One of the best parts of winter is the constant smell of cookies in my house. There is always a new treat being made. It used to be my mom baking all the goodies, but ever since I have taken up baking, the tradition has been passed on to me. Below are my two favorite cookie recipes to make during the winter season.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

Dough

½ cup of salted butter

½ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

For Coating the dough

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a larger bowl beat together the butter and sugars until creamy and well blended

Scrape down the edge of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients combine together and add in the egg and vanilla then combine until a fluffy mixture, but do not over mix

Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and beat on low speed until fully combined

*Optional* for thicker and fluffier cookies refrigerate dough for about an hour without refrigerating the cookies are thinner and chewier

Scoop out dough and roll into balls

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon that were set aside

Roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar and place on baking sheet

Bake cookies for about 9 minutes or until the edges of the cookies look set

Enjoy

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup of salted butter

2 cups of white sugar

2 eggs

½ cup molasses

4 cups all- purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

½ teaspoon ground cloves

⅓ cup white sugar for rolling

Instructions

Beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy

Add in the sugar and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Beat in the eggs one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl after each egg is added.

Add in the molasses and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are evenly combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, powdered ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Stir together the ingredients and dump them into the bowl with the butter, sugar, egg, and molasses mixture.

Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Shape the dough into palm sized balls and place them on a baking tray

Completely coat each ball of dough in the sugar and place them back on the tray

Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes