Snickerdoodles for high altitude baking

Snickerdoodles - made dough February 19, 2020, modified from High Altitude Bakes

I didn't think any other snickerdoodle recipe could knock off my favorite from Sally's Baking Addiction. But it turns out I was wrong. Meet my new favorite recipe for snickerdoodles. And it's such a favorite that my snickerdoodle recipe testing days have come to an end. I'm not making any other snickerdoodle recipe but this. Yes, it's that good. And with my recipe ADD, you know I don't say that lightly.

I tried out this recipe since it promised to be good for high altitude baking. I'm not sure if it was because of that or because I finally learned how to bake at the right temperature in my oven. Hint: whatever temp my oven says it is, it's lying. The cheap oven thermometer I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond (20% off!) speaks the truth. And since I started to go by the truth, my cookies are turning out much better and no longer flattening.

But I don't think it's entirely because I've bested my oven on what temperature it actually is when I put a baking sheet of cookie dough balls in it. This is genuinely a great recipe. I modified it only slightly by adding a teaspoon of (Penzey's) Vietnamese cinnamon into the dough. Otherwise, I made it as is and it delivered.

The flavor was good and the texture was soft and chewy, moist without being dense and fluffy without being too cakey. In other words: damn awesome. Like I have to make these again awesome because I shipped most of the first batch to a deployed military service member. Then I made another batch and gave it away to some former coworkers I met up with a couple of weeks ago. At the time, I felt all generous and self-sacrificing. Now I just feel deprived and foolish, lol. 

If you don't live in high altitude, I don't think there's any need to make any adjustments to the recipe. I live at 4400 feet above sea level and, as mentioned earlier, I think my cookie spread had more to do with low oven temp than altitude. In any case, try it as is and see how it turns out. And - wait for it - don't overbake. It's okay for the middles to puff up during baking but they should absolutely collapse slightly in the center after you take them out. Slightly, mind you, not be volcanic craters. If you get a crater, you didn't bake them long enough. If they stay puffy after you take them out, you might've baked them too long.

look at that texture!

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
2. Beat in the eggs until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Add to butter-egg mixture in 2 additions, mixing briefly after each addition, just until combined. Do not overmix.
5. Portion dough into golf-ball-size balls. If dough is too sticky, you may chill briefly (15-20 minutes) before portioning into dough balls. Cover and chill or freeze the dough balls several hours or overnight.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Mix together 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons cinnamon in a bowl. Roll dough balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture, covering completely, before evenly spacing on prepared sheet.
8. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are set and middles no longer look raw. Let rest on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.