Spectacular Snickerdoodle Cookies

 

I really LOVE snickerdoodle cookies, but had never made them before today.  It's not like I need an excuse to make some goodies, but I was pretty glad that my friend, Sara, was coming over because she likes them, too.  And, tomorrow is her birthday, so there was just another reason to make these fabulous cookies.  I got the recipe here.  I love these snickerdoodles!  They were really easy to make and taste great, especially once they're cooled completely.  

My hints for this recipe:

• If you like poofy cookies, don't smush them once on the cookie sheet.  I rolled the dough to about 3/4 inch to 1-inch balls.  Once they are rolled in the cinnamon/sugar mix, you can smush the dough somewhat with your thumb and they will spread out more when baking.  This makes a thinner cookie.  I liked them a little poofy, so I didn't smush all of them down.
• I baked some on a silicone baking sheet and the rest on parchment.  The parchment was great too, and didn't even grease the paper.  It was perfectly non-stick.

Here's the Recipe:

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Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (found in the spice aisle)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons Earth Balance or your preferred butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
• 2 egg replacements (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
2. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. 
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine your butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 
4. Scrape down sides of bowl. 
5. Add egg replacements, and beat to combine. 
6. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.
7. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon.  This is what you're roll the dough balls into.
8. Using your hands, roll dough into small balls about 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch in size.  Roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar (I placed them in the cinnamon/sugar bowl and put the lid on and then shook it to coat them in small batches). 
9. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets (smush them down a bit if you'd like). Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking trays halfway through cooking (transfer bottom sheet to top rack and vice versa).
10. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack.

Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.