When I was in high school the lunch ladies made the most amazing chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies. They came in little bags of two and were kept warm during lunch service. Crispy on the edges and gooey in the centers, I couldn’t resist buying them. I’d fight drowsiness the rest of the afternoon, particularly in math class, but that could be unrelated to the cookie coma.
A few days ago, I found myself craving a really good, simple cookie and decided I wanted snickerdoodles- buttery, slightly tangy cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. Cinnamon sugar and I go way back. My dad always made us cinnamon toast for breakfast growing up and his were the best, probably because he used way more cinnamon sugar and butter than my mom.
So it’s safe to say I was more than delighted when these came out of the oven and I had my first delicious bite. Like I’ve said before, altitude is not the boss in your kitchen, and these cookies are proof.
For a perfectly gooey cookie, bake these for 9 minutes or less. They will still look pale, but the bottoms should be just a hint darker. Using a spatula, remove them from the baking sheet onto parchment paper or a cooling rack so they don’t continue to bake.
Snickerdoodles get their tangy flavor from cream of tartar. It’s an acid that’s a component of baking powder and also used to stabilize egg whites. You can find it in your spice aisle at the grocery store.
How to make this high altitude adjusted recipe:
Snickerdoodle Cookies
Adapted from Food.com
- 2 sticks (8 oz) of unsalted butter, softened
- 1¼ cups + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Cinnamon Sugar:
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs until combined.
- Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt all at once.
- Mix until the dough comes together.
- Chill for 20-30 minutes until the dough is easy to handle.
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into 1" balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar.
- Place 2" apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for about 9 minutes, until the bottoms have a hint of color.
- Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Note: This recipe was adjusted for high altitude baking. To make at sea level, increase sugar to 1 1/2 cups, increase cream of tartar to 2 teaspoons, and increase baking soda to 1 teaspoon.
