Snickerdoodles

I've been wanting to make some snickerdoodles lately and I've never gotten a really good recipe. I prefer to make mine without cream of tartar because I just prefer them thinner and chewier. I know some people probably think that a snickerdoodle just isn't a snickerdoodle without cream of tarter, and I say...oh well! I've heard many times that people say it's tasteless, but I can taste it..for sure. It's almost like a sour-ish taste. This isn't to say if someone gave me a great snickerdoodle recipe with cream of tartar that I wouldn't make it (hint hint my fellow food bloggers..recipes always welcome!). So I totally just winged this cookie recipe and they came out wonderful! Just what I like in a cookie, a little on the thinner side, and chewy, but still somewhat cake-like on the inside. Does that make sense? I hope so! Now let's get to the recipe so that hopefully some of you can be enjoying these delectable cookies soon! *P.S. - Click on the pictures of the cookies below for full size, they are SO pretty close-up! You can always click on all of my pictures for super close views! I just wanted to put that out there for anyone who didn't know! :o)

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/3 Cup Vegetable Shortening

1/4 Cup Butter, softened

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar (to roll in)

1/3 Cup Ground Cinnamon (to roll in)

Directions:In Large bowl mix shortening, butter, and sugars until combined. Add egg and vanilla, mix well. In small bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually mix in flour mixture to wet mixture. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough into balls (as big or as small as you want your cookies to be) and then coat them in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a un-greased cookie sheet and slightly flatted with the bottom of a glass. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

M&M Cookies

Hi :o) I hope everyone is having a good week so far. My brother in-law Joe has been asking me to make him some m&m cookies for awhile now, but I could just never find the right recipe that I thought was good enough to give him. After many trials and errors I finally found one that I think is really good. The key is the cold butter. It really helps the cookie spread and stay chewy. Another thing I've learned is to NOT mix the m&m's in with the dough, but rather place them on top before baking. These also cook at a much lower temperature than most other cookies, and you will need to adjust the rack in your oven as well. These are really tasty and super cute looking thanks to the colorful m&m's. I hope you liked them Joe! Judging from the stack of them that you took home, I'd like to think so?!

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Stick Butter, cold

1 Egg

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 1/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Directions:

Cut butter up into small cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add both sugars and mix until combined. Add egg and vanilla, mix well. Add baking soda and salt, mix well. Gradually add flour. Depending on how big you want your cookies, take as much dough as you want and roll it into a ball, place it on a ungreased cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Add m&m's on top, slightly pressing them down into the dough. Place your oven rack in the top 1/3 of your oven. Bake in a pre-heated 300 degree oven for 10-2 minutes or until edges start to brown slightly.