It’s time that I finally wrote these up. If you recall, and even if you don’t, I set out to make these once before and instead came up with the DCCDs. Well I made these honestly about a month ago, but I’m just way behind in posting. It’s sad I know.

Anyway if you know me I’ve been following in Hummingbird High’s footsteps. By that I mean being involved in Technology and stress baking. She cut her teeth creating her favorite recipes and learning how to bake in the Mile High State. I on the other hand am using her cook book Weeknight Baking to learn all I can. I’ve learned a lot and she’s been super supportive this entire time. I can’t thank her enough, no matter how many times I try.

Anyway this is a tweaked version of her Snickerdoodles only better. Doesn’t chocolate make everything better? This worked out far better than I could have hoped on my first try. There was no need to really tweak all that much. Who am I kidding though. She did all of the hard work. I couldn’t fail using her recipe as a guide.

It wasn’t too much of a stretch, but some reading to refresh myself helped. Thankfully I have her book as reference. Seriously if you don’t have it I can’t recommend it enough. I knew I wanted to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. What’s the rule with that? Well you don’t use baking soda you need to use baking powder. It’s all about the chemistry. Dutch-processed has a lower acidity level due to the fact that it’s treated with an alkali solution. Baking powder contains baking soda and cream of tartar (an acid), and some have cornstarch. Since there’s cream of tartar in a Snickerdoodle and in baking powder I probably would have been okay with baking soda and an additional bit of cream of tartar. I’m too new to all of this to risk it though.

Snickerdoodles are always fun to make because they can be slightly messy as you roll the dough into balls in your hands and then coat with cinnamon sugar. I thought about adding some cocoa powder to the cinnamon sugar mix but it’s not sweet and could ruin the entire cookie. This was definitely a wise choice. The cookies maintained their light and fluffiness and still had a light lovely chocolate-y flavor. They were a huge hit and simple to make! Thanks again for teaching me something and guiding me Michelle. One of these days I’ll mail you my book so you can sign it.

Ingredients

2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup dutch processed cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 3/4 Cup granulated sugar - divided 1/4 for topping
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 Tablespoons of cinnamon

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the AP Flour, dutch processed cocoa powder, cream of tartar, salt, and baking powder
Cream the unsalted butter and 1 1/2 cups of the granulated sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer using the paddle attachment. This should take 2-3 minutes. You should notice that it turns a pale yellow
Add the eggs one at a time only when the previous one is fully incorporated
Add in the vanilla
Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet, in batches, until just mixed
On a separate plate or bowl mix the remaining 1/4 Cup of granulated sugar and cinnamon
Scoop out cookies in 3 Tablespoon mounds and using your hands roll into a ball
Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture until completely coated
Bake for 10 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment
Let the cookies cool on the pan for two minutes and then move to a cooling rack
Enjoy