Snickerdoodles. Falmouth Maine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have two memories when you say snickerdoodles. Mary Lisa Twist, one of my best friends growing up, had a labradoodle named Snickerdoodle. He was a total love bug.
And then there was Nana Kate's snickerdoodles in my plastic Halloween jack o' lantern.
And then there was Nana Kate's snickerdoodles in my plastic Halloween jack o' lantern.
Jack-o-lantern (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Oddly enough, Nana Kate will only make snickerdoodles for Halloween. When she was a child, her family made the cookies up by the dozens and handed them out to the kids trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. Nana Kate said that no one handed out candy, it was far too expensive a luxury. Most times she would get apples; sometimes it was a piece of cornbread. Nana Kate was proud that her family was able to hand out such a fabulous treat. It gave her a lot of street cred. The Kids were all friendly with Nana Kate in October. Nana Kate grew up and moved to D.C. where she handed out snickerdoodles to the trick-or-treaters at our apartment building. She had a lot of street cred with our neighborhood, too.
I, on the other hand, do not sequester snickerdoodles in the Halloween-only-corner. No. I equate snickerdoodles with just about any celebration –even if I’m celebrating Tuesday night. Or that I’m reading a good book. Or rain…
The thing that I like about snickerdoodles is they’re quick to put together, quick to cook, and quick to satisfy. This is Nana Kate’s secret family recipe that she passed down to me and has given me permission to pass on to you – since she saw the exact same recipe printed in the newspaper last week.
INGREDIENTS
1 c buter
1 ½ c sugar (I’ve tried to substitute Splenda and some others and it’s just not the same)2 large eggs
Butter and a butter knife (Photo credit: Wikipedia) 2 ¾ cups of flour2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
4 T sugar
2 T cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees on bake (not convection bake).
Cream butter with 1 ½ c sugar when fluffy add eggs one at a time.
Blend your dry ingredients in a separate bowl , slowly incorporate into the butter mixture. Put this in an air tight container in the fridge for 15 minutes or so. While it’s chilling mix the 4T of sugar and cinnamon together. Take the chilled dough out and form into one inch balls. Roll the balls into the cinnamon sugar mixture . Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove immediately to a wire rack.
Deutsch: Ein Glas Milch English: A glass of milk Français : Un verre de lait (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Once they are cooled you can package them up and share them with the neighbors to spread the smiles – and maybe even develop a little of Nana Kate’s street cred. 
