RECIPE: Firecracker Snickerdoodles
FIRECRACKER SNICKERDOODLES
Firecracker Snickerdoodles
Sweet and fiery, these cinnamon candy glazed snickerdoodles are perfect for the 4th of July or Valentine’s Day!
Yield: 36 3-inch cookies
Ingredients:
2 Bags of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix,
2/3 cup Butter,
2 Eggs,
1 22 oz Bag of Red Hots
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Follow the sugar cookie recipe then make balls of dough about the size of a meatball (I use a small ice cream scoop) then roll them in the ground Red Hots to coat. Place on a parchment papered sheet pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until cookies are puffed up. Let cool on the sheet pan a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.Makes 36 three-inch cookies.
[image error]
You could also use a Snickerdoodle Recipe such as this:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
I got the idea for these cookies when I was out shopping with my friend, Cindy, and I picked up a bag of Red Hots thinking I’d use them somehow for the 4th of July. I had a couple of ready mix sugar cookies on hand and thought I’d make snickerdoodles for my brother in law who was coming over to visit since its his favorite cookie. When I got home I realized that the Red Hots are cinnamon and then one thing let to another and I ended up pulverizing the candy into a powder and rolling my balls of sugar cookie dough in it to test out how it would taste.
We thought the cookies would burn due to the high sugar content but were surprised to find that the Red Hots powder actually made the cookie crisp instead. Since I am the type of person who hates throwing anything away, I decided to take the remaining Red Hots powder, mix it with water and cook it until bubbly in the microwave to make a glaze and then dipped finished cookies in the glaze until I ran out. Then I sprinkled the glazed cookies with edible golden stars.
THE RESULT: A cookie unlike anything we’ve ever tasted. Without the glaze the cookies were good but with the glaze, they were remarkably delicious. I’m definitely doing this one again but next time I’ll make even more of the glaze so they all get a thick coating.
BAKING TIP: Keep the glaze very warm because when it cools it reverts back to candy form. Also the rack in the lower part of the oven may be too hot. The cookies are sensitive to high temperatures and got a little overly browned when too close to the heating element. For an even more powerful cinnamon punch, I’m going to add cinnamon to the dough next time as well. The Red Hots powder was actually a pretty mild flavor on the cookies without the glaze.
