Snickerdoodles are a cinnamon-sugary type of cookie, usually made with shortening to give them a light and crispy texture and cream of tartar to give them a tangy flavor. If I’m making regular Snickerdoodles, I use the butter-flavored crisco. For this recipe, I substituted brown butter for the shortening, hoping to impart a little bit of that nutty brown-butter flavor onto my favorite cookie.
How to make Brown Butter Snickerdoodles:
Make the brown butter first. To make brown butter, just melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat- stir or swirl the pan so the butter doesn’t burn, and remove from heat when the butter turns light brown and gives off a nutty scent. Watch it closely, so it doesn’t burn!
Why is there Cream of Tartar in Snickerdoodles?
A real Snickerdoodle recipe contains cream of tartar in its ingredient list. It’s essential, really, to give it that tangy little flavor that is indicative of what a Snickerdoodle is supposed to taste like. Cream of tartar is the common name for potassium hydrogen tartrate, an acid salt that has a number of uses in cooking. If you’re in the US, you’ll find it in your market’s spice aisle. If you’re outside the US hopefully you’ll have access to it as well. You can always leave it out, but it does give a nice flavor to the cookie.
See that crackle and those craggly craters? That’s what Snickerdoodles are supposed to look like!
How does the brown butter fare in these cookies? You can certainly taste it in the dough, and I think it improves the final version of the baked cookie. You’ll have to let me know if you think the brown butter does wonderful things to the cookie. Enjoy!
