I’ll go out to a bakery for a croissant or a perfectly-shaped loaf of artisan bread, but I rarely look past my own kitchen when I'm in the mood for cookies: They're almost always better homemade.
The classic snickerdoodle cookie is leavened with a combination of baking soda and cream of tartar, which gives them their characteristically cakey-chewy centers and crisp edges. Cream of tartar also gives the cookies the slightest tang, which, along with their cinnamon-sugar coating, differentiates them from a straight-up sugar cookie. This take on the classic has a little chocolaty secret, thanks to a spoonful of Nutella tucked inside each ball of cookie dough, which melts into a delicious filling.
(Fun behind-the-scenes note: When I tried chocolate ganache in place of Nutella, it did not melt in the same fashion, which created mounded cookies that resembled Emiko's minne de Sant'Agata, if you know what I mean—see below.)
They are the perfect example of a cookie that's at its absolute best homemade, warm from the oven. Let them sit on the baking sheets until they are just cool enough to touch, then dive in.
And yes, you could certainly bake them without the chocolate centers, but I don’t know why you would.
| 3 | cups all-purpose flour |
| 2 | teaspoons cream of tartar |
| 1 | teaspoon baking soda |
| 3/4 | teaspoon salt |
| 1 | cup unsalted butter |
| 1 1/4 | cups sugar |
| 2 | large eggs |
| 1/2 | cup Nutella |
| For rolling: | |
| 3 | tablespoons sugar |
| 1 | tablespoon cinnamon |
| 3 | cups all-purpose flour |
| 2 | teaspoons cream of tartar |
| 1 | teaspoon baking soda |
| 3/4 | teaspoon salt |
| 1 | cup unsalted butter |
| 1 1/4 | cups sugar |
| 2 | large eggs |
| 1/2 | cup Nutella |
| For rolling: | |
| 3 | tablespoons sugar |
| 1 | tablespoon cinnamon |
Preheat oven to 350° F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, stir the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir until well mixed, with no dry spots remaining.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for rolling. Spoon the Nutella in a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip. Scoop the cookie dough into rounded tablespoon-sized balls, about 1 1/2 inches big. Flatten the balls, making a small well to fill with the Nutella.
Pipe a scant teaspoon of Nutella into each well, then use your fingers to press the cookie dough around the Nutella, sealing it in the ball. You can also use a small spoon to carefully spoon the Nutella into the wells.
Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar, then place them on one of the prepared baking sheets. Freeze the dough balls for 15 minutes before baking.
To bake: Arrange the cookies on the baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 11 to 15 minutes, until puffy and barely golden around the edges, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time.
Cool completely on the baking sheets.
What's another baked good that you'd never buy from the store? Tell us what's better homemade in the comments below.
Written by: Yossy Arefi
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