Sweet Treats: Snickerdoodle cookies

These totally delectable cookies came to my attention through one of my foodie Twitter followers. I’d never heard of the recipe or indeed ‘snickerdoodle’ before, but I thought I’d give them a go, as they sounded a bit different to your average cookie and it was a boring Friday afternoon – I was in need of something to bake. I have baked them a couple of times since; they’re so easy and incredibly moreish!

Snickerdoodles are similar to ‘sugar cookies’ but are coated in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon – making the surface crack, while the texture is crisp on the outside and chewy inside.

The recipe doesn’t state how many to make, but generally, I split the dough equally into 32. After having a look at different recipes on the internet, I’ve noticed you can make them flat like a cookie, but I choose to make ball-sized portions, which kind of look like the German classic: Lebkusen. Of course it’s a case of whatever you think is best.

Ingredients:

60g butter

160g caster sugar

Couple of drops vanilla essence

1 egg

275g plain flour

¾ tsp cream of tartar

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp cinnamon

To coat:

1 ½ tbs caster sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

Method:

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl

Add the egg and mix

Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, tartar, bicarb and cinnamon)

Once turned to a soft dough, cover and leave in the fridge for 45 minutes

Make balls of an equal size and coat in the caster sugar/cinnamon mixture, before adding to a baking tray (lined with greaseproof paper)

Place in the oven (gas mark 4) and bake for 20 minutes, checking after 15

Coat again if necessary

Leave to cool

Happy baking!