I'm a Carnie!! :)

Yep. I joined the Cookie Carnival!!

As you may know, I LOVE cookies. I think cookies are a perfect snack anytime. I often wonder why cookies aren't on the menu at restaurants. Personally, I love the idea of a hot cup of tea and a plateful of delicious cookies after a meal. It sounds like the perfect dessert in my mind.

I was browsing on a blog and I apologize for not remembering whose it was, and I saw the link to the Cookie Carnival and the blog at The Clean Plate Club. The idea of this is once a month, we are given the recipe for a cookie to bake. Easy enough, right? This month the challenge was for Snickerdoodles and I believe this is a Martha Stewart recipe. I'm trying to get away from making cookies with shortening, but since this was my first attempt at Snickerdoodles, I decided to follow the recipe as it was written.

Snickerdoodles

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup pure vegetable shortening

1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed

2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Now, I don't think that I personally have ever made Snickerdoodles. I remember when I was a little girl that my twin sister, Patti made them a few times. For me, a cookie wasn't a cookie unless chocolate chips were involved. I still feel somewhat the same way today. I like chocolate in my cookies, and everywhere else. However, I must say that I am now willing to try any cookie, even if chocolate is not involved in any manner.

Since I had never made Snickerdoodles before, I was actually excited about baking these and the prospect of enjoying a cookie without chocolate. They smelled really enticing and they looked alluring when they came out of the oven. I gave them few minutes to cool and then decided to sample one. I hesitantly broke a piece off of a cookie, as if I wasn't going to like it. Well, wouldn't you know it? I thought that they were very, very tasty.

They are all packed up and ready to hit the gym tomorrow with Marc and the guys. Hope everyone enjoys them.