This recipe is a Work In Progress … I’m not 100% happy with how these are turning out as of yet. But, in the meantime, here’s what I’ve tried. They’re still tasty, though they collapse a bit more than I care for.
“Doodles” — of which these are the best-known example — are cookies that rise and fall when baked, leaving them thin and chewy inside. The origin of the name is open to some dispute — the German Schneckennudel (“snail noodle”), which are a sort of cinnamon pastry brought to America by German immigrants. German immigrants in Pennsylvania also had a Snipdoodle coffee cake, which is another possibility.
In any case, they are easy and tasty.
Ingredients
- 1 c. Butter [1]
- 1½ c. Sugar
- 2 Eggs (I add another 1 for altitude correction)
- 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
—– - 2¾ c. Flour
- 2 tsp. Cream of Tartar [2]
- 1 tsp. Baking Soda [2]
- ¼ tsp. Salt
—– - 2 tbsp. Sugar
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon
Directions
- Heat oven to 400° F (“moderately hot”) [3]
—- - Mix thoroughly Butter [1], Sugar, Eggs.
- Blend together Flour, Cream of Tartar [2], Baking Soda [2], Salt
- Stir blend into the mixed body.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour (or overnight).
—– - Shape dough into 1″ balls (1 tbsp. or walnut size)
- Roll balls in Sugar/Cinnamon mixture.
- Place balls 2″ apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. [3]
Makes 6 doz. cookies (or so it says)
Notes
[1] The original Betty Crocker recipe calls for shortening with butter or margarine. Using butter alone may be making them spread more, though the refrigeration should counter that some.
[2] In theory, the 2 tsp Cream of Tartar and 1 tsp Baking Soda should be the same as 4 tsp Baking Powder. Some sources indicate that the Cream of Tartar actually adds a “tangy flavor” that should be in the cookie, differentiating it from a normal sugar cookie; that’s a variation to try.
[3] The Betty Crocker recipe runs hotter than most: 400° for 8-10 minutes. The batch I ran with that collapsed pretty hard; possible variations are 12 minute, or more like 375° and even longer.
Source: The classic Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book (1933), originally submitted by Mrs. Ronald Anfinston, Benson, Minnesota, with a few added notes from elsewhere.