Snickerdoodles

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Let 170 g unsalted butter soften at room temperature, then put it in a bowl with 200 g granulated sugar and beat with a mixer on medium speed for about three minutes. Creaming butter with sugar creates tiny air pockets that help the cookies rise and stay soft. Stop when the mixture turns ivory, light and fluffy, and has clearly grown in volume.

   Suggested time: about 3 minutes.

   Mark step 1 as done

2. Step 2

   Add 100 g eggs to the butter one at a time, beating well after each, then add 5 g vanilla extract. Adding the eggs slowly keeps the butter from separating and holds its fluffiness. The mixture is ready when it's smooth like frosting, with no runny egg streaks and no curdled look.

   Mark step 2 as done

3. Step 3

   In a separate bowl, mix 280 g all-purpose flour with 6 g cream of tartar, 4 g baking soda and 2 g salt, then add it to the butter mixture and stir with a flat spatula on low speed. Mixing the dry ingredients first spreads the leavening evenly so the cookies rise evenly. The dough is ready when it's soft, pliable and the streaks of white flour have just disappeared.

   Mark step 3 as done

4. Step 4

   Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for about thirty minutes. Cold dough keeps the butter solid, so the cookies spread less in the oven. The dough is cold enough when it feels firm when you press it and no longer sticks to your fingers.

   Suggested time: about 30 minutes.

   Mark step 4 as done

5. Step 5

   While the dough rests, preheat the oven to 190°C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. A hot, fully preheated oven sets the edges quickly while the centers stay soft. The oven is ready after a full fifteen minutes of preheating, when the heat indicator light goes off.

   Mark step 5 as done

6. Step 6

   Mix 50 g granulated sugar with 8 g ground cinnamon on a plate, divide the dough into balls about the size of a walnut, roll each one in the cinnamon sugar and place them about five centimeters apart on the baking sheets. The generous spacing gives the cookies room to spread without touching. Each ball is ready when it's fully coated in light brown cinnamon sugar.

   Mark step 6 as done

7. Step 7

   Bake one sheet at a time at 190°C for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating halfway through if your oven heats unevenly. Taking them out a little early keeps the signature chewy center. They're done when the edges are pale golden, the tops have crackled and the centers still look slightly puffy and soft.

   Bake at 190°C for about 9 to 11 minutes.

   Mark step 7 as done

8. Step 8

   Let the cookies rest on the pan for about five minutes, then move them with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely. Fresh from the oven they're very soft, and a short rest on the pan firms them up enough to lift without breaking. They're ready when the centers have sunk into crackled tops and the bottoms are dry.

   Suggested time: about 5 minutes.

   Mark step 8 as done