Snickerdoodles

It's a funny, unnecessarily long name for such a simple cookie. And it's a ridiculously delicious cookie for such an easy recipe.

I have to admit, I don't bake cookies that often. And when I do, they're mostly chocolate chip cookies.

Recently though I've been taken over by a cookie obsession. I've been poring over different recipes and brainstorming ideas for flavour combinations.

But first things first, I need to perfect one of my favourites.

I've never baked snickerdoodles myself before and I wasn't sure which recipe to use. After a lot of searching I found a recipe that looked good to me on Lovin' From the Oven and I think Kim, the woman behind the blog, was right; this is the best snickerdoodle recipe. I thought I'd just bake a dozen cookies and save the rest of the dough for later. But after the first batch came out of the oven and I sampled a warm freshly-baked snickerdoodle, I decided to bake the whole lot.

These are dangerously delicious, soft, chewy and addictive cookies. Besides, baking in winter is always a good idea because the oven warms up the kitchen and if you bake snickerdoodles then, within minutes of popping your cookies into the oven, your house will start smelling of that warm comforting cinnamon scent. So really  there's absolutely no reason not to bake them.

Snickerdoodles

adapted slightly from Lovin' From the Oven

Ingredients

4 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup caster sugar

⅓ cup brown sugar

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla

1½ cups flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

3 tablespoons caster sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 180⁰C (350⁰F).
2. Add the butter and sugars to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and creamy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low until well mixed.
4. Sift together the flour and baking powder, then stir in the salt. 
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. The dough is quite stiff so you'll probably have to stir the the flour in by hand with a metal spoon.
6. Cover the mixing bowl and place the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour.
7. In a flat plate, mix together the 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon.
8. Remove cookie dough from the fridge and roll 2-teaspoon portions (I used a 1½-inch cookie scoop) of the dough into round balls. Roll the cookies dough balls in the sugar-cinnamon mixture and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 
9. Flatten the cookie dough balls slightly by pressing down with the tips of your fingers and place in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and leave the cookies on the baking tray for 5 to 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.