Ok, so I have had Snicker Doodles on the brain lately (thanks, Carrie!) and was looking for recipes. Low-and-behold, the
Joy of Cooking has no Snicker Doodles to speak of! WTF Irma and Marion? How could you not include a cinnamon-sugar drop cookie in your bible of joy? I was thoroughly dismayed! Then I decided to check my ancient cook book called
The Culinary Arts Institute Encylopedic Cookbook (first edition: 1948, and full of helpful quotes like "A shimmering mold of jellied fruit salad will temp the most languid summer appetite" and "A perky garnish gives wings to such simple desserts as grape-nut rennet-custard"). They did not have Snicker Doodles, per se, but they did have "Rich Cinnamon Cookies" which calls for either 2 whole eggs or 4 egg yolks. But this version is far less convoluted than
Martha Stewart's version which tend to sprawl out on the baking sheet -that goes against the very nature of a Snicker Doodle. Apparently she has no kitchen zen for these cookies whatsoever. And who the hell has cream of tartar? Maybe you do Martha, but not the rest of us. Besides, baking soda + cream of tartar = baking powder. Duh. And who has "Silpats" (French nonstick baking mats). Get real, Martha. These are cookies for sh!tsake, not some exotic confection for the Queen of bloody England. Damn bee-eye.
So without further ado, here is my adapted far-less-complicated version of the
The Culinary Arts Institute Encylopedic Cookbook classic cookie:
Snicker Doodles
- ½ Cup room-temperature butter

- 1 Teaspoon vanilla
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Cups flour
- ½ Teaspoon salt
- 2 Teaspoons baking powder
- 2 Teaspoons cinnamon
- Extra Cinnamon Sugar, set aside in small bowl
Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add vanilla. Add eggs, beating well. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture gradually and thoroughly, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Chill for one hour.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mold with cookie press, or roll into one teaspoon-sized ball, roll ball in cinnamon sugar, place on cookie sheet, and gently press slightly flat with a glass bottom (dipped in cinnamon sugar if it sticks). Bake for 7 minutes. Makes about 60 2½-inch cookies.