November is here so that means frosty mornings, scraping ice from windshields and baking yummy goodies to warm us up. I’ve always liked Snickerdoodle cookies because of the cinnamon coating of course! But what if you added all the warm spices like cardamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg to the mix? And what if you browned the butter first? Well I experimented and the result was wonderful. That soft pillowy texture of a Snickerdoodle with the deep flavour of the browned butter and spices was just about perfection. So let’s make this a thing and call it Winter Spice Snickerdoodles.
This cookie would be an excellent choice for a Christmas cookie exchange or to leave out for Santa. But I am thinking it is just perfect for that everyday cookie for lunches and of course with tea. The warm spices make it a great accompaniment for coffee as well…even if you have it in the morning. Snickerdoodles are such a quick cookie to bake up as there is no refrigeration time required for the dough mind you will have to wait for the browned butter to firm up, but believe me it is worth the effort. If you are short on time you can skip the browning of the butter and just use room temperature butter and continue on with the recipe. Take the time to brown the butter – it is so worth it!! You will be substituting it in more recipes before you know it.
- 1 cup salted butter- cold or room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, cold
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp cardamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- Coating:
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Browned Butter:
- In a medium sized heavy saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat. Allow the butter to cook until it turns an amber colour with little flecks of brown in it. This will bubble and spurt so keep hands clear but keep a very close eye on it and stir occasionally. It will take 10-20 minutes for this to occur.
- Pour butter into a glass bowl and place in freezer for about 15 minutes until starting to solidify.
- Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Cream the browned butter and sugar until light and fluffy- about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl often to ensure the butter is all incorporated.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl whisk together all of the spices, salt, flour and cream of tartar.
- Add slowly to the butter mixture. Mix until all of the flour is incorporated.
- In a small bowl mix together the coating mixture of cinnamon and granulated sugar.
- Using a small ice-cream scoop or 2 tablespoons scoop cookie dough into balls and roll in sugar mixture.
- Place balls on parchment lined baking sheets at least 1 inch apart.
- Flatten the balls with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a small glass.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are just starting to brown around the edges.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before storing
- Makes 30 cookies.