Today was rainy and cold, the sort of weather I thought I'd left behind back in the East Coast. But it's also the sort of weather that's perfect for baking cookies. Here's a recipe from the 2001 Food and Wine's Best of the Best cookbook - a cookbook I highly recommend, by the way. Food and Wine compiles what they deem to the 100 best recipes of each year, and this particular recipe for snipdoodles is from Christopher Kimball's The Dessert Bible.
Snipdoodles
makes 20 to 24 cookies
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened but still firm
1 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1. Beat the butter and 1 1/2 cup of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer or with a wooden spoon until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. (Having neither an electric mixer nor a wooden spoon - I know, we're really rolling ghetto style here in Taiwan - I just used a rubber spatula, and I was prepared to be mixing all the live long day, but it wasn't too bad.) Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. Add the milk and stir to incorporate.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the next five ingredients (flour through nutmeg) and then stir into the butter-sugar mixture. Chill dough for 2 hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Shape dough into large, walnut-size balls, about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Mix together the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip tops of dough balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place balls 3 inches apart on lined baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 6 minutes. (I actually didn't do this because my oven is so small I didn't think it would make a difference, and it didn't seem to.)
Snipdoodles
makes 20 to 24 cookies
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened but still firm
1 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1. Beat the butter and 1 1/2 cup of the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer or with a wooden spoon until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. (Having neither an electric mixer nor a wooden spoon - I know, we're really rolling ghetto style here in Taiwan - I just used a rubber spatula, and I was prepared to be mixing all the live long day, but it wasn't too bad.) Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. Add the milk and stir to incorporate.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the next five ingredients (flour through nutmeg) and then stir into the butter-sugar mixture. Chill dough for 2 hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Shape dough into large, walnut-size balls, about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Mix together the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Dip tops of dough balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place balls 3 inches apart on lined baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 6 minutes. (I actually didn't do this because my oven is so small I didn't think it would make a difference, and it didn't seem to.)
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4. Cookies will appear undercooked when removed from the oven; the centers will still be very moist and light. Remove cookies to a rack; as they cool, they will firm up. Repeat with a new sheet of parchment paper until all the dough is baked.
And enjoy!
2 comments:
These cookies are delicious. And for those who aren't in the know: Baked goods really ARE the way to a man's heart.
yum... nothing like baking to beat the rainy weather. i heard it's raining there.. i'm still in LA! hope you get some sunshine
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