Snickerdoodles

When we'd travel to my grandmother's house for the holidays, she'd always have snickerdoodles waiting for us (along with extras to take on the drive home).  So, while these aren't holiday cookies per se, they'll always be Christmas cookies to me.

Snickerdoodles are fluffy and sweet.  I love soft cookies, so not much can beat a cinnamon-and-sugar snickerdoodle hot out of the oven.  I've adapted the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, but there are a lot of great recipes out there for these cookies.

I have to admit, in addition to sweets, I love Christmas music.  Here is John Fahey's "Auld Lang Syne," from his 1968 Christmas album, The New Possibility.

Ingredients:
--2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
--2 tsp. cream of tartar
--1 tsp. baking soda
--2 sticks salted butter, softened
--3 eggs
--1 1/2 c. granulated sugar, + 1/2 c. granulated sugar for rolling
--2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine butter, 1 1/2 c. sugar, and eggs on medium speed until fluffy (about 3 minutes).  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda.  Slowly add to the wet mixture until combined.  Scrape dough into wax paper and chill for about an hour.

In a small bowl, combine remaining sugar and cinnamon.  Once dough has chilled, shape into 1" balls and roll thoroughly in the mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  Place at least 2" apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet (these will seriously expand in the oven).  Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or just until the cookies are cracking.  If they're golden-colored on top, they're overcooked.