Snickerdoodle Day

I'm going to go visit my Mom today. She lives in a nursing facility that specializes in Dementia Care. It's set up like a home with living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms and a nice outdoor area with a courtyard that they can come and go freely in warm weather. My Mother's move from her farm could have been traumatic, but she feels like this is home and is very secure and happy again. That means the world to me, when she reached the point that she could no longer live alone, Windcrest provided her the safe home she needed. It's a close-knit little group of 16 ladies who share their lives daily and have become family. I love each one of them and look forward to my visits not only with Mom but with the other ladies as well. I take cookies or cupcakes once a week to feed my Mom's sweet tooth! Today I made Snickerdoodles from Paula Deen's The Lady and Son's Cookbook. It's an easy recipe that always is a hit!

Snickerdoodles...Two Ways Printable Recipe
Yields Approximately 4 Dozen
1 cup Crisco...I use Butter Crisco (I'm Southern!)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar (the 2 tablespoons are to make the cinnamon sugar)
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar and the eggs. Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Combine with egg mixture and chill dough thoroughly. Roll into balls the size of a walnut. Roll in mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Bake for 8-10 minutes on ungreased baking sheet until lightly browned but still soft.*Ok, here's the two way part...I love cinnamon so I add 2 teaspoons cinnamon to the dough (along with the other dry ingredients) and then roll in the cinnamon sugar just like the recipe says.

Cream the Butter flavored Crisco, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. This is my new KitchenAid mixer that my darling husband surprised me with Christmas Now he's always been a great gift giver, but I think this ranks near the top of all my gifts! I feel a little guilty receiving it, I rarely bake anything for us. It seems we are on a FOREVER diet these days. But I do bake for Mom and the Ladies and holidays when our daughters and their families come home.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and chill thoroughly.

Paula Deen's recipe says roll the balls the size of a walnut, but I like to use my little ice cream scoop so the cookies may be a tad bigger. Roll them in the mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Again the recipe says to bake 8-10 minutes on ungreased baking sheet, but I bake 12 minutes (because of the slightly larger size) until lightly browned but still soft. They will crisp as they cool.

Don't they look like little scoops of vanilla ice cream? I saw this idea of using a small ice cream scoop (I found mine at Walmart) on Food Network. It sure makes quick work of making cookies. While I am on the "Good Idea Train," my neighbor Sharon told me her Mom used to make a batch of cookies and refrigerate the dough, baking them a dozen at a time. You know how good they are fresh from the oven and seem more special than cold ones from the cookie jar. Husbands need to smell cookies baking anytime you have had a busy afternoon at Tuesday Morning...

Here's the ones I took to Mom and the Ladies. The Ladies baked a cake this week, they stirred it up and all helped to decorate the top. I appreciate the care and dedication of all of the ones who work so hard to keep my Mom happy and safe.

These I took to our good neighbors who checked on me during the recent ice storm, brought us Valentine cupcakes, and watch to make sure I put my garage door down...you know who you are!