Snickerdoodles

Even in today's world of easy and inexpensive communication, it's difficult to really show how much you love someone. Some people exhibit their love through letters, and some through sending gifts in the mail; some people even send telegrams.

Lillian Cairns spends a lot of her time in Colorado baking cookies and mailing them countrywide to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. By sending something homemade, she spreads the message that she is spending time and effort to get something off in the mail that her relatives will really enjoy and will remember her every time they take a bite of one of her delicious treats. Since Ms. Cairns cannot be there in person, sending cookies is her way of being present in the lives of her dear ones.



I've gotten to sample a few of Ms. Cairns cookies and her Snickerdoodles are my favorite (so far). They are not too sweet, which is one of the things I like so much since I do not have much of a sweet-tooth.



Snickerdoodles
Makes 5-6 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs until smooth. In a separate bowl, blend the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. In 3 or 4 additions, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until well mixed.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon. Roll the cookie dough into one inch balls and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.



Bake for 8-10 minutes. If you like cookies soft and chewy, make sure the cookies are removed from the oven before the bottom of the cookies brown. If you prefer crunchy cookies, leave them in the oven until the bottom is golden brown.

Let them cool on the sheet for a few minutes before removing the cookies to a baking rack until they are completely cool.