1898 Snickerdoodle Cookies

What’s not to love about snickerdoodle cookies? They’re light, mostly soft in texture, with a nice cinnamon flavor. They’re especially good with coffee.

I am putting snickerdoodle cookies in my Christmas cookie tins this year for Christmas. So far, everyone has seemed to really like them.

The snickerdoodles pictured here on the cooling rack were the last batch I pulled out of the oven for the night. Right as I was removing them from the oven, the power suddenly went out. No problem! I have a nice collection of oil lamps throughout the house, so once I felt my way to the match box and lit the wall lamp, mantle lamps, and table oil lamp, I was all set to finish cleaning the kitchen from baking and pack the cooled cookies away in tins.

The recipe I used was published in the Boston Globe on June 14, 1898. I used the ingredients list from the 1898 recipe and followed the directions from modern snickerdoodle recipes.

I couldn’t help but wonder at how many batches of cookies were made in this old kitchen by lamplight through the years.

1898 Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
2 eggs
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp. each of cinnamon and sugar, combined in small bowl for rolling cookie dough balls

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Mix butter, sugar, milk, and eggs together thoroughly.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
  4. Combine dry ingredients into the liquid mixture.
  5. Chill dough in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes to aide in rolling the dough into balls.
  6. Pinch off dough and roll into approx. 1″ balls and roll each completely in cinnamon sugar mixture.
  7. Place dough balls about 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes.
  8. Remove cookies from pan immediately and place on cooling rack.

If you make these cookies, please comment and let me know what you thought of this recipe!

When my Gramma Bennett pitches in with making the cookies, you know you’re gonna have a good batch. This lady is some kind of cook!