I enjoy learning about the history of foods and how some recipes got their quirky names. That inquisitiveness was sparked again on a rainy day last week, when I听decided this was an ideal time to听bake cookies.
The only problem was that I听didn鈥檛 know what kind to make. So I plunked myself on my couch with a pile of cookbooks and began leafing through them for inspiration.
I finally decided to make snickerdoodles after reading the introduction to the recipe for those cookies in a book called Southern Country Cooking from the Loveless Cafe. The Loveless Cafe is听a听bustling roadside eatery just southwest of Nashville that has been in business more than 60听years.
The book got me keen to make snickerdoodles because it described them as a can鈥檛-stop-eating-them, old-fashioned treat 鈥� just what I was in the mood for. The book also said these cookies were great for parties, in other words, sharing. That is what I had planned to do with some of my cookies to help limit my consumption, just in case I couldn鈥檛 stop eating them.
I was also inspired to make snickerdoodles because I was curious to learn how the cookie got its funky name, and when reviewing other recipes for them I might find out.
The solid information I found, and something I already knew because I had made them before, is that a snickerdoodle is a type of sugar cookie that鈥檚 rolled in cinnamon sugar before it鈥檚 baked. But when I dug a little deeper, I discovered where the cookie originates from, what鈥檚 added to the dough and how it got the name snickerdoodle is, fact-wise, more crumbly.
For example, the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink says a snickerdoodle hails from New England and its name is simply a 19th-century nonsense word for a quickly made confection.
The New Food Lover鈥檚 Companion also says snickerdoodles originate from New England and agrees the name does not appear to have a particular meaning or purpose, other than fun.
The Oxford Companion to Food disagrees and says a snickerdoodle is a specialty of the Pennsylvania Dutch, a community with many sweet biscuit and cookie recipes.
Other books, including the original version of The Joy of Cooking, speculate that the name snickerdoodle originates from the German 鈥榮chneckenudeln,鈥� a cinnamon-dusted, snail-shaped sweet roll.
Some of the sources said that snickerdoodles contain nutmeg, raisins and nuts, and that might have been the case back in the 19th century, but most modern recipes I read did not contain those items.
Most of those modern recipes, though, are rich with butter, shortening, or a mix of the two. That richness plus the cookie鈥檚 characteristically crackly surface and aromatic, cinnamon-spiced coating explain why it鈥檚 hard to stop eating them.
In many snickerdoodle recipes, you鈥檒l also see cream of tartar called for. That鈥檚 because the baking soda also called for in many snickerdoodle recipes needs something acidic such as cream of tarter to activate it.
The baking time for snickerdoodles is another thing that varies from recipe to recipe. Some call for as little as eight minutes, others for as many as 17. My recipe calls for 12 minutes, yielding a cookie that鈥檚 delightfully crisp on the outside, and deliciously soft in the centre.
Try the recipe and I think you鈥檒l grin, not snicker or call me a doodle, an archaic word for a foolish person, but you likely will reach for another snickerdoodle.
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Snickerdoodles
Addictive, cinnamon-spiced, crisp-on-the-outside, soft-in-the-centre cookies.
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Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes per sheet
Makes: 30 cookies
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2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
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Place the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a bowl and听whisk to combine.
Place the butter, shortening and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar in a second bowl, or bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until light and well-combined. Now mix in the eggs and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until well combined.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line three large baking sheets with parchment paper (see Note). Combine the 2 Tbsp granulated sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
Roll a 1 1/2 Tbsp piece of dough into a 1 1/2-inch ball. Roll the ball in the cinnamon sugar, thoroughly coat it, and then set on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, leaving a 4-inch space between cookies.
Using the palm of your hand, press each cookie into a 1/2-inch thick disc. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 12 minutes, until very light golden.
Sprinkle the hot cookies with any remaining cinnamon sugar on the plate. Cool cookies on a rack, and then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up听to two weeks.
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Note: I used three baking sheets to make the cookies because they do spread out a bit.
Eric鈥檚 options: If you would like to听make the ultra-decadent, snickerdoodle sandwich cookies stuffed with maple butter cream that you see in the photo, make the cookie dough as described above. Now, using smaller 3/4 Tbsp amounts, roll the dough into 60, one-inch balls. (You鈥檒l get smaller cookies by doing that, which will be a better size for sandwiching together.) Divide the balls among the prepared baking sheets and press them into discs, as described above.
Bake these smaller cookies, one sheet at a time, for only 10听minutes, or until very light golden. Now cool cookies on baking rack.
To make maple butter cream, place 1 cup softened butter, 2 cups icing sugar, sifted, and 1/2 cup maple syrup in a bowl and beat until well-combined and smooth.
Top and spread the bottom side of one cookie with about 1 Tbsp of the butter cream. Set on another cookie, bottom side down. Repeat with the remaining cookies and butter cream.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
