Historical Snickerdoodle Cookie

Top: Recipe as written. Bottom: Adjusted recipe

Originally, cookies were little round sweet cakes. Over the years, these have evolved into the cookies we know today.

On June 14, 1898 if you were, reading the Boston Daily Globe newspaper you would've come across this recipe for Snickerdoodles.

2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

two eggs

¾ cup butter

2 teaspoons tartar

teaspoon soda

3 cups flour

I decided to make this recipe.Instead of using three quarters a cup of butter, I used half a cup of butter in a quarter cup of Crisco. The first batch, produced beautiful buttery yellow, thin snickerdoodle cakes.

Since they were so thin and spread so much I decided to add about half a cup of flour into the dough. Adding the additional flour produced a drop cookie, we are accustomed to today. However, in doing so, I lost the pretty, yellow color. The cookies stayed well formed, they were light, moist, cakey type cookie. I can understand why the combination of cookies and milk became popular.

Every time I have made snickerdoodle cookies, my recipe says to form dough into a ball then roll ball in cinnamon sugar. This cookie is a drop cookie. This means you drop spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet. Before you place in the oven, sprinkle each cookie with cinnamon sugar. My family really enjoyed the taste of these snickerdoodles. I had to hide what was left, which was half the batch.

Historical Snickerdoodle Cookie:

Ingredients:

2 cups white sugar

1 cup milk

2 eggs

½ cup butter

¼ cup Crisco

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 ½ cups flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F

Combine butter sugar eggs and milk, in food processor until well blended.

 In separate bowl, stir flour baking soda and flour together.

Slowly add flour mixture to food processor until completely blended.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop 1 serving tablespoon of cookie dough onto cookie sheet.

With a heavy hand, cover cookie with cinnamon and sugar.

Cook for 8 to 10 min. or until the edges are slightly brown.

*Did you know: if you're out of eggs, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of cornstarch per egg*