Snickerdoodle anyone?

So I've heard snickerdoodles mentioned in American books and on tv and always wondered what they are. They have such a great name! So when I found a recipe in one of my baking books the other day I had to try them.

For those non-Americans reading this, they're cinnamon biscuits and sooo good!

Here's how to make them at home.

Snickerdoodle!

You will need

For the dough

• 60g unsalted butter
• 160g caster sugar
• 1/4tsp vanilla essence
• 1 large egg
• 240g plain flour
• 3/4tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/8tsp salt
• 1/4tsp cinnamon

For the coating

• 1 1/2tbsp caster sugar
• 1tbsp ground cinnamon

To make

Using a hand-held electric whisk or a freestanding mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla essence together

Once the mixture is fluffy, add the egg, making sure to scrape all the mixture from the sides of bowl to incorporate

Sift the flour, cream of tartar, bicarb, salt and cinnamon together in a separate bowl and add to the creamed butter and sugar in two or three portions

Mix well until the dough forms a smooth bowl

Place the dough in a bowl, cover it with cling film and place in the fridge to cool and rest. Leave it for approximately 40minutes

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 170°c and line two or three baking sheets with baking parchment

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together for the coating

Once the dough is ready, break off walnut sized pieces, roll them into balls and coat in the cinnamon sugar

Place the dough balls on to the prepared baking sheets, about five or six per sheet and making sure they're well spaced to allow for expansion whilst baking

Pop them in the oven and bake for 10-13 minutes or until the cookies are a light golden colour

Allow them to cool and set on the sheets for a few minutes before putting them onto a wire rack