Simple Snickerdoodles

This week I returned to campus at Bowdoin. I'm living in an apartment, and since my roommate and I haven't been here for very long, the kitchen is not incredibly well stocked.  We've got some basics for dessert-making covered since we both enjoy baking: white/brown sugar, flour, butter, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, chocolate chips, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, unsweetened chocolate, and maybe a few more things.

I was looking to make something with a chocolate base - either brownies or cookies. Unfortunately, we didn't have unsweetened cocoa powder, so I started looking at other recipe possibilities. 

I alit upon the idea of snickerdoodles, excited about using cinnamon. The first five recipes I found, however, required either cream of tartar or cornstarch, neither of which my kitchen has. I kept looking for a recipe that could work with the ingredients we had.

Without further ado, I present Joy of Cooking's simple snickerdoodle recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Cookies

2 3/4 cups (360 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Coating:

1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS

Snickerdoodles:  In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. 
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until smooth (about 2 to 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth dough. If the dough is soft, cover and refrigerate until firm (about one to two hours).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape the dough into 1 inch (2.5 cm) round balls.

Coating: In a large shallow bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
Roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar and place on the prepared pan, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Then, using the bottom of a glass, gently flatten each cookie to about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick.

Bake the cookies for about 8 -10 minutes, or until they are light golden brown and firm around the edges. The centers of the cookies will still be a little soft. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 4-5 dozen cookies.

My comments: My oven doesn't have temperature notches, so I just estimated. They turned out well - soft and chewy, with just the right amount of cinnamon on top.