Snickerdoodles – An S.O.S. Call

When I worked at the Great American Cookie Company we had a decent variety of cookies.  One of my favorites were the snickerdoodles – a shortbread, yet chewy cookie topped with cinnamon and sugar.

A few months ago, I attempted to make snickerdoodles out of my “500 Cookies” book.  They turned out paper-thin, and crispy.  This was not at all what I had in mind.  But then I came across Culinography’s success with her snickerdoodles.  They were exactly what I remembered honest to goodness snickerdoodles looking like.

I printed out the Mrs. Sigg’s recipe that Culinography used, and went to work in the kitchen.  Unfortunately my hopes and dreams were crashed as I opened the oven door to find cookies (my cookie sheets don’t have four edges, just two) drip, drip, dripping over the side of the pan, and onto the bottom of my crappy, small apartment oven.  But they still looked somewhat fat…for a little bit.  Upon taking them, they were flat, and entirely disappointing.  I haven’t even shared them with anyone yet because I am so disappointed at another snickerdoodle failure.

Readers: What am I doing wrong?  Is my wackadoodle midget oven entirely uncalibrated by this point in its staggered career that I cannot depend on it to yield thick shortbread?  Has my cream of tartar gone awry?  What about that baking soda I feel like I bought mere months ago?  Is it too against me in my quest to make moist snickerdoodles that won’t crash and break like fine china?  SOS!

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Getting ready for Fall: Cinnamon Apple/Pear Muffins

Despite the cold weather, I truly love living in the North.  I love the change of the seasons, bundling up in bed (sans sweaters folks, it’s not really like Fargo), watching movies inside my warm apartment on cold days, and the sweet smells of cold weather foods, particularly cinnamon.  In an effort to get a jump start on Fall, I made these cinnamon apple muffins.  I also added pears because the pears I saw at the Lunds were just gorgeous, and fit into my fall theme.

David and I were invited up Nord for the weekend, thus necessitating this morning breakfast muffin made with not only APF, but wheat as well.  There were going to be six of us, and wanting to accommodate any flubs in baking or the possibility of wanting seconds, I doubled the recipe.  However, I did not use two pears and two apples, but one pear and to apples.

I used two golden delicious apples, and a Bartlett pear, which both hold up very well in any baking process, rather than turning them into apple/pear sauce.

Of course I used my apple peeler/corer not only on my apples, but on the pear too.  That puppy is a time and life saver.  I digress…I cored and peeled both fruits, then chopped them up real small.  Then coated them in the dry ingredient mixture. After mixing the wet ingredients together, In went the apple/pear mixture.  Fear not, it is SUPPOSED to be that lumpy.

After filling up large muffin cups with muffin mix, I went ahead and made some sugary-buttery-floury-cinnamony streudel to spoon on top. It seems like a lot of dry ingredients to mix together with not enough wet to incorporate them all, but it actually mixes well enough to get crumbly and not overly dry.

Into the oven and 25 minutes later, we had beautiful looking and tasty smelling muffins to bring up to the cabin.

Though tasty, I did make a mistake in traveling with them: I put them in an airtight container.  These muffins, because they contain fresh fruit do not need an airtight container.  The apples and pears inside of them keep them quite moist and with the container makes them too moist.  However I am unsure of what I would have used in place…But since you have now learned from me, you don’t have to fear making the same mistake.

huzzah!

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