Super Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies

I can't even tell you how many different cookie recipes I've made in my lifetime. The number is high up there. There are very few of those recipes that I've just fallen in love with. This is one of those "perfect" cookie recipes. These have perfect flavor, perfect texture (a biggie for me, I'm very picky about that!) and they're also a quick recipe to make- no chilling of the dough (always a plus).

A couple things that will make your cookie baking experience much better:
1. Parchment paper
Parchment paper is the key ingredient to not having a ton of dishes to clean. You do not need to spray it with Pam, and after each batch out of the oven you can reuse it for the next round. When you're done with baking your cookies you can just throw it away. Bam. Clean baking sheet.
2. Cookie dough scoop
I cannot express this enough- I LOVE COOKIE SCOOPS. Using a cookie dough scoop will make your cookies bake evenly because they will all be the exact same size. It will also be so much quicker to scoop all of your cookie dough because you don't even have to think about trying to make them all the same size, like when you use a spoon to scoop instead. Cookie scoops are about 10 dollars at the store (target, bed bath and beyond, walmart, whatever) There are different sizes. My favorite size is the 1 1/2 Tablespoon size. I use that one the most (used in this recipe).
3. Use only the middle rack to bake your cookies. It may take a little longer, but it is worth it. Many times that I've used multiple racks at one time, the cookies bake differently. The cookies baked on the top rack bake flatter and quicker, while the ones in the middle bake as they are supposed to.
4. Softening butter. If you don't feel like waiting to let your butter soften sitting out at room temperature (because that will take a couple hours) pop it in the microwave one at a time for like 8 seconds. If it's still hard, turn it over on the opposite side you set it down on, and turn the microwave back on for 5 seconds at a time. Do not let it melt.

Super soft Snickerdoodles:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 and 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. First, turn oven on to 375 degrees F.
Mix softened butter with 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Mix until light and fluffy.

 2. Add egg and vanilla. mix until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl.

 3. In a small bowl, measure out cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Measure out the flour and add all of it to the bowl, then add the small bowl of spices on top. Mix until fully combined. Warning- this dough is THICK, so your mixer may struggle towards the end. Just use your muscles and finish the mixing process with a spatula.

 4. Scoop your cookie dough and roll into the sugar/cinnamon mixture. (shown below)

 5. Spread cookie dough out on your parchment-lined baking sheet. I fit 16 on my square pan, just spread out about 2 inches apart. These cookies don't spread A LOT, so its ok to let them bake a little closer together than you normally would with other recipes.

 6. Using a spoon, slightly flatten the tops of the cookie dough (this will help them bake into a nicer shape) Bake for 9 minutes.

 7. Tah dahhhH! Check out these beauties. This batch made 33 cookies (using my 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie dough scooper) Enjoy!! Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

Cream Cheese-Blueberry Poundcake

I am so happy to be making this recipe tonight. I've been using this recipe for years, and it is so good every time! It's my great grandmothers recipe and she was known for her cooking and baking. Before tonight, I had always just made the cream cheese poundcake without the blueberries. But I wanted to try something new tonight so I thought the addition of blueberries would be yummy. :) If you don't like blueberries you could use chopped strawberries or raspberries, or just make it plain! 

First, I turned my oven on to 300 degrees F. I had 4 small loaf pans, 5.5" x 3". I sprayed each one with Pam and then cut out a small piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pans. That just prevents the cake from sticking to the bottom when you pop them out. 

1. The butter and cream cheese need to be softened or at room temperature before mixing. Mix for about 30 seconds and then add the sugar. Mix for another minute or so. 

2. Add your eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition for about 20 or 30 seconds. Also add your vanilla.

3. Next step is to add your cake flour. Cake flour is not the same as normal all-purpose flour. Its found on the baking aisle and its in a red box. Using all purpose flour instead of the cake flour will give you a different texture cake, and you don't want that. Mix the flour in just until its combined. Overmixing will give you a tougher loaf.

4. Start by adding a layer of poundcake batter to your prepared baking pans. Shown below is one layer (a little less than half full) and I put a layer of blueberries on top. I like to do this instead of just mixing the blueberries straight into the batter because it makes the cake turn a weird greenish blue color. But you can mix it all together if you want. 

5. Add another layer of batter and then one more layer of blueberries on top, and they're ready to go in the oven. I had extra batter so I poured the remaining batter into a larger loaf pan and just baked that without blueberries.

6. I baked these for an hour and 15 minutes and it was perfect. This is what it looks like when it comes out of the oven. The top part of the bread is a nice crusty layer that literally just comes right off (eat it, its the best part!) You can try to keep it on the loaf but it always just crumbles off when you flip it out of the pan. 

If you want, you can take off the crusty layer and then flip the poundcake over so the top surface is nice and smooth. Wait until the poundcake has cooled off before flipping it out of the pan.

This is the loaves without the crusty top. I like the look of them flipped over better, but it really doesn't matter. We make these to eat them, not to stare at them, right?

This is the loaf cut right down the middle. Mmmmm. :) 

This recipe is nice and heavy, and super moist. I definitely recommend giving this recipe a try. It really is easy to make, and it also freezes well if you want to save some for another time. You can also wrap them up and give them away as gifts! It's perfect for breakfast or dessert. Enjoy! 

• 3 sticks (12oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 8oz full fat cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups cake flour
• blueberries (i use frozen, but you can use fresh also)