{"id":3235,"date":"2017-06-29T15:57:02","date_gmt":"2017-06-29T19:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recipephany.com\/?p=3235"},"modified":"2023-08-11T14:31:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T18:31:12","slug":"snickerdoodles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/recipephany.com\/?p=3235","title":{"rendered":"Two Sisters’ Snickerdoodles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soft, puffy, and slightly crinkly, these classic snickerdoodles deliver sugar \u2018n\u2019 spice all year \u2019round, not just at Christmas.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s no escaping that bit of Yuletide in this snickerdoodle. It is one of the irresistible treats my sister-in-law Chris heaps upon her splendid Christmas cookie tray.<\/p>\n

And Chris got this recipe from \u201cSister Santa Claus.\u201d<\/p>\n

It goes back to Chris\u2019s sophomore Home Economics class at Cathedral High School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Many of the nuns who taught her had a male name along with a female one\u2014such as Sister Mary Timothy. So I took her literally when she mentioned Sister Santa Claus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t her real name, but we called her that because she looked just like him,\u201d says Chris. \u201cLittle wisps of white hair coming out from under her veil, the stray white whisker, rosy nose and cheeks, and the little round bifocals.\u00a0She was also round<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Says Chris, \u201cWe mostly made recipes ripped out of Good Housekeeping<\/em> or off the back of the oatmeal box, or using cans of condensed soup. Nothing was original and we didn\u2019t learn any real techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n

This simplicity might explain why this recipe lacks the ingredient many bakers insist puts the snicker<\/em> in the doodle<\/em>: cream of tartar. But frankly, you don\u2019t need it. I did a comparison in my humble \u201ctest kitchen\u201d and found that snickerdoodles without cream of tartar had better texture and were softer, higher, and tastier than those with it.<\/p>\n

Chris remembers that not all Sister Santa Claus\u2019s recipes were winners. \u201cWe were required to eat what we cooked. So on Home Ec days we wore old-styled uniforms that had huge pockets in the blazer.\u00a0That way we could wrap up the most awful stuff, slip it into our pockets and get rid of it after the bell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sister Santa Claus wasn\u2019t jolly. \u201cOnce I for flipped a dish towel over my shoulder. She yelled at me, \u2018This is NOT some greasy spoon!\u2019\u201d says Chris.<\/p>\n

But Chris learned other lessons that will stick with her forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe taught us the proper way to write out a recipe card. To this day I do it the way she taught us. Time, temperature and yield in the upper right-hand corner. Ingredients by step on the left, directions on the right. She also taught me to read the whole recipe through first, then take out all the ingredients, and put away each one after I use it.\u00a0Smart, and when I don\u2019t follow this\u2026well, let\u2019s just say mistakes can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

So here it is, just as Chris copied it down in class, with a couple of notes. Just watch how you handle your dish towel. \u201cThank you, Sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Sisters’ Snickerdoodles<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Temperature: 400 degrees
\nTime: 8-10 minutes
\nYield: 6 dozen (+\/-)\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cream:<\/p>\n