What The Heck Are Snickerdoodle Cookies?

Snickerdoodle cookies are a very distinctive cinnamon and sugar coated cookie. It is believed that they may have originated in Germany, England, or Holland but it is difficult to trace the exact ancestry of these delicious cinnamon coated cookies.

Recipes for these tasty treats are generally handed down from mother to daughter with each family considering their recipe to be the true historical one.

Your Snickerdoodle cookies can wind up being either soft or crisp depending on the recipe that you use and the country from which that recipe originates. One fact is certain about Snickerdoodle cookies, each and every one of them tastes great and that is something that is not likely to change no matter which recipe it is that you use to create yours.

Basic Dough Mixture:

One half cup softened butter

One cup sugar

One quarter teaspoon baking soda

One quarter teaspoon cream of tartar

One large egg

One half teaspoon vanilla

One and one half cups all purpose flour

Sugar Coating:

Four tablespoons granulated sugar

One and a half teaspoons of cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In a mixing bowl blend together butter, one cup sugar, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour.

3. Cover bowl and chill for about one hour.

4. Mix together the four tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon. Shape dough into one inch balls and roll in these into the sugar mixture until they are coated. Place balls about two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

5. Bake for about eight to ten minutes or until cookie edges are golden in color.

The beauty of home baking is that you can always adapt any recipe that you choose to create. You can reduce the sugar content or use a sugar substitute. You can generally add in up to a cup of raisins, other fruit or berries, or nuts to increase the nutritional content of a basic mix.

You can also use a healthier fat or oil than the one suggested or eliminate it all together by using apple sauce or banana instead. There are no clear distinct rules in baking but it is a matter of trial and error. When baking cakes I substitute the suggested oil for 2 to 3 bananas and my cakes always taste great.

Experiment, it is a wonderful way to turn any recipe into your own. Personalizing it to your tastes insures that you get a dessert exactly as you want it made.