Snickerdoodles - Say it 5 times fast

As I began to type out this post, I thought to myself: "Why in the world are these cookies called snickerdoodles?"
Because as most of you know, there are no Snickers inside these cookies. And thank goodness for that [no, I will never "Grab a Snickers"].

Good thing there's the internet so we can figure this out. Except the internet doesn't know. Or at least Wikipedia doesn't. And let's face it, if Wikipedia doesn't know then there probably isn't an answer, right? No no no, of course I don't believe that, I am in graduate school, and pride myself with a little more brains than that.

But all this boils down to the fact that I cannot provide you with an answer, and you shall have to suffer through just enjoying the deliciousness of these cookies without knowing the etymology of the name.

Without further ado...

Snickerdoodles [from 1,001 Cupcakes, Cookies, and Other Tempting Treats]
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground or grated nutmeg
pinch of salt
For coating: cinnamon sugar

Beat butter and sugar together, followed by the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix in the remaining ingredients.

My friend Amanda and I had no patience for the recipe's recommendation of letting the dough sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. But it turns out that it's totally necessary because the dough is extremely sticky and hard to roll. So even though you want to hurry up and make them so you can hurry up and eat them, you have to pause and do something else for about 30 minutes.

Scoop the dough out [I used a melon baller, Amanda used her hands] and form into balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar. Make sure to set them on the pan far enough apart so they have room to spread while baking.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Then let the cookies sit for a few minutes to set up before you take them off the pan.
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And OH MY GOODNESS. I think 4 of us ate that whole plate in 15 minutes. The best way to describe them is that they were very pillowy, and seemed to almost melt in your mouth.

Note: they were much better right out of the oven and within a few hours than they were the next day. I mean, my boyfriend devoured them no matter what, but in my personal opinion I would recommend that these be eaten the same day as making them.

Also, I'd like to thank my old roommates, Allie and Amy, for providing me with the cookbook from which this recipe was pulled. It was a great Christmas present and will definitely be mentioned here again and again :)