Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (vegan)

I've been making many tasty things in the past few weeks, but I haven't been diligent about taking photos and posting.  Too busy eating, I suppose.  Oops.  My apologies, dear Reader(s)!

However, I do have this recipe for you, and it's great.  A simple cookie that's a twist on a classic, and it just so happens to be vegan.

When you first bite into it, you taste chocolate, "oh, how nice..." and then the creeper cayenne comes in with a bit of heat for a surprise.

After eating a cookie or five two, it dawned on me what the perfect beverage would be to accompany them - horchata!  Luckily, I happened to have some on hand, and the cool, cinnamon-laced rice drink was absolutely wonderful after the depth and kick of the cookies.  I don't have the recipe posted for that quite yet, but I will - promise!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles
(from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)
Makes 2 dozen cookies

For the topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cookies:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons almond milk (Or your preferred non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chocolate extract (or more vanilla extract if you have no chocolate)
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the topping ingredients together on a flat plate. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to vigorously mix together oil, sugar, syrup, and milk. Mix in extracts.

Sift in remaining ingredients, stirring as you add them. Once all ingredients are added mix until you’ve got a pliable dough.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Pat into the sugar topping to flatten into roughly 2 inch discs. Transfer to baking sheet, sugar side up, at least 2 inches apart (they do spread). This should be easy as the the bottom of the cookies should just stick to your fingers so you can just flip them over onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, they should be a bit spread and crackly on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

Sometimes you just want to bake a solid crowd-pleasing cookie without much hassle (okay, most of the time...)  I thought I should make good on my promise to bake Snickerdoodles in my Snickerdoodle Cupcake post.

Not having a go-to recipe of my own, I consulted Smitten Kitchen (big shock!), and she had just the Snickerdoodle recipe I needed.

When you make these, you not only get tasty cookies, but your kitchen will smell amazing for at least a day.  Seriously, waking up the next morning to the remaining scent of fresh-baked cookies IS the way to start your day.

So, the last day before the holiday, I brought these in to work, and they were gone within an hour.  It surprised me because half of the office had already left for vacation!  I had a fair number of folks come up to me later in the day and say guiltily, "I had...two..."  Great!  That's the sign of a tasty recipe.

Snickerdoodles
(From Smitten Kitchen)

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 stick or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400°, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine. If the dough is too sticky to work with, just chill it in the fridge for an hour or so.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon.  Scoop out a rounded tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball, and coat in cinnamon sugar. Place about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Put one sheet in the upper rack and the second on the lower rack in the oven.  Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after five minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about five minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack.

Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

A friend has a game night every month, and I usually bring cookies or something (no one complains).  I'd been posting about cupcakes on Facebook, and her husband responded with something along the lines of "CUPCAKES!!!!"  So I thought I'd bring some to the party this time around.

I was looking for something fun and not too complicated.  I spotted this recipe, and Snickerdoodles are such a well-loved cookie, how could the cupcakes not be yummy?

Note to self: Make some Snickerdoodle cookies and post on blog!

This recipe also used a seven-minute frosting, which was perfect as I had some egg whites that I needed to use up.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed them at the party, and I'd imagine they would be a big hit with kids!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
(from Brown Eyed Baker)
Makes 26-28 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¾ cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1¼ cups whole milk

For the Seven-Minute Frosting:
1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
6 egg whites, at room temperature

For the Garnish:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.

3. Divide the batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes and frosting. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

4. Make the Frosting: Combine 1½ cups granulated sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 degrees F.

5. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, beating to combine.

6. As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 degrees F, remove from the heat. With the mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise the speed to medium-high; whisk until the mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.

7. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip or using a large Ziploc bag with the corner cut off (my cheapo method), pipe frosting on each cupcake: Hold the bag over the cupcake with tip just above the top, and squeeze to create a dome of frosting, then release pressure and pull up to form a peak.

8. Combine the 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.  Dust the peaks of the frosted cupcakes with cinnamon-sugar. Frosted cupcakes are best eaten the day they are frosted; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.

Enjoy!