Hello again! It’s the new homeowner here! I’m feeling especially like an adult today because not only am I living in a house that we own now, but because we went furniture shopping yesterday and purchased a new dining room set. A gorgeous, classy, sophisticated, too-good-to-be-mine kind of dining room set. Oh, and a large copper-colored spoon, fork, and knife set to hang on our (bare) walls. It’s debatable whether I’m more excited about my life-size silverware or the new table that I’ll get to eat at in about a week when it’s delivered. Either way, it’s fun to see this house of ours come together. Wheee!!

Jumping back about a month ago, I was sitting on our floor, surrounded by boxes while we were packing, sifting through old papers and the random things that start to collect in a desk. Well, I came across an old piece of scratch paper that I had started writing on when I first met Philip (okay, it’s only about 2 years old, but it seemed ancient). On the paper was a list of all of his favorite things — so I could remember the important things like his favorite color, candy bar, non-chocolate candy, cake, and season. Of course those are crucial things that I didn’t want to dare forget. But on there were also his favorite flavors like cinnamon, lime, and garlic — which still comes in useful today. Thankfully when I went through the list, I was able to confidently say I knew all of the “favorites” and could throw away the piece of paper (mostly glad so I could get rid of the paper).

On that list were some of his favorite cookies, including snickerdoodles (because of the cinnamon, no doubt). When I was first getting to know Philip, I made these cookies and sent them with his dad when he was going up to Madison to visit Philip. If I hadn’t won Philip over yet, the cookies definitely did it. They were an instant hit with him! They were soft and chewy and extra cinnamon-y.

These cookies are the last installment of “our favorite cookies” that we had recipes for at our wedding. While my favorite cookies that I shared at our wedding are the Cookies ‘n Cream cookies, these Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodles are right up there with my list of favorite cookies (and it’s not an extensive list either).

When dipping these cookies in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, I use extra cinnamon (how can I not when my husband’s favorite spice is cinnamon) almost to the point where you think the mixture is only cinnamon. If you don’t like as much cinnamon, you can always bring down the cinnamon to sugar ratio a bit.

The secret to making these cookies come out extra soft (like I say for all of my cookies) is by not over baking them. Take them out as soon as they’re set, but not brown yet. Within a couple minutes of taking the cookies out of the oven, they’ll will get the classic crinkle look that snickerdoodles have and continue to set up.

Oh, and if you have a Silpat or a nonstick baking mat, use it for these cookies (and all cookies, for that matter)! It makes all the difference when baking cookies in how they turn out. I only had one before and could always tell a difference from the cookies that were baked on the Silipat and the cookies that were on parchment paper. There’s no turning back after you start, guaranteed.

If you like snickerdoodles at all, then I know you’re going to love Philip’s Favorite Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodles.

(Philip’s Favorite) Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodles

Makes 18-20 cookies
Adapted from: Lovin’ From the Oven

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For Rolling:

• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter by itself. Add in the sugars and cream together on high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
2. Add in the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar; mix well.
3. Preheat oven to 300° while you let the dough rest for at least an hour in the refrigerator.
4. In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon for the topping. (For less cinnamon, only add 1 teaspoon to the mixture.)
5. Take about 1 to 2 Tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and press it lightly onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Repeat for the remaining cookies.
6. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes and no more. The cookies may seem undercooked, but will continue to set after they are removed from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes before moving onto a cooling rack to continue cooling.