My mom used to make these cookies for my teachers growing up, and they seriously had a cult-like following. In elementary school, teachers would beg to have my brother and me in their classes so that my mom would make them these cookies. I can’t believe she actually shared this recipe with me, this is like GOLD.
what you need:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 2/3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 T sugar (separate from the previous amount, this is for rolling the dough)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
what you need to do:
- Before we begin, this dough needs at least 2 hours in the fridge to set so plan accordingly.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Set side.
- In bowl of your standmixer, whip your butter and sugar together on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Do not skimp on this. See photo below on what it should look like.
- Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl every minute or so to make sure all of the butter is being beaten evenly.
- On low speed, add eggs, one at a time. Do NOT add the second egg until the first one has completely disappeared into the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add vanilla and mix until combined.
- Keeping your mixer on low, add about 1/2 cup of the flour mixture at a time until it has all been combined into the batter.
- When making cookies, I like to grab a spatula and mix a few turns by hand at the end to make sure I get everything combined.
- Make sure to scrape up the bottom of the bowl to get the bits of dry ingredients that settle there.
- Wrap your dough up in saran wrap and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Once dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine the 2 T sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon until blended.
- Using a cookie scoop or eyeballing (but really, get a cookie scoop, it will change your life), scoop out your cookies, roll into balls, and then roll around in the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
- I like to roll all of the balls first and then coat them in the sugar.
- Set your cookies on lined cookie sheets about 2 inches apart, and gently push your palm on the top of the balls to flatten them JUST VERY SLIGHTLY.
- Bake for about 8 – 10 minutes, or until you notice the tops getting crinkly.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Enjoy!