I will make those next for comparison. The things we bakers go put ourselves through for research!

Jenny said...

I know that this post is pretty old and all, but I just had to say how much we love these cookies. I Stumbled on this recipe a few months ago and I can't even remember how many times I've made them since! Mine turn out nice and fluffy, as long as I only use the center rack. I tried rotating once and the pan that started on the bottom was flat. I can eat these babies like popcorn. Thank you so much for this recipe.

eatme_delicious said...

Jenny: I'm so happy you love these cookies! They're a favourite of mine too. =) I find that generally my cookies bake better when I just put one tray in at a time - but maybe my oven is small. If I don't do it this way, a bunch of the cookies seem to end up kind of flat.

Marthe said...

Made these and loved them, although mine ended up quite flat compared to yours. My oven only fits one tray at a time! My post about these will go up later today.

MHQ said...

I love these cookies...
A few months ago, I could not bake AT ALL, everything I tried turned out inedible... then I tried these, they turned out great, and now I sell baked goods at school. And i get all my recipies from your website too. =D Excellent cookies, and better website.

eatme_delicious said...

MHQ: Aw that is so awesome!! =) I'm so glad you've found some recipes you like!

Anonymous said...

If you don't have cream of tartar then substitute in 2 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar.

Marji said...

I am not sure why so many Snickerdoodle recipes still use cream of tartar--seems like there must be a reason, but I know that before there was commercial baking powder people made their own with cream of tartar and baking soda.

Unknown said...

I have been looking for a snickerdoodle recipe for awhile without cream of tartar... im too cheap to go out and get it lol or lazy ... same dif. anyhow I tried these tonight and WOW! they are soooo good, so fluffy, really held their shap. Thanks so much

Anonymous said...

I have some in the oven right now, hope they turn out! *crosses fingers*

Anonymous said...

i acually ended up using only 2 cups of flour, and it ended up as a really good cookie consistancy

S. Garris said...

So thrilled that I found your site!!! My hubby has been bugging me to make these cookies so I got online to get the recipe, only I did not have cream of tarter. So when I found yours after googleing snickerdoodles without cream of tarter.... Well just thanks he will be a happy man.

eatme_delicious said...

S. Garris: Aw well I hope he enjoys them!! =)

Silverremedy said...

I am living in Denmark and was having trouble finding cream of tartar at the grocery store. This recipe is fantastic! Thanks so much! The cookies turned out perfectly and I followed the recipe as instructed.

S. Garris said...

Thanks again! The hubby loved them as did the whole family. I have been baking my butt off. Your Cookies were a hit!!!

Kel said...

These came out delicious! Exactly what I wanted on a lazy Sunday. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

No Cream of tarter no problem! Thanks, this recipe is delicious! Only one problem, mine came out flat, any suggestions?

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: I'm not sure why yours came out flat, sorry. Maybe overcreamed the butter? Or not enough flour?

Anonymous said...

I've tried making these twice and every time the batter comes out super sticky even after refrigerating. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I follow step-by-step...

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: Hmm I'm not sure what to suggest. I've made these many times and never had a problem. Maybe you're not using enough flour? For 1 cup of flour I use about 140 g. Or maybe your butter is too soft?

Anonymous said...

These are SOOOOO wonderful! Very good cookie to make to get you into the Christmas spirit!

Babo Monkey said...

If your Snickerdoodle recipe doesn't have cream of tartar in it then it ain't a snickerdoodle; it's a sugar cookie with cinnamon on it.

Sarah @ The Doormouse House said...

This recipe was PERFECT! In regards to those whose stab at baking these resulted in a flat batch, it could be due to old baking powder. If your baking powder doesn't bubble vigorously when you mix 1 tsp with 1/3 of a cup of hot water, it is no longer any good. Just a thought. :)

Anonymous said...

I just tried this recipe, and the mixture turned out so sticky I could'nt even form them into balls. I measured everything carefully, but just incase, I decided to try a second time.. Same results.

eatme_delicious said...

Anonymous: Sorry to hear the cookies didn't work out for you. Maybe you need a bit more flour?

Anonymous said...

I noticed several of you complained about the recipe yielding sticky dough. i had the same problem the first time I baked these. I tried something different the second time, and the dough was much better and easy to roll into balls.

The first time my butter was more on the melted side than softened... this time I actually used softened butter. I also covered the bowl the dough was in and placed in the fridge for an hour. This made the dough a little tougher in a good way! Great recipe!

Anonymous said...

I just made these cookies. The dough was sticky. I put it in the fridge for an hour. Once you roll it in the sugar and cinnamon mixture it's fine. (it actully helps hold the mixture on) Delicious cookies. True test will be my 10 year old when she gets home from school. Thanks for the recipe.

lovetobake said...

These are the best snickerdoodles ever! I am only 13 and I easily made this recipe. I had the same problem as some people with the dough sticking so I refrigerated it for an hour. I brought these cookies to a friend's house and the family loved them. I had some dough left over and refrigerated it overnight and made some this morning. They were divine. Thanks for the recipe! I'll make these any chance I get.

eatme_delicious said...

lovetobake: I'm so happy you enjoyed them!! :) Yea refrigerating definitely helps with rolling.

Jeri said...

YUM! Our first time ever to make snickerdoodles which is my 14yo son's favorite cookie. He approved them. :o)

Jay said...

I borrowed Martha's cookie book from a friend as she raved about the snickerdoodles, a cookie I'd not made. I will be making the cookies for our Boxing day luncheon but now that I've seen your recipe I'm questioning the book recipe. Martha Stewarts snickerdoodle recipe lists cream of tartar & baking soda, not baking powder. It also lists shortening, not butter. The shortening use I'm assuming, is because shortening prevents cookies from spreading too much.

I wonder, if you don't mind my asking, did you try the original recipe and find it offputting in taste, to change the levening and fat to baking powder and butter ?

Thank you

eatme_delicious said...

Jay: The recipe I have from the magazine doesn't call for shortening, baking soda or cream of tartar. So I guess they changed the recipe for the cookie book. I really love this recipe and so does everyone I give the cookies too, but some people say it's not really a snickerdoodle unless it's made with cream of tartar. It's weird that your recipe has shortening though. I rarely see recipes made with shortening.

Unknown said...

I made these today && they were really good especially when still hot and fresh out of the oven BUT they were no where near as fluffy and chubby (&& yummy looking) as yours. Their fluffiness made me want to make them and I would very much like your secret??

eatme_delicious said...

Rizzy: Glad they were tasty!! :) As for the fluffiness, I'm not sure. I make the cookies quite small (about 1 tbsp dough), and only bake 1 tray at a time. I've tried baking 2 trays before but they seem to flatten more.