How to Make Cinnamon-Sugar Snickerdoodles

How To Make Cinnamon~Sugar Snickerdoodles

You probably won't find a more delicious snickerdoodle recipe, even one that is cinnamon-sugar! The secret to these deliciously crumbly cookies is that they require both oil & softened butter. The little bit of cinnamon & sugar topping makes it even better!

This recipe is great if you don't have a dishwasher, because, technically, you could use just 1 bowl instead of 3!

Good luck, happiness is waiting for you at the end! (Eating!)

Note: Read the entire recipe over first, & make sure you have enough of everything. It would be heartbreaking if you ran out of something!

Ingredients

Batter

170 grams unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

3 cups white flour (all-purpose)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Topping

3 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Tools

Knife (to cut butter)

Cutting board (for butter)

2 baking sheets

2 silicone mats OR parchment paper to cover the sheets

3 bowls -- one large, one medium, & one small

Assorted measuring cups

Cutlery knife to scrape flour cup smooth

Scale

Spatula

Oven mitts

Timer

When you make snickerdoodles, there is always a lot to set up. You need to soften 170 grams of butter, which takes 30-60 minutes. Then, there's preheating the oven. This won't take as long as it would if the temperature was really high, but it still takes a while. Make sure you have a lot of time, because the cookies take 10 minutes to bake, & you don't want to over bake them. It is very important to be as attentive as you would if you had a baby... albeit a cinnamon~sugar tasting baby.

First, set up your oven racks in the top middle & bottom middle positions. Line the baking sheets with silicone or parchment paper, & soften the butter. Like I said, it probably will take 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you don't want to leave the kitchen, do the topping in the next step now. In the picture is two silicone mats. This step should take you 10ish minutes (discounting the butter softening).

If you are a quick baker, preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit or 180º Celsius. If not, leave it until I say otherwise. Combine the cinnamon & white sugar for the topping in a small bowl. Use your fingers for the best results. Set aside until you've shaped the cookies. You'll probably have leftover topping at the very end, so it is fine if you skimp a little. It does not need to be completely combined, & if you have some darker brown spots, don't be picky.

In the large bowl, combine the butter, white sugar, & salt until combined. Use your fingers to help. If you over stir now, that's fine. Here, you need to get the butter, white sugar, & salt homogeneous before continuing. Next, add the canola oil & vanilla extract. Stir. It should be more or less completely combined, like the picture. Add one egg & stir it in completely, add the second egg & do the same. Set aside while the dry stuff is combined.

In your medium bowl, add the white flour, baking powder, & baking soda. Stir it all together, using the measuring cup you used last. Now, add it to the large bowl, with the wet ingredients. Stir this mixture until just incorporated (stop as soon as you can't see flour). If you're lucky 7 have been following instructions, it should look like it does in the picture, except one big lump all stuck together.

Before you do anything: If you haven't already preheated the oven do it now (180º C / 350º F).

Portion your dough into 24 approximately even balls (they don't have to be even, but they'd look nicer!), & place them on the sheets evenly, with 12 on each sheet.

Now, it's a choose-your-own-adventure. Bringing back the topping, you could flatten the cookies & sprinkle the topping on top, as in the first picture. OR, roll each dough ball in the topping & then flatten, like the second picture. Either way, flatten to about 1-inch thick, deliciousness awaits!!

Once the oven is finished preheating, put the sheets in, bake for 5 minutes, rotate 180º & switch racks. Bake for 5 minutes more. They should be puffed, & golden at the edges. The picture shows this. They might spread funnily if your dough was really crumbly. If you disagree about baking time, pull them out whenever. Keep in mind snickerdoodles should be slightly crumbly. Cool your snickerdoodles for 5 minutes on their sheets, and transfer to a wire rack to cool until the desired temperature is reached.

Now, eat your snickerdoodles!!!!! YAY! Good work you!