We are right in the thick of cookie season - one of my favourite times of year. I spent last weekend sorting out what to put in everyone's holiday package this year, since I always attempt to personalize what I give out. One batch I knew I had to make was snickerdoodles - the combination of a soft, lightly sweet cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar is a hit with kids and adults alike!
I've been lucky this year to get significant help in the kitchen too - my niece and nephew are full fledged sous chefs for me, and my nephew in particular loves rolling dough into balls and coating them with sugar or whatever the recipe calls for! They're great at measuring and mixing, and for this recipe I was able to teach them about what the ingredients do.
While (almost) all cookies need a base of fat, I opt to use a combination of butter, shortening and cream cheese in these. The shortening and cream cheese help these cookies stay soft and thick, while the butter lends a classic flavour. Cream of tartar is a staple in snickerdoodles, as it adds an extra hint of tang to them that really can't be replicated with straight baking powder (the result of combining baking soda and cream of tartar). We also added a half tablespoon of ground flaxseed, which bumps up the flavour and helps bind the cookies together. If you don't have any, you can add another egg yolk to the recipe instead.
Like most cookies, these do benefit from at least a couple hours in the fridge before baking. However, you can absolutely bake these off immediately, it may require two tosses in the cinnamon sugar to keep the crust though.
