Aunt Judy’s Snickerdoodles

The last time I was at Betsy’s house for a family event, there was an unassuming tin container of snickerdoodles off to the side.  I passed by them a few times without too much thought, but later in the day I was hankering for a tiny snack and grabbed one as I walked by.

It stopped me in my tracks.  It had the perfect amount of crunch to it, but was still chewy in the center.  It was a bit sweet and packed with cinnamon flavor.  I immediately started being the annoying food blogger – asking everyone I bumped into if they knew who made those snickerdoodles.  Eventually, I found the maker, Betsy’s Aunt, and she was kind enough to give me the recipe to share with all of you.

Thanks Aunt Judy.

I made this for the Food Blog Spooktacular Bake Sale last weekend and they sold out pretty quickly I think, so thanks to everyone who purchased them if you are reading!

Snickerdoodles
Makes about 3 dozen, depending on your scoop size

- 1 Cup (208 g.) soft shortening (Aunt Judy uses the butter flavored variety, I used regular)
- 1 1/2 (337 g.) Cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 (230 g.) Cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 2 Teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 Teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt

For coating the cookies:
- 1/4 Cup sugar
- 4 Teaspoons cinnamon

Helpful Equipment:
- Kitchen Scale

The ingredients for these cookies are pretty straightforward.  There is some debate whether butter or shortening works better for snickerdoodles.  After trying these, I’m firmly in the shortening camp.  I think butter makes them a bit crispier and shortening makes them chewy on the inside but crispy on the outside which, to me, equals delicious.

So, for once, I put away my butter dish.  Also, you’ll need some of this stuff, which is an ingredient that I don’t use often but can be found in your spice aisle.

Cream of Tartar is basically a stabilizer.  Without it, I think your cookies would kind of melt all over the place as they baked.

Making the batter.  To start this recipe, mix your shortening and sugar together with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.  Like you would with butter, cream the sugar into the shortening until it’s combined well and is a light consistency.  Then add your eggs, one at a time.

I included weights in the recipe because I found it easier to just zero out my bowl on my scale and then add each ingredient until I hit the right weight number.  Especially with shortening, it can be hard to know if your cup is actually a cup or not due to air bubbles and stuff.  A scale takes out the guess work and is a good investment.

Next, add all your dry ingredients to the batter and mix together lightly.  I sifted my flour to make sure there were not any lumps, but Aunt Judy said that she never sifts hers and, trust me, they were just fine.

Chill it out.  Chill your batter for at least 30 minutes.  This will make it much easier to work with. When you are about ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Making the cookies.  In a large plastic bag, combine your cinnamon and sugar topping and shake it together good to combine.  Then take about a Tablespoon amount of cookie dough and roll it into a ball between your hands.  Drop 3 or 4 of these into your plastic bag and give it a good shake to evenly coat the balls.

Lay these out on an ungreased baking sheet.  I did 8 per sheet because I had a lot of cookies to make.  It was a pretty tight fit though once they expanded.  You may want to just do 6 per sheet if you have the time.

Baking the cookies.  Bake these at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  I took mine out at about 9 minutes.  They will look pretty flimsy when they come out of the oven and be puffed up.  As they cool, they will flatten and harden a bit.

If you’re cookies are touching you can use a spatula to separate them.

After a minute or two out of the oven, you can transfer each cookie to a wire rack to cool completely.  The cookies are so thin, it will only take 15 minutes or so for them to cool completely.

Since I was asking people to actually pay money for these, I decided to try my hand at wrapping up little bundles of cookies.  It was kind of a project, but they turned out nice I think… for a dude who never does craft projects anyway.

If you are going to wrap them, just make sure the cookies are completely cooled before you do!

If only my friends from college could see me now… What’d you do last weekend Nick?  Hit any good bars?

Nah… wrapped up about 2 dozen bundles of snickerdoodles with matching ribbons.  You know how I roll.