MacGyver Snickerdoodles and a New Year

Ok, ok, ok, ok. I know we've already been in a new year for 48 hours now, but I had some other things to attend to. And in my own defense, I have accomplished more than my roommate, who has just informed me that he hasn't showered in 2011.

I would like to say that I woke up on January 1 refreshed and ready to attack the New Year. But I didn't. I rolled out of bed around noon, to be met with the task of SRSLY cleaning our disgusting floors (from a SRSLY successful NYE party) and taking down the Christmas decorations/clearing the premises of pine needle warfare. By the time I was done, I needed a nap. And now here I am on the eve of returning to what is in my opinion the saddest work day of the year (when the next mass vacation time is an impossibly distant 355 days away). Booooooo.

Last year, T and I were uber-prepared for hosting a NYE party. This year, a little less so . . . We were kind of scrambling around for things late in the game. I wanted to add another desserty item, so I did a quick inventory of the cupboards. I didn't find much in the way of good baking supplies, so I sought inspiration from my old roommate, Allison (the roommate that came before Travis, and who has probably managed to squeeze in a shower this year). This gal could bake up a treat under any circumstances and with any ingredients. I used to call her the MacGyver of baking. She probably could have produced a birthday cake out of bobby pins and duct tape.

Allison and I shared some seriously sweet teeth (read: occasional reckless abandon with respect to late night cookies and ice cream). One night we had an empty fridge and the stores were closed. Allison walked into the empty kitchen and emerged with a batch of the most delicious snickerdoodles I had ever tasted. Then we enjoyed some reruns of Paula Dean while gobbling cookies. That day, she became my baking hero.

Allison had always used a red, spiral bound Betty Crocker cookbook, so I did my best to locate the old Crocker classic.

The cookies were a snap and a big hit at the party. And although I'm not posting a recipe for these little babies (because as you know, my cupcakes often come from a box), I couldn't resist sharing a photo of the lone survivor of 2010. Happy New Year, friends. 

Snickerdoodles

adapted from Betty Crocker

Makes around 50 cookies

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 eggs

2-1/2 cup unbleached flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar (for rolling)

2 tsp. cinnamon (for rolling)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer in a large bowl. Mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and continue to mix until dough forms.

Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-1/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mix until completely covered. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

Bake for 7-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Note: putting raw cookies onto a cookie pan that has already been in the oven will cause the cookies to bake a little faster, so be aware that the second, third, etc. batches may cook up more quickly.