Hands Down My Favorite Childhood Cookies.

A little explanation : I don't tend to have the average tastes. I'm not a big chocolate fan. I would gladly have any flavor of cake but chocolate, any flavor of ice cream but chocolate, and any flavor of chocolate but chocolate (white, flavored with essence of whatever).

So after hearing that it should come as no surprise that my favorite cookie... isn't chocolate. In fact my first words were "I don't want any" to a chocolate chip cookie. NO JOKE!

I can still remember the first time I had my favorite cookies. I was about 7 or 8 and it was after school. I was sitting on the floor in front of my parents warm crackling fireplace (must have been winter). My mom brought them out to me on a paper towel, still warm from the oven. I can remember taking a bite and thinking... this is my favorite cookie... ever! They have a little, not sure what else to call it but a bite to them. They pair well with Gingerbread tea (with vanilla creamer) or with a Chai tea latte. Although back in the day, I had them with plain old milk.

This recipe has been adapted from a "make a mix" cook book from the 70's. In the original recipe it makes a large generic mix that you then take a couple cups of then add the cookie specific ingredients. Well, in my house that is a dangerous prospect to have cookies that close to completion in my cupboard so I opted to figure out how to make a small batch.

Sarah's Sassy Snicker-doodles

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Combine in medium bowl:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cream of tartar

a dash of nutmeg.

In a large bowl mix together:

a little less than 1/2 cup sugar

a little more than 1/3 cup brown sugar

Cut in:

1/2 cup shortening

then mix in:

1 egg

Add the dry mixture to the sugar/egg/shortening 1/3 at a time. I use a spatula then switch to hands for the final blending.

Form round balls of dough and roll them in:

cinnamon-sugar and a dash of nutmeg to taste

Place on baking sheet and flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass.

Stoneware baking sheet - Bake about 9-10 min (7 min for metal pan) Tops should be crinkled and sides just ever so slightly browned. Allow to rest on the pan for 3-5 min then remove to a wire cooling rack to prevent edges from getting too hard. (unless you like them like that!)

There you have it. My favorite cookie recipes. Before I had children I worked for about 3 years and I was asked to bring these to each and every birthday party for 3 years. I would never give out the recipe. At the ripe old age of 30 I've since come to my senses and will now pass it along for others to hopefully enjoy as much as I do... well that isn't real likely but I hope you at least enjoy one batch ;-)