Snickerdoodles

Much to the detriment of my abs and hips, I crave sweets on pretty much a daily basis. Whether that comes in the form of cakes, cookies, candy, etc is the part that varies. I always like a little something sweet to finish a meal or as an afternoon snack. Because of this lovely character flaw, I make baked goods frequently but I try to keep as few of them on hand as possible. Sometimes that means sending them to my husbands co-workers, giving them to family or in the case of cookies, freezing most of the dough.

Most cookies can be prepped and frozen and then baked in smaller quantities straight from the freezer. For drop cookies I just go ahead and scoop them out into balls and freeze on the cookie sheets, once they are frozen through, I put them in ziploc bags in small quantities. For cutout cookies, just freeze the dough and thaw in the fridge overnight before rolling out your cookies and baking.

One cookie that freezes perfectly are snickerdoodles. Often overlooked these are a simple cookie without frills like chocolate chunks or butterscotch chips, no raisins or frosting. Just simple cinnamon and sugar but oh so good.

Snickerdoodles

Adapted from Annie's Eats and my great-grandmother

(Yields about 3 dozen cookies)

1 1/2 sticks (12 T) unsalted butter, slightly softened

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 3 T

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 T milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets by lining with parchment paper. Cream together shortening, butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla extract and continue beating until well mixed (about 30 seconds). Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low just until incorporated.

Mix together cinnamon and remaining sugar in a small bowl, roll dough into small 1" balls and roll into sugar mix. Place on cookie sheet. Using a small, flat-bottomed glass dipped in water and then sugar mix, lightly press each cookie to about 1/2" thick. Bake 8-10 minutes until the tops are crinkled. Let cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheets and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.