Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodles

People always ask me what is the secret to my cookies, why they always come out chewy and stay that way after several days, and I tell them from my 25 years of experience with baking, that the most likely culprit of two flat or too round cookies is the temperature of your butter.

I never resort to microwaving my butter because for me that always spells disaster. I leave it out and let it soften at room temp. You don't want your butter melted, especially for snickerdoodles, because they will come out really flat, hard, and extra crispy. A good snickerdoodle is slightly chewy and soft, and only a tad crispy on the outer edges. At least that's how I prefer them!

Some people also swear by using shortening for snickerdoodles, but I always use butter. Shortening will give you a fluffier cookie, and there's nothing wrong with that either, but my personal preference is thin, chewy, buttery and cinnamon-y yumminess.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened at room temp

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbsp sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar.

Crack eggs on top, beat slightly with fork, then mix into butter mixture. Add vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix together, scraping sides of the bowl well.

Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes to an hour.

In a small tupperware container, put remaining sugar and the cinnamon inside, seal lid tightly and shake well. Sprinkle a thin layer onto a plate.

After dough is chilled, take a small spoon and scoop out a walnut-sized amount. Make sure they are not too large or they will flatten out and not bake fully in the middle. Roll into a ball and coat with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place on cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes.

Snickerdoodles always taste the best on day two so be sure to save some for tomorrow, or if you are making for an event, it's best to bake them the day before. Enjoy!