Super Snickerdoodles

When I was a kid, my favorite kind of cookie was a snickerdoodle. It's a fun word to say, and the crispy outside belied a chewy middle with a great cinnamon flavor. I also loved Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. As my semester is winding up, I wanted to make something special for my field ed group. We've been together all school year and have gotten to know each other very well and have shared a lot of ourselves and our ministries with one another. Because I saw one guy in my group eating a snickerdoodle one day, I decided snickerdoodles would be the perfect treat.

Kelsey recommended a few recipes that she had made, even listing these Super Snickerdoodles as one of her top 10 recipes of 2009. The texture of these cookies was incredible, but I thought they tasted just a tad too strongly of butter. Not that having a cookie tasting of butter is a bad thing, but I just wanted a slightly more nuanced cookie with perhaps a stronger cinnamon taste. These were gobbled up though, so I don't think anyone else minded!

Super Snickerdoodles
source: Kelsey's Apple a Day

Ingredients
2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar, divided
2 large eggs
4-5 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. Put butter and 1 1/2 c. sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about three minutes. Mix in eggs.

4. Reduce speed to low and gradually incorporate flour mixture.

5. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1/4 c. sugar and cinnamon to preferred ratio.

6. Shape dough into 1 3/4 in. balls (you should have about 20). Roll in cinnamon sugar and place three inches apart on baking sheets lines with Silpat or parchment paper.

7. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, twelve to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in an airtight container for up to three days.