Oh, the humble snickerdoodle! A fantastic mix of sugar and spice. I have been making this recipe since middle school, and now I believe it is time for a revamp. The result was an easy yet sophisticated snickerdoodle.

One ingredient I wanted to improve upon was the vegetable oil. I knew I had to replace it with a fat and so I decided on butter. And not just butter, but browned butter. Browning butter may seem like a daunting task; however, it is quite simple and adds great complexity to any recipe. In these snickerdoodles, it will enhance the caramel-like flavor in the dough. 

Basically, browning butter is cooking butter. Once it has melted, the milk solids and fats will separate and the milk solids will continue to cook. In a matter of 10-ish minutes, it'll go from yellow butter to browned goodness.

In addition to the butter, the spice combination needed to be improved. Cinnamon sugar is fantastic, don't get me wrong - but why don't we include some ~fancy~ spices? I opted for clove and cardamom in addition to the cinnamon.

Overall, the cookies were so good. I think I ate them all in one night. The upgrades gave some complexities to the usually simple flavor profile. 

Sophisticated Snickerdoodles

  • Prep Time:25 mins
  • Cook Time:15 mins
  • Total Time:40 mins
  • Servings:12
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1 package Yellow Cake Mix Duncan Hines is preferred
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 butter browned and cooled to room temperature
Courtland Campo
  • Step 1

    Preheat oven to 375 ºF

    Courtland Campo
  • Step 2

    In a small bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, and cardamom. Set aside.

    Courtland Campo
  • Step 3

    Stir the cake mix, eggs, and browned butter until a dough forms in a medium bowl.

    Courtland Campo
  • Step 4

    Scoop dough into approximately 2-tablespoon balls. Roll the balls of dough in the spice and sugar combination and place on baking sheet. Once all balls are formed and rolled, take a glass and flatten the cookies.

    Courtland Campo
  • Step 5

    Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes once out.

    sweet, bread, cake, biscuits, pastry, cookie, butter, dairy product, pancake
    Spoon University