When I was little, I had a cookbook for kids. It had twelve recipes, one for each month. The only one I remember is October: Snickerdoodles. I loved those things.
For some reason I didn’t have them for a long time. Then, several years ago, I had them at a Christmas party. One of the few things I remember from my childhood that are as good as I remember.
Why don’t more people make these?
Ingredients
1 stick butter (1/2 cup, 1/4 pound)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Beat the butter until softened, about 30 seconds on medium-high speed.
Mix in half the flour.
Add the sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda and cream of tartar and beat well.
Beat in the remaining flour. Make sure to scrape the beater and the edges of the bowl at least once along the way.
Mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
(I swear there’s sugar in that first shot.)
Scoop up bits of dough with a melon-baller or a teaspoon and roll between your hands until round.
Toss in the sugar/cinnamon mixture until it’s completely covered.
Arrange balls on a baking sheet with plenty of room between them.
Bake at 375° for 10-11 minutes, until edges are golden and starting to crack.
And that’s it.
Nope, no pretty picture of them this time. They umm … they all got eaten a little faster than I expected. Oops. (Did I mention they’re my favorite?)
13 Comments
Drew,
They look yummie, but what is cream of tartar and could i get it in Europe?
Cream of Tartar is the common name for potassium hydrogen tartrate and is used in baking as a stabalizer. It is a thick, white powder. You can find it in the spice aisle. It is pretty common in baking, so I dont think you would have a hard time finding it.
Thanks Amy, you beat me to it. As for what it would be called in Europe, I can’t find any other common names for it. Some sites suggest using the same amount of white vinegar as a substitute if you can’t find it, but you’d have to try it to be sure.
Cream of tartar might be also known as wine stone, wine diamonds or wine crystals, as it is one of byproducts of wine clarification in winemaking. And if cream of tartar is used in recipe in combination with baking soda, you can replace both (soda and cream of tartar) with baking powder.
In the kitchen cream of tartar is also used to stabilize beaten egg whites
Drew,
These are part of my Christmas Cookie’s that I make every year. Everybody just loves them!
My favorite too! I make a big batch of them and freeze them (raw) so that I can bake a couple at a time when I want them. I also like to eat them raw straight from the freezer!! (but not for the next 8 months….)
I DO make these cookies… every Christmas season and sometimes during the year, too! Yummy delicious…
Oh, I just read your steps after making my first comment… I’ve never heard of starting the flour in the butter before creaming the sugar and butter… What is the science in this? Or shall I say, the advantage???
Barb, if you cream the butter and sugar together first, you’ll get more rise and less tenderness. This method will get a denser, more tender cookie, instead of a puffy-crisp one. (See here for more.)
Why don’t more people make these?
Because few have “cream of tartar” hanging around.
This site is a fraud. There’s nothing about “cooking like your grandmother” — it’s mostly, “let me fuck around in the kitchen and I hope you like what I do.”
Sheesh. Figure it out. When you can complete a single dish without help, let me know, wanna-be FNTV boy.
Most people don’t have chocolate chips hanging around, either, until they decide they’re going to make cookies. Then they do something called “grocery shopping”.
Thanks for the feedback. It’s always nice to hear from a satisfied reader.
Whoever doesn’t keep chocolates chips on hand in their kitchen at all times lives a sad and lonely life. Why would you not keep a giant bag of chocolate chips in your kitchen?
I mean really.
Drew, I had that book too. I got it at the book fair at school. We made them at home for a while, but really got into making Toll House cookies. Always make the snickerdoodles with butter rather than the shortening that some recipes call for – just so much richer and better!
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