Recipe Description
Snickerdoodles are soft cookies made of flour, sugar, butter and eggs rolled in cinnamon sugar. Even though they are often called sugar cookies, which are rolled in white sugar, snickerdoodles are similar except that they are rolled in cinnamon sugar. This cookie is distinctively American, although the name could have stemmed from the German word schneckennudel, a cinnamon roll. Its current usage is a portmanteau of the word snicker and doodle, which crudely means laughing fool. It is possible that the name was given following the New England tradition of creating whimsical cookie names.
The signature characteristic of a snickerdoodle is its texture, which is derived from cream of tartar. When you combine cream of tartar with soda bicarbonate, which is essentially mixing your baking powder formula, it generates the leavening action that creates a cracked crunchy surface and soft chewy interior.
Some of my colleagues find that the intensity of the cinnamon sugar in recipes is a bit conservative but you may adjust the cinnamon flavour according to your taste, with some recipes using a 1:1 ratio of cinnamon to sugar. You may also swap coarse granulated for the castor sugar if you want a crunchier coating, or brown sugar for a richer flavour.
I like my cookie a little chewy so I bake mine for 10 minutes, but if you prefer a crispier cookie, you may give it an additional 2 minutes in the oven. It’s quite thrilling to watch these cookies bake because the dough balls will first melt into a puddle, then puff up into a dome which will collapse when it’s just about to be ready.
Bear in mind that the dough will spread so space the dough balls out a bit or else they will stick together. Cool them completely before storing them in an airtight container, where they will be kept for about two weeks.
Recipe Ingredient
- Ingredients
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 300g castor sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 345g all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp soda bicarbonate
- ¼ tsp salt
- Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 tbsp castor sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and castor sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, ensuring each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- In a small bowl, mix the castor sugar and cinnamon powder for rolling. Shape the dough into balls of about 2 centimetres, then roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture until coated evenly.
- Place the coated dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 centimetres apart. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. The centres should still be slightly soft.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.