Snickerdoodles!!

*Just dessert. Not a modified healthy version. heheh.*

My baby cousin was here visiting since she is going to start college soon. She told me that she liked sugar cookies and cinnamon. So I made a batch of snickerdoodles just for her!!

Many recipes use cream of tartar. It is quite expensive at the store. A tip that a grocery store employee gave me was to use cornstarch as a substitute since the texture/consistency was the same. I decided to do without it altogether. I went with good ole Martha!

Martha Stewart’s Snickerdoodles
makes about 1 1/2 dozen

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
...and...
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 20 (1 3/4-inch) balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

I used an ice cream scooper to make the balls of dough even. My cookies were all about the same size. Lined my pans with silpat (non-stick silicone). I love using silpat since you can remove them from the pan. It leads to quicker cooling time.

These snickerdoodles were perfect...chewy cookies that were not too sweet. 

Enjoy!!! 

Chewy Coconut Cookies

My dear friend is a coconut lover. Her husband doesn't like it so she doesn't bake coconut desserts often. This is one of the baked goods for her birthday...chewy coconut cookies. My preference was finding a recipe where the cookie was slightly crunchy on the edges and chewy in the inside. These were perfect!

Chewy Coconut Cookies
Prep Time:  20 min     Bake Time: 10 min
Yields: 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp coconut extract
1 cup shredded coconut

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Cream sugars and butter. Add egg and mix well.

In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt.
Now, pour the dry ingredients into the first bowl to mix.

Add coconut extract and shredded coconut. Stir until there is coconut in all the batter.

Make little flattened balls of coconut to place on your baking pan or silpat (whichever you prefer).
Mine are about 2-3 inches in diameter.

Bake for 10 minutes. Initially when you take them out of the oven, they will still be soft. Remove from heat to let them cool.

I wrapped mine in plastic, put tissue paper around it since it was a gift.

Share them with your coconut-loving friends.

Enjoy!!! ;)