Snickerdoodles

3 Comments

Snickerdoodles

This is the type of cookie that you can eat all year round. Snickerdoodles are actually known as the poor man’s cookie, as there are minimal ingredients and you don’t have to have any form of chips to add. Usually that is the most expensive part of the cookie, the chip; as they are somewhere close to $3.50+ for the name brand and a little under $3.00 for the generic brand.

Every household (at least where I’m from) has their own version of the Snickerdoodle. This is the version my parents would make all the time because it is that good of a cookie. It’s light, fluffy, and puffy. One of the tricks to making the cookie so puffy is to chill the dough when  your oven is preheating before baking.

Michigan Ingredients

Michigan Ingredients: Big Chief Sugar, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg.

For some reason, whenever I buy sugar, I am always looking to see if it is sugar from Michigan. Big Chief and Pioneer are typically my go to brands when it comes to sugar since they are Michigan based. The Cinnamon and Nutmeg were an added bonus (because when I gathered my ingredients, I noticed that this company is a Michigan company :).  Not only do I love buying my spices in “bulk;” I will now be trying to use this brand more often).

First things first, grab your softened butter (which, if you are like me and not think ahead to soften your butter, please feel free to use the microwave… BUUUUUTTTTT…. don’t over do it  because you do not want to have melted butter and the cookie to fail. Use 10 second bursts) and cream the butter with either your stand-up mixer or hand mixer. Creaming the butter ahead of time helps aid in the fluffiness of the cookie.

Add your sugar and cream together until there is no graininess. I know it might be hard to wait that long; but trust me, it is worth it.

Snickerdoodle

Once your creamed mixture looks like the photo above, add your flour, baking powder, and nutmeg to the mixture. Beat until the cookie dough is fluffy and place the dough in the fridge to chill out while your oven preheats.

Now one would note that this recipe creates a dozen cookies. Trust me that this is a minimum amount as you can make your cookies however small or somewhat large you want. One thing that gets on my nerves is when you are making cookies and the recipes advises that you should “drop by tablespoonfuls.” Seriously? Adults will have self esteem issues as they will have to eat 3-4 cookie to satisfy that sweet tooth that encouraged them to even make the cookies to begin with. Keep in mind for future reference, that this site will make medium to large cookies so that one does not feel as guilty eating cookies. Now by all means, if you are dieting or making cookies for a crowd/your child’s class, then abide by the “tablespoonfuls” guideline to make your cookie dough stretch. OTHERWISE, realize that you are making an indulgent treat, and make it worth while (lol).

ANYWHO….While you are waiting for the oven to preheat, create your cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar mixture. This is where you can make the cookies taste more unique to your family’s taste by playing with the ratios. Some people like a balance, some like it to have a more cinnamon-y or nutmeg-y taste.  Experiment!

Once the oven is preheated, grab your chilled cookie dough and drop the cookie dough onto a baking sheet by whatever sized cookies you are going to make (please see rant above) and then sprinkle the cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar mixture over your cookies and bake for 8-10 minutes until the tops are golden.

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
Snickerdoodles
 
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 1 dozen
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Save Print
 
Also known as the poor man's cookie, every family should have a homemade snickerdoodle recipe. The secret to this recipe is the nutmeg
Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 cup of Michigan sugar (white)
  • 1 Egg
  • ½ cup of Milk
  • 2 cups of flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • additional sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon for sprinkling
Instructions
  1. Cream the butter until fluffy; gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in the egg and stir in the milk.
  2. Add your flour, baking powder, and nutmeg to the creamed butter mixture and beat until fluffy.
  3. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place your cookie dough in the fridge to chill. This will help create a fluffy/pillowy cookie.
  4. Meanwhile, create a cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg mixture for sprinkling. This is where you can experiment with family taste. I usually do ½ cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of nutmeg.
  5. Drop cookie dough onto a pan and sprinkle the cookies with the cinnamon/sugar/nutmeg mixture.
  6. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until cookies are slightly browned on top.

Snickerdoodles

Heavenly Honey Oat Bread

6 Comments

Heavenly Honey Oat Bread

Something about making bread just relaxes me. I don’t know if it is the punch the dough down, kneading it by hand, or just the entire process. It’s one of those things that one typically doesn’t want to rush because you want it to come out perfectly.

This is the type of bread that has multiple a few steps in which take no time at all to prep, it’s just the waiting for cooling and proofing (rise time).

One thing that makes this bread so great is the sweetness the honey gives the bread. Of course, it’s not an overwhelming sweet, as this is not a sweet bread (however, if you have a sweet tooth late at night and do not want complete guilt, toast up a piece and drizzle with honey). This is a bread that is amazing as toast, is great for sandwiches and is amazing to dip in soups. This is the type of bread that I probably could survive on by eating just bread and butter all day for each meal (#polishgirlatheart).

Michigan Item

Michigan Ingredient: Honey

ANYWAYS… back to the honey. I use Michigan made honey as to me it tastes better, more fresh. It could just be the nostalgia of it, but I’ve bought honey that is not made in Michigan and it’s one of those things where you can taste the chemicals inhabiting your body. Not to over exaggerate or anything..

 

5.0 from 1 reviews
Heavenly Honey Oat Bread
 
Author:
Recipe type: Breads
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Save Print
 
Such a hearty and delish bread that you can eat for breakfast or dip in your favorite soup.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of Old Fashioned Oats
  • 2 cups of Boiling Water
  • 1 Package of Active Yeast
  • ¼ cup of Warm Water
  • ⅓ cup of Michigan Honey (or whatever honey you have on hand)
  • 1 tablespoon of Butter (melted and cooled) or Oil
  • 2 teaspoons of Salt
  • 1 Egg Beaten (optional)
  • 5½ cups of All-Purpose Flour
  • Milk
  • Additional Oats
Instructions
  1. Place Old Fashioned Oats into a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over them. Let the Oats stand for 15 minutes or until luke warm. (Sometimes I will add cinnamon and a touch of sugar at this stage.)
  2. Sprinkle yeast over ¼ cup of warm water in a small bowl. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.
  3. Add honey, butter/oil, salt and yeast mixture to the oat mixture. For extra rich dough, add the beaten egg. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the flour (Make sure dough can be handled, but still a bit sticky).
  4. Knead for 2 minutes. Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
  5. Knead 12 to 15 strokes till dough is elastic, but still sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour. **
  6. Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface (Don't let flour take away the sticky).
  7. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 loaves.
  8. You can use either two loaf pans or a large baking sheet. Let the dough rise again for 30 minutes.
  9. Brush with milk and sprinkle with additional oats.
  10. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
Notes
**Note: To help with the rise, take a coffee cup full of water and place it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Cover the bowl with a paper towel that has been wrung out and place the bowl in the microwave. This helps create a nice little "proofing" station so you do not have to worry about your dough not rising.