White Chocolate Snickerdoodles

The simple snickerdoodle.  Delicious.
Add white chocolate and it's still a snickerdoodle... with just a little something special.
That's how I like my snickerdoodles.

Not sea salt caramel'd.
Not raw honey dipped.
Not rosemary infused.

Searching for simple recipes can be exhausting these days.  You're looking or a good snickerdoodle recipe and what you get is a whole slew of cookies dressed up in drag.  There's a snickerdoodle in there somewhere... but you have to get through all the lipstick first.

Just give me butter, flour, sugar, eggs... and cream of tartar.  OK?

I know.  All those variations are so tempting.  But I have been burned so many times.  Just recently I tried making some crazy over the top version of a classic coca-cola cake.  Ended up throwing the whole thing out.  When I feel like something is too sweet... Houston, we have a problem.  I was a tad bit concerned going in but who would I be if I didn't give chocolate cake a chance?

I digress.

The classics just stick with me.  I believe in them.  It's what I enjoy making and what I enjoy eating.  Sure, once in a while I will find something that really speaks to me but almost all the time I come back to the basics.  I like the idea of all the variations of the classic recipes I see out there and I pin them like crazy but the truth is, when it's 9PM and I have to make something for the ______ event the next day, I'm going with what I know works.

And this recipe works.  Butter, Shortening, and sugar get beaten up.  Throw in some eggs and cream that until smooth.

In another bowl, sift your dry ingredients together.

Mix your dry with your wet ingredients and throw in some white chocolate chips.

Scoop out your dough and form into balls.  I use a cookie scoop.  It makes my life so much easier.  Roll your cookies in some cinnamon and sugar and place on a cookie sheet with 2 inches of space between each little gem... you do not want to crowd these.  They don't spread out a lot but you don't want them running together.  

I baked mine for exactly 9 minutes.  You just want them to set.  They will seem like they're not quite done but trust me, they are.  As soon as they come out of the oven, move them to a cooking rack, being careful because they are somewhat fragile.  They will finish setting up as they cool.   And to me, they are the best once they have cooled completely. 

White Chocolate Snickerdoodles
adapted from Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles via allrecipes
Makes about 35 cookies using a cookie scoop

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
For rolling the cookies:
2 tbsp. white sugar
2 tbsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, shortening, and 1 1/2 cups sugar.  Add the eggs and the vanilla and beat until smooth.  In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt and then add them to the wet mixture and combine until just incorporated.  Stir in the white chocolate chips. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls or use a small cookie scoop to help expedite this process.  Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes (mine were done in exactly 9), or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets and finish cooling on a rack.  Cookies will be fragile right out of the oven, so transfer them with care.