Mom's Snickerdoodles

You know the saying, "Nobody makes 'em like mom?" This is true of snickerdoodles. I still haven't figured them out. My mom made us a batch of snickerdoodles in a Christmas care package, and they tasted like childhood and heaven. Light, fluffy, and cakey. Soooo good. Here is her recipe.

Giant Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

1 cup margarine, softened (use a good brand that is preferably marked "good for baking")
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl with mixer at medium speed, cream butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture until well blended, but do not overmix. 

Refrigerate at least 1 hour to chill dough.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in a flat open bowl. 

*Important: Prepare balls of dough for one batch of cookies at a time. Keep unused dough refrigerated. The texture of the cookies is dependent on the dough remaining chilled right up until baking.

Shape dough into 2-inch balls and roll in cinnamon-sugar. Place 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Snickerdoodles will puff up at first, then flatten out to giant size during baking. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Source: My mom got this recipe from a Ladies Home Journal magazine about 40 years ago.

 

Notes: You cannot substitute butter or shortening for this recipe. You need margarine, and not just any margarine, but a good quality margarine. Some margarine brands water their formula down, so that will alter the outcome of the recipe as well. Look for a brand of margarine that specifically claims that it is "good for baking." Also, do not overmix the batter. Finally, it is imperative that you keep the dough chilled in the refrigerator right up until it is ready to be rolled into a ball and baked, otherwise the cookies will spread. They will lose their thick, light, fluffy, and cakey texture and instead be flat, chewy, and quickly become hard. If this happens, the cookies are still edible, of course, but you will want to warm them in the microwave for 7-10 seconds per cookie prior to eating to soften them up.