Eggless Snickerdoodles - for an October birthday -

eagless 1

This recipe is my foodie son’s own creation, born from his growing love for baking and experimentation in the kitchen. These cookies were made for his 12th birthday.

He baked a version with eggs a few days earlier, and they turned out chewy and perfectly textured. When he tried them again without eggs, we honestly couldn’t tell the difference. So here it is, the eggless version, made by the birthday boy himself for his friends.

When did he grow up enough to bake his own birthday cookies?

A tiny part of me wishes I could still bake something special for his birthday the way I used to, but the time we spent together in the kitchen more than made up for it. Watching him confidently put on an apron and take charge was a proud moment. We do birthdays in style around here.

Ingredients

(Makes about 18 large cookies or 24 medium ones. Adapted from Food.com)

¾ cup sugar (we used raw, unrefined sugar)
¾ cup butter
3 tbsp milk
3 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2¼ tsp baking powder
1½ pinches salt
4½ tbsp additional flour

For the topping

2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter (at room temperature so it’s soft) and sugar. Mix on medium speed until the mixture becomes lighter and fluffy.

Add the milk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. You can adjust the vanilla slightly based on preference.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Gradually combine the dry ingredients with the wet mixture, using a spatula or your hands. At this stage, the dough will be slightly sticky.

Add the extra flour a little at a time until the dough is less sticky and easy to shape without clinging to your fingers.

Shape the dough into 12–18 equal-sized balls and flatten them to about ½ to ⅔ inch thick. Coat one side of each cookie with cinnamon sugar. An easy method is to spread about ⅛ cup sugar on a flat surface and gently press each flattened dough ball into it.