Snickerdoodles

Yes, funny name, but serious cookie.  My mom made these with my niece and nephews the other day and after trying one (and another.... and then another) I couldnt help but ask for the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 c butter
• 1/2 c shortening*
• 2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 c flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Set your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Get your cookie sheets out, but unlike most baking, you do not need to grease these.
3. Mix together cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, mix butter, shortening, and eggs.
5. In a third, smaller bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 c sugar and your cinnamon.
6. Mix them together, then add the flour in a little bit at a time until you have a nice batter.
7. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls, then roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are slightly browned.

*According to Andrea's Recipes, "shortening was once quite popular in cooking. I generally prefer unsalted butter for baking, and you can substitute equal amounts here, just keep in mind that butter has a liquid content of around 20% and shortening has no liquid. Because of the liquid content, cookies made with butter tend to spread more, making them thinner and crispier than cookies made with shortening, but they also taste better. Freezing the formed dough for a few minutes before baking will help the butter melt slower thus retaining the cookie shape better in the oven."

   Thanks also, to Andrea, for her great picture. :)