Snickerdoodles

This weekend, I had to renew my membership to cooksillustrated.com. I also decided to join their Editor's Choice group as I have eyed a few recipes there before, but never ponied up to join. I decided that if I was going to join Editor's Choice, I had better make something from them. I went for snickerdoodles as I haven't had them in years. Brandon told me he didn't like them until he tried them. I guess then they were good!  Hope you all enjoy this free Cook's Illustrated Editor's Choice recipe!

Ingredients

2 1/4 c. (11 1/4 ounces) flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
12 T. unsalted butter , softened but still cool (I've given up on using unsalted butter)
1/4 c. vegetable shortening
1 1/2 c. (10 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar , plus 3 T. for rolling dough
2 large eggs
1 T. cinnamon for rolling dough

 

Directions

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.  (I use silicone baking mats)
2. Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.Cream the butter, shortening, and the 1½ cups sugar at medium speed until combined , about 1 to 1½ minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
3. Add the eggs. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.
5. Mix the 3 tablespoons sugar for rolling and the cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
6. Working with a heaping tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 1½-inch balls.  (I used my 1.5 T. cookie scoop) Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to set and the centers are soft and puffy, 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack.
8. Store in a container with a slice of fresh bread in order to keep cookies soft and chewy.