Snickerdoodle Cookies

Hi fellow foodies! It’s been too long since I’ve baked something for you but I’ve had a very good reason: I’ve been up to my eyeballs in Volkswagen Beetles! What does that mean? Well, let me tell you. One of my my daughters is 15 1/2. She is old enough to start driver’s education in Texas and we decided that it would be a good idea to train her to drive on her own car. As parents, we thought that she should learn everything we could teach her about driving with her own vehicle before we turned her loose on the mean streets of Keller, Texas.

At first, she said that she didn’t care what type of car we got her but she eventually decided she loved VW Beetles. She clearly did not get my love for fast cars. That’s a win! In my early years as a driver, I was pulled over an embarrassing amount of times and took defensive driving every year for five years to avoid tickets. My parents were very fed up with my fast driving and threatened to pull the wheels off my car. I don’t think they were joking.

Luckily, my sweet girl chose a cute little “bug” to drive and I was thrilled in the prospect of locating one. I searched high and low to find a used vehicle with low miles, a newer year, and the right price range. She also said that she didn’t want a green, black, or silver colored car. I put in the hours and finally found one at a dealership an hour from my house. We went for a test drive and it seemed like a lovely car. I negotiated for that car and managed to get $1,100 off of the asking price.

The car wasn’t that much to start with so I felt victorious. However…

One day after we bought the car, the check engine light came on. Uh oh! You know what that can mean. I took our new ride to the mechanic and he started saying things like catalytic converter and oil pump. I saw dollar signs. In fact, he put a number to my dollar signs in the ballpark of $2,300! My heart sank. It felt like someone kicked me in the face.

I pulled myself together eventually and thought, if you buy a used vehicle, this is always a possibility. That’s why they have you sign the waiver that says, “we owe nothing”.

So, I combatted my beetle blues with some delicious baking. Baking always makes me feel happy. I can turn my frown upside down with a nice tray of homemade cookies.

These did the trick! Today, I’m sharing a recipe for Snickerdoodles that have double the vanilla which makes them twice as nice. If you’ve been having a hard time, I’ll bet these will make you happy too, especially if you share with someone else.

Give these homemade delights a try and turn your frown upside down too!

Have a great day!

🥰 Jennifer

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the 1 cup of sugar and butter together on low speed.

3. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and, cream of tartar.

4. Add egg and vanilla to the mixer and half of the dry ingredients from the small bowl. Turn the mixer on low to combine.

5. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and continue mixing until incorporated and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

6. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon.

7. Make one inch balls of dough and roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Allow two inches of space between each ball.

8. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool and enjoy!