Snickerdoodle Cookies

Hello!

It's Xavier's turn to cook dinner, and he chose a recipe for Mango Fried Rice. I'm sitting at our kitchen table, watching him wince and hold back tears because he's chopping an onion. Happy tears...right?

People having been asking loads of questions about the vegan lifestyle, and I'm loving it! For the record, I so appreciate hearing feedback and sharing our experiences.

With this weather, I think one of the biggest challenges is being surrounded by fall-flavored-goodies (pumpkin bread, molasses cookies, gingersnaps, etc.). I love spiced goodies in the fall and winter, especially with a hot cup of tea or coffee. It isn't that I feel deprived of the wonderful treats at work, because it is a conscious choice. It isn't that I can't have it...I just choose not to. And that has made my job (at Coffea) much easier.

Anyway, the point of bringing this challenge up is this: I found a fantastic recipe for Snickerdoodle Cookies. When Xavier got home from work, I was in the middle of baking them, and he was incredibly excited. Little did I know, they're one of his favorite cookies.

These cookies are rich, slightly crisp on the edges, chewy in the middle, and packed with flavor. Our kitchen table is covered with cooling racks, littered with these delights. I plan to freeze at least half of them so we can enjoy them longer (and because they're that good...I need them out of sight, out of mind).

I adapted the recipe from Post Punk Kitchen. I used some different spices than the PPK recipe called for, but feel free to check out their recipe! Everything we've made from their website has been fantastic!

Snickerdoodle Cookies
For the topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves

For the cookies:
1 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
6 Tbsp non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
4 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the "topping" ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil, syrup, non-dairy milk, extract, salt, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add the sugar and mix well. Then add the flour and baking soda and mix until well combined. The dough should be soft, but firm enough to form into a ball. If it won't hold shape, add a couple tablespoons of flour and mix again. Using a small cookie scoop or a small spoon, form into balls, about the size of a walnut. Roll in the sugar topping and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. They'll flatten out, so be sure to give them enough room to spread out. Press them down a little bit before placing them in the preheated oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges start to become golden brown. Remove from the oven, cool for a minute, and transfer to a cooling rack. This recipe makes 4 dozen. You can very easily cut it in half (if you don't want to do the math, go to the PPK web link provided above). ENJOY!

Have a great week, everyone!