August 7, 2008
Tags: baking, cookies, fall, holiday, spices, sweet | Print this recipe
Pictured: Molasses Crinkles and Snickerdoodles
Have you ever seen two different recipes for the same thing and didn’t know which one to make? That happens to me all the time. Sometimes I don’t bother at all, thinking it’s too much pressure to pick the “right” recipe, but if it’s something that looks really good I might just make both and see what I like better. That is the case for these dueling snickerdoodle recipes that I found on two or my favorite sites: What Geeks Eat and Simply Recipes. The big difference between the recipes is the Shuna’s at Simply Recipes has cornstarch, while Vanessa’s has the more traditional cream of tartar. You can go read Shuna’s post about why cornstarch is special. Due to this different “secret” ingredient in the cookies, I found the outcome of both to be completely different tasting cookies.
If you are cookie dough connoisseur, the cornstarch recipe wins hands down. I LOVE cookie dough, but I could barely eat any of the other recipe because it was too flour-y. The problem comes after you bake them. The cornstarch cookies have a really nice light taste, again, not too flour-y, but you pretty much have to eat them immediately. Because once they sit there for more than about 20 or 30 minutes they turn really hard and crunchy. I overcooked mine by about 3 minutes, so that probably contributed to that, but still, I don’t think you’d want to eat these cookies the next day. So they are definitely not good if you are making ahead for a party or something. They also don’t need to be chilled the way the other recipe does. So if it’s movie night with the family or something like that, these are definitely the way to go.
The other recipe isn’t bad at all, though (pictured above with the other cookies I talk about next). They keep much better and don’t get super hard. I’m eating one now, hours after I baked it, and it’s still very chewy and soft, but crispy around the edges, which is the perfect cookie consistency in my opinion. (UPDATE – 8/8/08: These are even better tasting and softer the next day!) When I ate a cookie from the other recipe hours later it was a brick. I especially like how these cookies are coated completely in the cinnamon/sugar mixture instead of just having it on top like the other ones.
You’d think I had enough cookies, but no, I’ve been craving some special cookies that my dad used to make, so I whipped those up along with the snickerdoodles. I’ll be bringing most of the cookies into work tomorrow so they’re not just for me (thank god, as I would definitely eat them all). These cookies are from a very old cookbook that I stole from my dad. It a kid’s cookbook from the 1950′s so it has a bunch of easy to make recipes along with some really gross sounding stuff (Creamed Dried Beef!?!?) My dad would make these cookies with me when I was a kid and I still make them fairly regularly because I love the so much. They are similar to sugar cookies but are flavored with a little molasses and some spices like cinnamon and ginger. I love them because they have a very distinct taste. They are great warm, but are just as good later and they have that perfect, soft/chewy/crispy consistency I like so much.
Molasses Crinkles
From Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys and Girls
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter (room temp)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 1/2 cup sugar
Process
1. Cream together butter and sugar. Add in egg and molasses and mix until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, soda, salt and spices.
3. Add into the butter mixture and combine.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill dough for at least 3 hours (or overnight).
5. After the dough is chilled preheat your oven to 375 degrees (F).
6. Scoop out some dough with a spoon and roll it into a walnut sized ball. Dip the top into a small bowl full of sugar. Place on your baking sheet (parchment lined is best, but otherwise just greased normally) about 3 inches apart.
7. Once your baking sheet is full, using your fingers, sprinkle or flick each cookie with a few drops of water. This will give a nice crackled surface of the cookie when it’s baked.
8. Place in oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, just until set but not hard.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
[rating: 4.5]
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