C is for Cookie

to me a necessary element to the holiday season is scent. the woodsy smell of pine and fir. the refreshing scent of citrus. the smell in the air before it snows. and of course the sweet smell of baking cookies.

for as long as i can remember, candies and cookies were a mandatory part of preparing for christmas. as a child i would help my mother roll snickerdoodles in cinnamon sugar and stir the toffee as it boiled on the stove.

now i continue the tradition in my own kitchen. every year i bring out the 3x5 cards that are stained and smeared from years of use. most years i experiment with new recipes (some successful like the s'more cookies, some not....pretty much any attempt that involved egg whites). but i always have a few classics i have to make.

christmas isn't christmas without gingersnaps or snickerdoodles. maybe it's the warmth of the spices in each cookie. or just how fun they are to say their names. or it is simply the smell of these two wintery favorites baking.

the recipe i use for snickerdoodles is pretty much the same one i helped my mother with so many years ago... and yes, you do need cream of tartar. no clue what it does. but it seems to be the magic behind the snickerdoodle.

Snickerdoodles

1/2 c crisco                                       1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter (softened)                      2 eggs
2 3/4 flour                                        2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda                             1/4 tsp salt

*cinnamon sugar for coating (approximately 1 Tbsp cinnamon to 1/4 cup sugar)

-Heat oven to 400F
-Cream together crisco, butter, sugar and eggs.
-Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
-Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet.
-Form dough into ping-pong sized balls.
-Toss in cinnamon-sugar.
-Place on prepared cookie sheet 2" apart.
-Bake 10 minutes (until golden).

i highly recommend tossing the pre-cooked cookies and cinnamon sugar together in a ziplock bag. i do about 5-6 at a time. super easy and keeps the mess minimal.

here's my little army of cookies waiting to be placed in the oven. have i mentioned how much i love my new cookie sheets? not a single cookie burned or stuck!

words cannot express how phenomenal the smell that poured out of the oven when i opened the door was. and again, an oven with convection bake setting? much love. this has cut my baking time in half this year. which i guess means i should make twice as many cookies?

now for the gingersnaps.... mine are slightly different from most people's. for one, they're softer than the average snap. and a little bit spicier. my "secret ingredient"? this stuff:

cardamom. it's not just for indian food anymore. i find it adds an extra "snap" to the snap. it isn't a hot spice, but extremely flavorful.  this recipe is a little unusual (the vinegar threw me for a loop), but i promise, it makes for one amazing cookie. the process is very similar to the snickerdoodle. these two compliment each other very well.

Gingersnaps

2 sticks (1 c) butter                                       3 c sugar
3 eggs                                                            1 c molasses
2 Tbsp white vinegar                                    6 3/4 c bread flour
2 Tbsp baking soda                                       4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon                                  1 tsp ground clove
1 tsp ground cardamom                                

*sugar for coating (approximately 1/4 cup)

-Heat oven to 375F
-Cream together butter and sugar.
-Incorporate molasses, eggs and vinegar to butter mixture.
-Sift together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, clove and cardamom.
-Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet.
-Form dough into ping-pong sized balls.
-Toss in sugar.
-Place on prepared cookie sheet 2" apart.
-Bake 10 minutes (until golden).

action shot! the convection bake setting, the ceramic cookie sheets, the stand mixer.... cookie making is so much easier for me now!!!

here they are, fresh out of the oven, with that beautiful cracking on the outside and the dusting of sugar. 

these + a nice cup of chai tea? will make for a lovely afternoon snack!!!