It's time for some holiday baking Tasty Tuesdays readers!! It's Laura from
Food Snob St. Louis with a classic holiday cookie recipe for you, and a fantastic giveaway.
We all know that sugar cookies are a classic item on the holiday dessert table. It's one of the only, if not the only, time of year that cooks will spend the hours needed to roll out, cut and decorate these treats in all sorts of fun designs. I love a good sugar cookie (in fact, my grandmother made the best - the just melted in your mouth as you bit into them), but sometimes I want a little something more . . . enter the snickerdoodle.
The snickerdoodle is a pillowy soft sugar cookie, but with a kick or cinnamon and a sweet cinnamon sugar coating. It's like a sugar cookie for my cinnamon-loving friends, and whether it's a candle or a cookie, cinnamon and holidays go hand in hand.
Classic Snickerdoodles (adapted from here)
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon + 1/4 cup sugar for cinnamon sugar mixture
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream together the shortening and sugar until smooth. Then, add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for about 1 minute in-between each.
3. Continue beating at medium speed, and add the vanilla, cream of tarter, baking powder, salt and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides.
4. Add the flour, a heaping tablespoon at a time until everything is well incorporated.
5. Place the cinnamon sugar mixture in a shallow bowl. To form the cookies, take a teaspoon-sized ball of dough and roll it into a ball shape. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture, place on cookie sheet and flatten to about 1/4" thick (I used the bottom of a glass to do this.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-11 minutes.
I wanted to makes these cookies because I had received this very special box of cinnamon from the World Vision Gift Catalog. This carved box from cinnamon bark features cinnamon from Vietnam.
The
World Vision Gift Catalog features other food gifts, such as
fair-trade coffee and
serving spoons. Each gift from the catalog helps towards World Vision's goal of fighting poverty world-wide. It's a great way to give back while giving gifts this holiday season.
Giveaway:
How would you like to win your own cinnamon box from the World Vision Catalog (an $85 value)? Simply enter the Rafflecopter below (open to those with a U.S. mailing address only).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: I was sent this cinnamon box from World Vision; however, all statements, recipes and opinions are my own.
