Snickerdoodle

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A snickerdoodle is a soft cookie lightly dusted with cinnamon. It has a characteristically crackly surface, and can be crisp or soft, depending on preference. Some variants include nutmeg, raisins, or nuts. Snickerdoodles are a traditional Christmas cookie in North America.

Origins

The Joy of Cooking claims that snickerdoodles are probably German in origin, and that the name is a corruption of the German word for "slug noodles" (schneckennudeln).

Historical Recipes

From the Boston Globe, June 14, 1898, pg. 8:

Snickerdoodles

Three quarters of a cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of milk, 3 cups of flour, 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon of soda. Mix; drop on a tin in spoonfuls, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and bake in quick oven.

M. Elizabeth Adams.

From the Idaho Daily Statesman (Boise, Idaho), October 20, 1901, pg. 11:

"Snickerdoodles" is the somewhat fantastic name of quickly made little cakes especially dear to the children's heart. A recipe for them copied from an old scrapbook says: "Stir together two cups of sugar and half a cup of butter. When creamy, add two well-beaten eggs, then one cup of milk, with a teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in it; and, lastly, add two and a half cups of flour, with two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar and half a spoonful of salt. Beat the batter thoroughly, and bake in shallow pans, dusting the top of the cake before baking with cinnamon and sugar. Bake fifteen minutes, and when cool cut in squares. This recipe will make two panfuls, which will cut into twenty-four squares."

Ingredients

One recipe for the production of snickerdoodle cookies is as follows:

• 2 3/4 cups (650ml) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 cups (360ml) white sugar
• 1 cup (240ml) soft shortening
• 2 eggs, beaten

Procedure

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius), mix ingredients, and bake for 10 minutes or until crisp and light brown. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon while hot.

An alternative recipe uses only 1 cup (240ml) sugar and replaces 1/2 cup (120ml) of the shortening with butter. After those ingredients are mixed, the dough is rolled into 1 tablespoon balls and then rolled in a mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. They are baked as noted above. Other recipes add honey to the dough, which helps to keep the cookies from becoming too crisp.