Cinnamon Chip Snickerdoodles
I’m breaking in my oven in Seattle this weekend with an old tried & true recipe for a potluck with my new co-residents. There is nothing vegan, gluten-free, organic, or environmentally friendly about these cookies so they don’t scream “Seattle”, but warm cinnamon on a crisp drizzly day feels right. I first made these snickerdoodles around the holidays during my first year of medical school and they have become my go-to cookie. I didn’t realize the first time I made these that cinnamon chips are only seasonally stocked at grocery stores. The second time I went to make these was mid-summer and after checking every market in Cincinnati short of Jungle Jim’s, I ordered a 6-pack of Hershey’s cinnamon chips on Amazon and always have these ingredients on hand. Consider yourself warned.
I’ve had many requests for this recipe, and am finally getting around to sharing. Truthfully, I wrote this recipe in my book years ago and can’t remember the source to give credit where credit is due. I’ve not changed the recipe from the original, though I have screwed it up in just about every way because I always seem to be in a hurry when making these. I’ve forgotten to roll them in the cinnamon sugar, remedied by sprinkling it on while the cookies were still warm fresh out of the oven. I even forgot the cinnamon chips once – totally fine, just change the name to a regular snickerdoodle and no one will know the difference!
Cream of tartar and pudding mix make these cookies exceptionally light and soft. Cream of tartar (aka potassium bitartrate aka tartaric acid) is an acid byproduct of wine making that has a number of uses in cooking. It is used as a leavening agent in baked goods because carbon dioxide gas is formed when combined with baking soda. It is responsible for the tang and softness that differentiates snickerdoodles from a basic sugar cookie, and it is also commonly used to stabilize whipped egg whites for meringue. According to Cooking Light, you can substitute fresh lemon juice or white vinegar in a 2:1 ratio (2 tsp lemon juice for 1 tsp cream of tartar).
I’ve lived in Seattle a week now and it feels like all I’ve done is eat – Malaysian ribs, oysters, Ramen, 3 lbs of Rainier cherries, fresh pasta… the list goes on. There are so many cuisines to try and cute restaurants to pop into! Not to mention the fresh summer produce spilling out of local markets right now. Time to put this post away and look up some good hikes and recipes for my purple asparagus and watermelon radishes. Sending the rest of these cookies to Kevin’s new MICU team as he’s 1 week deep into Intern year (51 to go, but I don’t think he’s counting), but wish I could pretend they were healthy and keep them all for myself.
- 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 c packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 c granulated sugar
- One 3.4 oz package vanilla instant pudding
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 c all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 c cinnamon chips
- 1/4 c granulated sugar + 1/2 tsp cinnamon for rolling
- Preheat oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine butter & sugars until creamy. Mix in dry pudding packet, eggs, and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, & salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined. Add the cinnamon chips.
- Roll balls in the cinnamon sugar to coat.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned and set in the middle. Let cool on the baking sheet about 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.