Madelyn’s Snickerdoodles

Happy Fourth! When I heard my cousins would be coming over for a socially distant picnic, I realized this weekend would be the perfect opportunity to get to bake with my cousin Madelyn, who has been sending me very delicious-sounding recipes for weeks, and who is recently breaking into the baking business herself.

The first recipe she sent me was for snickerdoodles. My mom had all of the ingredients on hand and I’m a firm believer that cookies are the best cookout dessert, so that’s what we decided to go with.

Madelyn did all of the hard work here – I just took some pictures (though she took the better ones at the end). And the entire plate of these was gone within 10 minutes of being set in front of 8 hungry people.

Start by whisking together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until pale yellow, which will take a couple of minutes on medium speed.

Scrape down the sides and add the salt and 3/4 cup of the sugar, continuing to beat until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and beat until just mixed in.

Then, with the mixer running on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients.

Beat until dough comes together to form a ball.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Turns out 30 minutes is the right amount of time for Madelyn to crush me in a game of LadderBall.

When the dough is chilled, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the cinnamon. Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls, roll in the cinnamon sugar, and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are just turning golden.

This is when Madelyn taught me a new cookie trick – if you want nice uniform cookies, take a rubber spatula when they just get out of the oven and lightly pat down the tops.

Allow to cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

These were awesome – nice and light, crispy at the edges, and soft in the middle.

Madelyn also is much better at arranging cookie photos to look good, so I will definitely need to have her back on in the future.

If you don’t eat these all in one sitting like we did, store them in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Madelyn’s Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until pale yellow.
3. Add the salt and 3/4 cup sugar and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed.
4. Add the egg and beat until just incorporated.
5. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients, continuing to beat until dough comes together.
6. Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
7. When ready to bake, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish.
8. Roll the dough by the tablespoon into balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart.
9. Bake at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes, until edges are golden.
10. Immediately flatten cookies lightly with a rubber spatula. Allow to cool a couple of minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.