Snickerdoodles

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now that the holiday season is in full force, I am starting to gather recipes for holiday baking. The National Aquarium in Baltimore had a bake sale last week, and Mrs. W asked me if I would mind contributing. I thought these would be perfect for the occasion!

Snickerdoodles
yields 3 dozen 3-4 inch cookies

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
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 silicone baking mats or parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter 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. Chill the dough for at least an hour (or overnight) before scooping it.

Once dough has chilled, in a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small ice-cream or dough scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about two 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 five minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about five minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. They can be stored in an airtight container up to one week.

Source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen, originally Martha Stewart