Is there another holiday that can beat Halloween? Pumpkins, costumes, sweets, and festivities galore, I'm convinced that Halloween is the superior holiday.
I usually take advantage of the cooler temperatures that come with this season and bake lots of delicious treats. My favorite to make? Cookies. While I'm known for my chocolate chip cookies among loved ones, I really enjoy snickerdoodle cookies the most. Sweet cookies mixed with warm cinnamon spice make for a perfect fall treat.
With everything going differently this year, I decided to take a new approach with my snickerdoodle cookies. Instead of cream of tartar in the mix and rolling the dough in cinnamon sugar, I opted for buttermilk powder and all the cinnamon in the dough. The most obvious switch up is the addition of Halloween sprinkles in the theme appropriate black and orange.
The absence of cream of tartar and not rolling the dough in cinnamon sugar technically no longer makes these snickerdoodles, but after my first fresh-from-the-oven bite, I think I prefer these over the standard. If you're also in the spooky spirit and looking to branch out, give these delicious cookies a try!
Spooky Sprinkle Cinnamon Cookies
Ingredients:
2 ⅔ c. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. buttermilk powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
Generous pinch of nutmeg
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. neutral-tasting vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
14 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ c. white granulated sugar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
¼ c. sprinkles
Notes:
If you can't find buttermilk powder, milk powder will also work for this recipe.
The dough can be baked right away, but it'll be hard to work with. Chilling the dough yields a better cookie, especially if it chills overnight.
Add rainbow sprinkles if baking for a birthday!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 13-16 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Special Equipment: Stand mixer or handheld mixer, small bowl, medium bowl, large bowl, baking sheet, and wire cooling rack.
Whisk together the flour, buttermilk powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until well blended. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, yolk, oil, and vanilla. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, roughly 2-3 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beater as needed. Slowly stream in egg mixture. Once all has been added, scrape down bowl and beater again. Beat for 30 more seconds to make sure everything is well blended.
By hand, stir in flour mixture a third at a time just until incorporated. Don't overdo it; you want the dough to just come together. Cover your dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375°F and position oven rack in the middle. Let chilled cookie dough stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Use a cookie scoop or roll dough into golf ball size spheres and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies for 13-16 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned and cracked on top. Bake less for softer cookies, longer for crunchy cookies. Based on my cookie preference, I landed on 14 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and cool on the sheet for 1 minute. Finally, move cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Enjoy alone or with a tall glass of milk!