Adult Snickerdoodles

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: 2020/07 – July | Photograph By: Marjorie Christiansen Photography

A

rtist Carol Misner has the warm and happy smile of someone you want to  befriend. 

An engaging and exuberant woman she exudes the same grace, elegance and gentility of her paintings.   

For nearly two decades,  the painterly storyteller has been creating her famed botanical paintings.  Her illustrations, prized for the fragility and beauty she discovers in nature in Highlands, capture a certain kind of flora power.   

But Carol is also and always was a cook – a passionate hostess, eager and proficient at the stove, her creativity and artistic sensibility as apparent in her kitchen as her studio.  

Pre-virus, she liked to take on parties from four to 40. Now, quarantining at home with her partner Ann Huckstep she continues to paint – she has an upcoming trunk show of her works on July 18 at Acorns in Highlands. 

But entertaining has had to take on the strict requirements of the pandemic environment, along with the challenge of feeding the people Carol loves while maintaining social distancing. 

And so she turned to baking – leaving bags of delightful sweet treats at the doors of her beloved friends.   

Recently she came across the cookie recipe here, which she has aptly named “Adult Snickerdoodle.”

From Carol: “The first time I followed the recipe exactly and was met with ‘yum’ and other words of praise.  The next couple of times, I used a sugar substitute called Swerve and found them to be even more delicious, they just melted in  your mouth.  They are great with morning coffee, as a snack in the afternoon or with a bourbon at night.”

Adult Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Hot Water

1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee Crystals

½ Cup Butter, softened

¾ Cup Granulated Sugar (or Swerve)

¾ Cup Brown Sugar (or Swerve Brown Sugar)

2 teaspoon Baking Powder

½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

¼ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves

2 Eggs

2 ¼ Cup All-Purpose Flour

Directions

1,  Stir coffee crystals into 1 Tablespoon Hot Water until dissolved, set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the Butter and Shortening for about 45 seconds or until well blended.  Add Sugars, Cinnamon, Baking Powder, Nutmeg, Baking Soda, Salt, and Cloves, beat until well combined. Add the Vanilla and the Coffee Mixture, beat until combined.  Beat in the Flour a little at a time until well combined. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours or overnight!

3.  Preheat oven to 325. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.  In a small bowl stir together 1/3 Cup Sugar and 1 teaspoon  cinnamon.  Shape the dough into small balls, about ¾” to 1”, roll in sugar mixture.  Place about 2” apart and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set.  The centers will look a little underdone.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet three to four minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.