Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

This sweet and simple recipe for cinnamon sugar cookies will have you wanting one for each hand. The perfect old-fashioned snack.

So, you all who have been reading my blog for a while know that my favorite cookies in the world are my grandma’s molasses cookies.  Oh, those cookies.  Simple but purely perfect with a sweet molasses taste and just the right amount of sugar coating.  They remind me of being a kid running around my grandparents’ Vermont farm, and from what I have heard from all the sweet comments on this post, they create the same sweet memories for a lot of folks.  Which made me want to come up with another sweet but simple cookie that could be friends with those molasses cookies.

Yes, this is me in my leopard print bathing suit at the brook on the farm.  Now there is pretty much nothing I haven’t told you about myself.  Sharing one’s history with leopard print bathing suits is a true sign of devotion.

Anyway…all cookies I make are therefore judged against the gold standard of those molasses cookies, and while nothing ever equals them, these cinnamon babies come dang close.  They are the same general concept…simple sugar cookies that are rolled into a ball shape, rolled in cinnamon sugar, flattened with the bottom of a glass and then baked.  They come out with a homey slightly cracked surface that will zap you right back to being 4 years old with your grandma’s warm cookies into your hands…one for each hand, she always said.

A couple of words about this recipe.  When you finish mixing up the dough it’s going to look like a bunch of crumbs…don’t worry!  You’re going to scoop in up in tablespoon amounts and squish and roll it into round balls of dough.  If you play some James Taylor in the background, this is almost therapeutic.  Then roll them in cinnamon sugar, flatten them a little, bake and cool, and make SURE you eat one while they are still warm.  Maybe two.  One for each hand.  

Then call your grandma and tell her you love her. I sure do love mine.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

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• Yield: 40 to 48 cookies 1x

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Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar for topping
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer until they are light and fully combined – you will probably have to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.
3. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Add the flour and mix until it is combined. The dough is going to look like large crumbs – don’t worry!
5. Scoop out level tablespoonfuls of the dough and squeeze and roll it together into balls.
6. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the cinnamon and roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar until they are coated completely.
7. Place the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on parchment-lined cookies sheets. Flatten them gently with the bottom of a glass, and sprinkle with any extra cinnamon sugar.
8. Baker for 10 to 12 minutes. Tops should be crackly and a little puffy. Cool for 2-3 minutes on cookie sheets and then cool on racks. Make sure you eat one (or two!) while they are still warm!

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Kate Morgan Jackson

Hi there!  I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover.  I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and my mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN!  My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too.  Let’s cook together!