WILSON, WY – We recently took a poll to see what Jackson’s favorite Holiday cookies are and the results are in. The top three were snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, and iced sugar cookies. Because everyone has a chocolate chip cookie recipe, I decided to steer clear of that land mine and give you my take on the best of the other two.

I’ll start with a cookie that reminds me of going to my friend Lucy’s house in middle school. Her mother made the best Snickerdoodles and always had a batch ready to pop into the oven in her freezer.  Like most butter-based cookies, the debate is always between crunchy or cakey. So, I’ll give you a little break down for both. Due to the ratio of fat-flour, the following recipe (from allrecipes.com) will yield you a crunchy, butter cookie. To give them a cakier texture, either add 1/4 -1/2 a cup of flour, or cool the dough in the fridge until solid. Keep them in the oven for about 8 minutes, until the sides start to crisp but a dome is still present in the center of the cookie. Because it’s gone in cold, the butter is slower to melt and will yield a gooier final product.

 

Snickerdoodle Cookies

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups white sugar

Rolling your dough in cinnamon-sugar mix ensures an even coating of the delicious flavors that distinguish the snickerdoodle cookie.

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

For dusting

2 tbsp white sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and shortening until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and whip until smooth and light. Add the dry ingredients and mix together until fully incorporated.

The cracks on top are a sign they’re ready to come out of the oven.

Mix 2 tbsp sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Scoop one heaping tbsp dough and roll in your hands until round. Roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place on your sheet pan 2 inches apart. Bake for 7-9 minutes, until you see cracks on top. For a gooier cookie, remove before totally set. For a crunchier texture, remove once the edges are set. Cool on the pan for five minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack.