Snickerdoodle Saturday

I have a ridiculous amount of work to do this weekend and I needed to blow off some steam. If you have any observational skills at all, you've noticed that I've been doing lots of baking and not much other crafty things lately. Baking is nice because it's instantly gratifying and whenever I give away my treats, people are typically pretty grateful. Don't worry, I haven't been eating all of what I've been making, though I do take my fair share.

I used this recipe from the Food Network, courtesy of Emeril. I've made them before, yet somehow forgot that you should really halve the recipe. The cookies spread out pretty big, so this is a great recipe to follow if you're making cookies for a party or trying to give many away.

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup shortening
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar plus 3 tablespoons
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 350 and grease a couple cookie sheets
  
• Sift flour, baking soda, and fine salt into a bowl. Set aside. You can scale down the amount of flour if you like - I only used a little over 2 cups because I like crispier cookies.
• Blend shortening and butter. Slowly add sugar. Add in one egg at at time. Make sure the mixture is fully blended.
• Add flour mixture and again, make sure all ingredients are combined.
• Use a ice cream scoop to form balls. Combine extra sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and roll the balls around in there. Plop them onto the cookie sheet (make sure to leave room!) and bake immediately.
• Each round takes about 12 minutes.