Snickerdoodle Cookies

When our oldest--who is nearly a teenager now (insert wide-eyed emoji here)--was little, I wanted to begin establishing Christmas season activities that we would go back to every year. My husband and I figured out how to use a Jesse Tree before Jesse Trees were cool. There were no resources readily available 10 years ago so we created our own. We continue to use our own even though there are so many out there now--please feel free to contact me about how we do that if you'd like to know more. Not all of us are as flowery and poetic as Ann Voskamp or as creative and crafty as Pinterest would have us believe we should be (insert woman with her hand raised emoji here). But teaching our kids? Yes, that's important, and we embrace simplicity and our own tendencies and gifts in that. But back to the food side of this, because that's what you came for right? I decided I wanted there to be a few foods that were part of our Christmas preparation and celebrations. Ones the kids just knew would be there and that they looked forward to. Ten years into this, and I think we've accomplished it. My kids know to expect that when we decorate the Christmas tree there will be Snickerdoodle cookies and hot chocolate in Christmas mugs. In fact they volunteered to get it all ready this year! I chose Snickerdoodles because I wanted the house to smell like cinnamon as we decorated. I only make them once a year! My kids also know to expect this breakfast casserole every Christmas morning. I make it the day before and it bakes while we open gifts. So these are just a couple of my tastes and smells of Christmas. What are yours?

Snickerdoodle Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
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1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Cream together butter and sugars and until fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix well.  The dough will look a little separated. Add in the cream of tarter, soda, salt and flour. Blend well. *If your dough is not thick and easy to roll, place it in the fridge for half an hour to firm it up a bit. Meanwhile mix together 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Scoop or break off pieces about 1 Tablespoon in size. Roll gently into a ball. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and then place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Be careful not to overbake.  Remove to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

*Cream of tarter and soda work together to give Snickerdoodles their unique, traditional taste. If you don't have the cream of tarter you can omit it and the soda and use 2 tsp baking powder.

A few years ago, I wrote this post about establishing holiday traditions in our expat homes on the Taking Route blog. While its about Thanksgiving, the same is true of Christmas. You might enjoy reading it!