This is the fourth installment of the Kitchen’s 2009 Holiday Basket Bonanza (HBB). Last year, I started doing baskets for a few recipients on our holiday list. They were so well received that I decided to do them again this year, but I am switching out a few of the recipes to try new ones! I’ll be making a trip out soon to buy supplies and I’ll be updating the Kitchen with pictures as we go!

Last year’s baskets included Oreo truffles, banana bread, homemade white bread and Stonewall Kitchen jam, spiced pecans, brownies, cookies and seasoned popcorn. This year, I am keeping the banana bread, spiced pecans and the brownies and I will make a different homemade bread with jam. The rest is getting changed up! I’ll be doing truffles again this year, but I’m going to do Almond Joy truffles instead of Oreo.  I’m also making some savory crackers, snickerdoodles and granola.

This week, I’m sharing the snickerdoodle recipe. Snickerdoodles are one of my absolute favorite cookies and I really think they are underrated!  Everyone gets so distracted with nuts, chocolate, fruit and everything else that you mix in to the cookie dough, forgetting that just a simple cookie itself can be so very delicious.

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs thoroughly in a large bowl. Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture.
Chill dough, and chill an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Scoop 1 inch globs of dough into the sugar/ cinnamon mixture. Coat by gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 10 minutes.
Remove from pan immediately.