2 August 2014

Nigella Challenge: Snickerdoodles

These are an unassuming biscuit, but don't underestimate them. They taste like delicious cinnamon doughnuts. What's not to like? Nigella even  calls them "oven-baked doughnuts".

I always find myself drawn to baked goods that don't look like much, but you discover they're are the tastiest little morsels once you've eaten them. They become my little secret, and nobody else will give them a try, so more for me! I have a great jam-topped sponge recipe that does the same - I won over an initially unimpressed university class with it. I've made these little biscuits a few times now too (they're very quick, easy and even a badly stocked pantry probably has the ingredients!) and they always manage to disappear at a rapid rate.

They're golden, crumbly and go very well with a nice cup of tea - so they tick all my boxes when it comes to biscuits.

  • 250g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 125g butter, softened 
  • 100g caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp for rolling
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
Preheat your oven to 180C and line 2 large baking sheets.

Combine the flour, nutmeg and baking powder in a bowl, and then set it aside. 

Cream the butter and 100g sugar until pale in an electric mixer. Add the egg and vanilla. Turn your mixer down (to avoid a flour mushroom cloud) and gradually add the flour mixture. 

Combine the 2 tbsp sugar and cinnamon on a small plate. Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough (roughly the size of a walnut) into balls, and then roll it in the cinnamon sugar. Place them on the baking sheets. No need to flatten them at all - you want them as nice little domes once baked. 

Bake for 15 minutes, until lighlty golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. They will still be a little soft, but like all biscuits they firm up as they cool. 

As a variation, Nigella suggests replacing 25g flour with cocoa to may "chocodoodles". This sounds delicious, but I am yet to attempt them. Have a go and let me know if anyone does. 





No comments:

Post a Comment