Snicker Doodle Butter Cookies

One of my mom's favorite cookies is the snicker doodle. Every time we go to Aspen, she'll go straight to Paradise Bakery and buy herself a freshly baked chewy snicker doodle.

We have tried time and time again to find a recipe for anything resembling those cookies. We have failed time and time again. But right before srping, I found a recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything for Butter Cookies.

The recipe seemed easy and quick (something necessary when I decide to bake between classes) and it  boasted an array of add-in possibilities that appealed to me immediately. I could basically add anything I wanted and create any kind of butter-based cookie I wanted.
I took the easy way out, just adding cinnamon and sugar to the cookies before baking, but I am proud to say that I have found a way to recreate the delicious snicker doodles!

The cookies look a bit unappealing, but wait until you get a bite of one of them and prepare to become addicted (seriously, I ate like 5 in one sitting). I will be trying to perfect these when I come back from Spring Break so that I can surprise my mom with a delicious Paradise-like batch.

ANd in the hopes of making it into Technorati ... 2NCPBEJXEUDC

 

Snicker Doodle Butter Cookies (adapted from Mark Bittman's Butter Cookies)

• 1 stick unsalted softened butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup milk (more if needed)
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar (use an electric mixer if you have one). Add the vanilla and egg, and beat until well blended.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mix and beat for a moment. Add the milk and beat for about 10 seconds. Add remaining dry ingredients, and more milk if necessary, in order to make a dough that is soft enough to be dropped from a spoon.
3. Combine cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Drop tablespoons of dough about 3 inches apart on a ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle each cookie with the cinnamon mixture. Bake cookies until edges are browned, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies and then transfer to rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in air tight container for about a week.