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When I was younger I considered snickerdoodles to be my signature dish.  Whenever I had the opportunity to bake, I chose to bake snickerdoodles.  So I felt that it was only fitting to make them for my first Sugar High Fridays post. 

I don’t remember how I came to love them so much.  Maybe it is the funny name or the fact that they are just good cookies or the warm, home-y smell of cinnamon and sugar baking in the oven.  I remember making these after school with our sitter.  I would add all the ingredients and would mix until my arms got tired and then she would take over.  I would roll out misshapen balls, roll them in cinnamon and sugar, place them on the cookie sheets, and into the oven they would go.  Ten minutes later warm, puffy cookies would come out of the over and I would have wait patiently for them to cool before I could take my first bite. 

It had been so long since I made snickerdoodles that I had to seek out a recipe and surprisingly only one of my cookbooks contained one.  I remember using a lot of shortening when I made these back in the day and was happy to find that the recipe in Baking Illustrated used only ¼ cup of shortening and made up the difference with butter.  But, these cookies were a little greasy and I like to use no shortening in recipes if possible.  I was in luck!  Food Network came through with a snickerdoodle recipe that used no shortening.  It also didn’t call for cream of tartar and replaced it with both baking power and baking soda.   Back then, I had no clue what cream of tartar was but it was the most exotic spice in my spice cabinet.  Now, at my wizened old age of 27, I know that it is the main ingredient in baking powder and can be substituted in some cases.  Just like back then, watching the cookies puff up in the oven reminded me of the deliciousness that I was about to enjoy.  The result was a thin cookie, crisp around the edges and soft in the middle.  Just like I remember. 

I guess I wasn’t the only member of my family who has such fond memories of snickerdoodles.  I brought some over to my parent’s house the other night and when my brother got wind that I had made snickerdoodles, he proceeded to eat half the box!  And the batch that I brought into my office today had disappeared by the end of the day.  So maybe it’s not just me that has fond childhood memories of these cookies.