That was just fun to say.
As you can see, 2017 is not going to be about award-winning journalism here at A Grace Full Life.
No see the bar is set low on purpose because you all need a freaking break from Facebook, CNN, Buzzfeed and Yahoo News informing you that MY GOD ARETHA FRANKLIN HAS A CHEST COLD. HIGH ALERT HIGH ALERT.
Life is beginning to get way too real for my taste, so instead of award-winning writing, I will be sharing my award-winning cookie recipe from my days in 4-H.
If you have never heard of 4-H before, it is like a cult. Only you make cookies, feed farm animals and sew things like doilies and shit.
It wasn’t a cult; I don’t want all the 4-H fanatics (aka cult members) to come after me.
I loved my time sentence years in 4-H, quite honestly.
I met friends there who I am still friends with to this day. (Hi Kari! P.S.- I wasn’t “friends with myself”; there is another girl named Kari. I swear.)
I have memories of my child labor days spent at the Richland County Fair working the “dairy bar”.
Only it wasn’t a bar.
More like unlimited peach ice cream and Bubble Yum when our 4-H leader was over at the Horse Barn.
Man, those were the days.
The above is the original recipe card I wrote my Snickerdoodle recipe on. I’m not sure how old I was, 11 or 12 maybe?
I was to choose what I wanted to focus on for my 4-H experience. Some chose sewing a mini skirt or a cool top, others chose to tend to their farm animals and show them at the fair; I chose cooking/baking.
I learned very young that cooking was a skill I wanted; my grandma and mom were some of the best cooks but I didn’t truly appreciate their cooking and baking skills until I started going to friend’s houses for dinner. After the first time I had Hamburger Helper at a girlfriends house, I knew I was really, REALLY lucky. I also knew I never EVER wanted to make Hamburger Helper in my life.*
*I made Hamburger Helper every week during the newlywed “lean years”.
But let’s be honest, when you are 11-12 years old, you don’t appreciate things like homemade mashed potatoes and from scratch cookies because you want things like french fries from McDonald’s and Oreo’s.
And if it wasn’t for 4-H, I probably wouldn’t have started cooking and baking at age 11-12. But since I had to do it for a prize at the fair, there was an incentive.
MOM! I NEED TO LEARN TO LIKE COOK AND BAKE. LIKE, TOTALLY RIGHT NOW.
(it was 1981, that’s how we talked)
So in the kitchen of our Mansfield Ohio home, I learned to make food. Like, on the stove and in the oven. With flour and mixers and everything. Like, totally.
Snickerdoodles was one of the required food items to make and it fit my criteria: easy to make, very little ingredients, and a cookie. Pretty much the same requirements that I have set for a recipe today.
Only I didn’t have this in 1981:
To be fair, we did have cinnamon sugar in 1981 but it was in a plastic bear. I think. 1981 was a long time ago.
But this stuff is the bomb. I mean I could make my cinnamon sugar but then I would have to actually mix them together and I have things to do. Like, blog for a solid paragraph about the depth of my laziness. Priorities.
4-H Snickerdoodles
- 1/4 c. butter
- 1/4 c. shortening (Crisco or LARD for those old school)
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 c. + 6 Tbsp. flour
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- Topping
- As much cinnamon sugar mixture as you like or
- 1 Tbsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. cinnamon mixed together in a bowl (I use more because I like mine very cinnamony)
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Mix the butter, shortening, sugar, and egg. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt.
- Shape dough by rounded teaspoon into balls.
- Roll balls in the cinnamon sugar until coated.
- Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
This recipe doesn’t make a lot of snickerdoodles lick your poodles. I should clarify: this recipe doesn’t make a lot of snickerdoodles lick your poodles if you live in MY home.
Make sure you bake them long enough so they look like that up there because they will become crispy once they cool.
Spell check doesn’t recognize snickerdoodle. What kind of crap is that?
These are my comfort cookies. The cookie I always bake when I am feeling sad, down, missing my childhood.
I wonder if 4-H takes adult members……
A Grace Full Life 
Your snickerdoodles lick your poodles is mighty tasty! That sounded kinda…..weird.
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Lol NO IT DIDN’T. 🙂
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Thank you for sharing the recipe…snickerdoodles are on my list of favorites (but I don’t think I would turn down any cookie)!!! 🙂
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Neither would I. 🙂
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That was your handwriting at 11 or 12? Pretty impressive. I need these cookies in my life to make me feel better due to watching too much news. Thanks for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday, Kari!
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It’s SO much better than my handwriting now.
You really do.
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There is a 4-h building at the state fair here-they have baby ducks, but no snicker doodles. We don’t eat the baby ducks, just to be clear. Some of the booths are manned by people who look likes why are being held against their will (probably related to the lack of snicker doodles). Thy also have living models, but I understand why they look like they can’t leave (totally not cult related).
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OMG I NEED TO GO TO YOUR STATE FAIR.
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LOL Kari, like that’s just brilliant. I think I may have totally missed the recipe for the snickerdoodle lick some poodles, I was laughing so much. Thanks for making my day
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Aww you are so good for my ego. 🙂 Thank you for making MY day.
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Time sentence!!! ?? My oldest daughter loves snickerdoodles. They are her favorite. We usually make them at Christmas and dip them in white chocolate. We eat hamburger helper weekly, but I make it homemade. Does that count for cooking? Hey. I’m trying here.
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You are the real deal, my friend.
And dipping my snickerdoodles in white chocolate takes them to a new level.
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Snickerdoodles! I used to make these probably every weekend when I was young as well. Definitely a favorite that I haven’t made in years! I think I need to change that!
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I haven’t made them since last winter because Mike and I have been eating low carb since spring. Last week, I had a taste for them and he made me some (I hadn’t been feeling well). I felt like it was Christmas. SO GOOD.
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Kari, you are a hoot. Chuckling all the way through this. That thing about Aretha Franklin’s chest cold is like why do I hear so much about Kim Kardashian on the news? I could care less about Kim K. The Hamburger Helper was funny too. Those Snickerdoodles look really good.
I remember the first time I heard about Snickerdoodles. I was expecting them to really have “Snickers” in them, & was so disappointed to find out it was just a sugar cookie, but you sure make them look good.
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I love your comments because they make me smile. Thank you so much for leaving them. NEVER STOP. 🙂
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Oh man!! My favorite cookies! I’d love to have you share at our what’s for dinner party! http://www.lazygastronome.com/whats-dinner-sunday-link-party-124/
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That’s awesome! Heading there now!
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Snickerdoodles are my absolute favorite cookie~ Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party! Please come back on Monday, Dec 4 for our great cookie exchange!
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They are such a comfort food to me. In fact, I am making them today. 🙂
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