I'm fighting to keep my eyes open right now, and it's only 3:30 in the afternoon.
WAKE UP.
Every day of this week has felt like a constant battle between me and falling asleep. It's what I think of when I wake up in the morning, it's what I daydream of doing while reading Marine Biology, it's on my mind all through dinner, and it's all I can do to brush my teeth before collapsing into a dead heap.
Or whatever.
So yeah, I'm tired. Big whoop. Aren't we all?
Let's talk about things to perk us up a bit, eh?
News! I applied for college last night. It was an utterly draining process that required more than one of the cookies pictured above. Actually, let me clarify: it required me to have four of these for breakfast this morning because I was too tired to eat last night.
Or whatever.
Crap, I'm off on the tired tangent again.
More news! And this one's pretty big, these snickerdoodles are my 100th blog post! 100 posts of cookies, cakes, cupcakes, scones, and the like. All in 9 months! Crazy. I'm just straight up crazy. But that's okay.
Oh yeah, snickerdoodles!
It's fall (practically), and after making Nigella's tall, cake-y snickerdoodles to kick off August, I figured it was time to go down the soft and chewy road.
My friends, chai, vanilla beans, and snickerdoodles have all been brought together to bring you a cookie that is the very essence of autumn.
I require you stop yawning, bake cookies, and then brew yourself a caffeinated beverage of the chai variety. Dip the edge of a cookie in, just for a second, and taste that moistened, spicy goodness.
Thank you for bearing with me during this somewhat random, disjointed, and short post. More chai is very much needed.
Chai-Spiced Vanilla Bean Snickerdoodles
Yield: 24-28 cookies
Ingredients for the cookies:
- 2 1/3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you wish to omit the vanilla bean, use 1 teaspoon extract)
Ingredients for the chai sugar:
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and spices for the chai sugar. Set aside.
In stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the bowl and add the vanilla extract, mix well. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Form tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, roll well in chai sugar mix, and place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 11-15 minutes, rotating halfway through baking. The centers will be puffed and crackle-y, but silly very soft, and the outer edges should be just starting to harden.
Remove from the oven, and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Sources: adapted from The Novice Chef
