FoodB

What a great weekend here in Southern California. Labor day weekend was last week and for those of you that don't live around here; it was pretty fricken hot. Temperatures for all three days were in the triple digits and our poor little window air conditioning unit just wasn't up to the task. It is pretty sad when you would rather go to a nice air conditioned office instead of having an extra day off to enjoy with family and friends.

This weekend was the complete opposite. The weather was around 80 degrees and perfect for BBQing. Luckily I had invited my parents down from the Victor Valley area to celebrate fathers day, albeit a little late.

Back in July we were planning on inviting my parents down to celebrate and we got news that my Grandfathers health was failing. He ended up passing away that week and we all agreed that we would have to postpone any such plans. Well it was about time that I paid off that rain check and what better way to celebrate at the end of summer than to BBQ.

I ended up cooking the tri-tip recipe that I wrote about a few weeks back with the typical assortment of side dishes that I enjoy (namely potatoes and corn on the cob). Before all that happened though, Jenn decided to make a batch of snickerdoodle cookies so the house would smell good and we would have some form of dessert. Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie and we found a great recipe in the big yellow baking cookbook that my mother gave us and here is that recipe:

Snickerdoodle Cookies

2 1/4 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter softened but still cool
1/4 cup of vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 3 tablespoons for rolling dough
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of cinnamon for rolling dough

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower middle positions and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, cream the butter, shortening and the 1 1/2 cups of sugar at medium speed until combined, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.
5. Mix the 3 tablespoons of sugar for rolling and the cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Working with a heaping tablespoon of dough each time, roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
6. Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to set and the centers are soft and puffy, 9-11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them with a wide metal spatula to a wire rack.

Good stuff!!! I can't recommend that baking book enough. We have made about 6 items from it and each one has been great. Usually I am the one that does the baking for our little family, but this time Jenn stepped up and made me look like a chump in the kitchen. Guess I am going to have to defer to her now any time I go near the stove.