On Easter Sunday, my Nana passed away from COVID-19. In honor of her memory, I would like to share her snickerdoodle recipe. My strongest memories of her involve food. She made the most elaborate Christmas dinners which, as kids, we usually ruined by stuffing ourselves with the incredible cheese board she would put out as an appetizer. My birthday is two days after Christmas and every year for our Christmas celebration, she would have a Bûche de Noël cake for me! Most summers, my brothers and I would go on a sailing trip with my grandfather. Nana would stock us up with all sorts of delicious food for the trip. Her rum cake and snickerdoodles were a staple.

This recipe results is beautiful, crinkly cinnamon-sugar topped cookies. The edges are crisp with a perfect chewy center. Enjoy them with a glass of milk, a cup of tea or coffee. No worries if you don’t have cream of tartar on hand, I’ve added a substitute in the notes below. I hope you enjoy her snickerdoodle recipe as much as I do!

Snickerdoodles

From: My Nana
Servings: 18-20 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon-Sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat the butter and granulate sugar until creamy. Add in the egg and beat until combine. Gradually add in the flour mixture. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Combine the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the balls in a the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 to minutes or until golden.

Notes

For high altitude baking (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 1 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar to 2/3 cup.

What if you don’t have cream of tartar!? Omit both the cream of tartar and baking soda. Instead, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder.