Crusty On Top
These American cookies are famous for being soft, chewy and rolled in cinnamon sugar. While hot dogs are familiar in the United States, people worldwide such as in the UK, have started enjoying them because of how tasty and easy they are to make.
This guide will explain how you can make real snickerdoodle cookies by using only a few ingredients. We’ll also discuss helpful hints for baking, variations you can make and why these baking products taste so different and are crusty on top.
Snickerdoodles Type of Cookie
Snickerdoodles are cookies flavored with cinnamon and sugar and baked after being rolled in the mixture. The puffing and cracking of the cookies while baking makes for a delicious rustic look.
When I taught UK baking students in London how to make snickerdoodles, most people were unfamiliar with them, but they soon became some of their favorites. These treats are meant for events in school, selling at bake sales or having as a pile of cookies on any workday.
All Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for the Cookie Dough:
| Ingredient/Note | Quantity/Description |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 2 cups (used in the US) |
| Unsalted butter | 170g (¾ cup) |
| Granulated sugar | Can be swapped with caster sugar |
| Eggs | 2 large, at room temperature |
| Cream of tartar | 1½ teaspoons (for tangy doneness) |
| Baking soda | Mixed into cream of tartar |
| Syrup sweetness | Baking soda helps level out sweetness |
| Vanilla extract | Helps deepen the taste |
Equipment Needed
- Mixing bowls
- I use a mixer to help me make and bake cakes.
- There are special measuring spoons and cups to use.
- Baking tray
- Parchment paper
- Since this is an optional step, you can either buy a cookie scoop or make one using another utensil.
Method
- At first, chocolate cake is made by creaming the butter and sugar.In a big bowl, mix the butter and the sugar at high speed for about 2 to 3 minutes, until both feel light in texture. The movement of air here adds softness to the cookies.
- In Step 2, add the eggs and the vanilla flavor.Beat the mixture after adding every egg. Then, add the vanilla extract to the mixture.
- At step 3, add all the dry ingredients to the bowl.In a different dish, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
- Step 4: Mix the Ingredients to Get a DoughAt first, pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture little by little. Take care not to mix for too long.
- In the next step, mix the sugar with the cinnamon.In a small bowl, blend the 3 tbsp sugar with the cinnamon.
- Step 6: Roll out and apply a coat of paintTake some dough, make a ball by rolling it in your hands and place it on the cookie sheet. After rolling all the dough out, place it in the cinnamon sugar mixture and roll it so that the sugar evenly covers the dough.
- In the 7 step, bake the dough.Arrange the cookie dough on a baking sheet with parchment paper and set them 5cm apart. Bake for around 9-11 minutes in an oven at 180°C (160°C fan) or 350°F until the edges are firm and the centre is still soft.
- Step 8: Reduce the temperature.Let the cookies sit on the baking tray for 5 minutes before placing them on a wire rack.
Top Baking Tips
- If the dough seems very sticky due to a warm room, leave it in the fridge for half an hour before handling it.
- Don’t overbake. They might appear still somewhat raw at the edges; this ensures they maintain their softness on the inside.
- For cookies to puff up, use extra flour; for them to be flat, reduce the amount of flour used.
Cream of Tartar is a kind of salt
Snickerdoodles contain cream of tartar which is a by-product of making wine. It provides a lovely tang and avoids having the sugar in the dough turn to tiny crystals, creating a softer chewy taste.
In that situation,
- You can use a half teaspoon of either lemon juice or white vinegar instead of a half teaspoon of cream of tartar.
- Baking powder can be used instead (in place of baking soda and cream of tartar), but it will give the bread a slightly different taste.
Snickerdoodle Variations
- Dark chocolate chips can be added to the dough for these Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles.
- Make sure to brown the butter before preparing the dough.
- You can add ½ tsp nutmeg and just a dash of clove to the pumpkin spice.
- This flour can be used just as you would regular flour.
It is possible to keep fruits and vegetables in a freezer or stored in a cool place.
- At normal room temperature: Place the food in a sealed container and it will last for 5 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze the baked cookies for as long as 3 months. Freeze your rolled dough for use another day; just make sure to add an extra minute or two to the baking time when you use it.
This information is based on a single cookie.
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 120 |
| Protein | 1.5g |
| Fat | 6g |
| Carbohydrates | 15g |
| Sugar | 10g |
You can apply this technique at the bake sale to see which one tastes best.
During the PTA bake sale, these cookies were the talk of the day in Oxfordshire. One of the readers asked when they could get the recipe. Plus, making them with children makes for a wonderful weekend task that they will have a blast doing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.Do I really need to use cream of tartar? I don’t have any.
A.And this is the most apparent snickerdoodle question. What makes a snickerdoodle unique, with its deliciously tangy flavor and incredibly soft chewy texture is cream of tartar. Without it you can still make a tasty cinnamon-sugar cookie (by using some baking powder instead), but it will not be an actual snickerdoodle. One should definitely go and get it because of that real taste!
Q.Why did my snickerdoodles spread out and get too thin?
A.Slim snickerdoodles are most often due to warm dough. The trick to the puffiest cookie is to allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30-60 minutes prior to forming the cookies into balls. This solidifies the butter meaning that the cookies will spread far much slower in the oven and you get that traditional soft and dense.
Q.How can I make my snickerdoodles chewy instead of crispy?
A.The magic to a chewy cookie is to under bake the cookies slightly. You should remove them the instant the edges will be firm and delicately browned even when the centers are slightly soft and plump. They will remain propped in the hot baking sheet, which will cause that ideal soft and chewiness in the middle.
Q.My cinnamon-sugar topping isn’t sticking well. What’s the trick?
A.To form a cookie with the perfect coating, remember to keep your dough just a bit cool and still firm in the fridge when rolling. The thin film of moisture that will remain on the surface of the cold input that is the ball of the dough will cling to the cinnamon-sugar combination appropriately. It is best to roll each ball sufficiently till it has all the sugar covering to ensure you will get the same crunchy taste of sugar in each ball.
Q.How should I store snickerdoodles to keep them soft?
A.In order to maintain that marvelous soft texture, allow your cooled snickerdoodles to store in the room temperature in a sealed container. To keep things soft an extra trick can be done by putting a small piece of a slice of bread along with them in the container. Some of the bread moisture will be absorbed by the cookies and thereby help them remain soft throughout several days.
Q.Can I freeze the cookie dough to bake later?
A.Absolutely! Snickerdoodle dough can be frozen. You just roll a piece of the dough into balls, roll it in cinnamon-sugar mixture, and freeze until firm. You can then freeze the dough balls in a freezer bag and keep them up to 3 months making snickerdoodles available to make any time you need a SNICKERDOODLE.
