Here I am, back on my bullshit, making cookies for the Crispy, Crunchy Cookie People. A population of which I claim not to be a part. But like, I’ve written five intentionally crunchy cookie recipes now, so I don’t know how much longer I can carry on this charade.
Chewy Cookies Only People, please forgive me. I was seduced by crispy edges. And also cinnamon-sugar. Whatever the texture, who doesn’t love a Snickerdoodle?
These Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles are fantastic. With a vanilla base, a thin cinnamon-sugar coating, and a glorious crunch all the way through, they’re an absolute treasure of a cookie.
As with all my other Crispy, Crunchy Cookies, this dough comes together using the reverse creaming method to prevent even a trace of chewiness. Furthermore, it’s bound with a spoonful of light corn syrup (or maple syrup or honey) to create more crunch. It’s leavened with a combination of baking soda and cream of tartar, a requirement for this and all classic snickerdoodle recipes.
And, of course, it’s scooped by the tablespoon, rolled in cinnamon-sugar, and baked to perfection. Also a requirement.
These Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles have crispy edges, a hearty crunch in the centers, and a crystalline coat of cinnamon-sugar—so good. The batch makes just about 18, which is a perfect size as far as I am concerned. It’s shareable, but not a huge amount, which is ideal considering that most people seem to fall on the chewy side of things. But with recipes like this, that balance may start shifting any day now.
Crispy, Crunchy Snickerdoodles
makes 18-19 cookies
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (or golden syrup or mild honey)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For rolling:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Arrange oven racks in central positions. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
Cut softened butter into 8 pieces and add them to the mixing bowl. Starting at low speed and increasing as ingredients become incorporated, use an electric mixer to mix the butter into the flour/sugar mixture until powdery and wet-sandy. You may need to stop a time or two to break up larger pieces of butter.
Add corn syrup and vanilla and mix to combine. Dough will look crumbly, but should hold together well when pinched.
Make the rolling mixture. In a small bowl (or plate) mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon.
Scoop the dough by the tablespoon and roll into balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon-sugar, then place them 2-3 inches apart on prepared pans (I fit 12 on each half-sheet pan). Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake another 8 minutes, until a bit puffy and golden.
Let cookies cool for 7 minutes on the pans. Remove to a rack to cool completely. Serve.
Leftover cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Two chocolate chip cookie 
Yes, you. I know you’re out there. I see you, wading through a sea of soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie recipes, baking them extra long in hopes that they’ll be something they’re not. I’ve read your emails and direct messages, and I’ve been trying on-and-off for years to make a cookie base just for you.
Now, I’m sure if you bake any cookie dough long enough, the results will be crispy, but this one is *specifically formulated* to be that way. It sounds a little pretentious when it’s written out like that, but it’s true. It’s taken at least 30 test batches, if not more, to make the perfect homemade Crispy, Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I don’t throw the word “perfect” around on here literally ever, so please believe me when I tell you how incredible these are because getting here has been a journey.
When I started down this particular cookie road (really going with the journey metaphor), I knew I needed to bump up the granulated sugar and reduce the brown sugar for crisper results. It’s basic cookie science. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture from the air. Brown sugar, which is what happens when you whirl molasses into granulated sugar, absorbs more moisture than plain white granulated sugar. Therefore, more brown sugar in a cookie recipe = more chew. I wanted less chew—no chew, even—but still needed that signature brown sugary chocolate chip cookie flavor, so I opted to use equal parts brown and granulated sugar. The results are all the flavor I expect in a chocolate chip cookie and none of the softness.
Next, I reduced the flour to cause more spreading during baking. Yes, I wanted this dough to spread—no multi-hour chills here! I also decided to try a reverse creaming method after seeing Stella Parks’s homemade 
Now, all of that is fine and good and very important in the whole crunchy cookie racket, but the real game changer came a few weeks ago. I was eating 
Now, If you’re scratching your head wondering what WTF golden syrup is, you’re not alone. It’s a cane sugar-based invert sweetener (invert = liquid) that’s popular in the UK, but a bit more niche here. I can find it in some really well-stocked grocery stores and 
The syrup is added after the butter is reverse-creamed in, and before the chocolate chips. The dough will hold together as well as any other chocolate chip cookie dough, and rolls easily into 24 tablespoon-sized balls.
One more reason to get on the crunchy cookie bandwagon? Crispy, Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies keep like a dream. A dream, I tell you! I am a huge snob about day-old cookies, so believe me when I tell you that these just get better with time. Where soft cookies get a little stale after a day, these crisp treats retain their texture and their flavors only deepen further. You should keep them covered as sugar’s hygroscopic nature means your cookies can be affected by humidity, but the batch pictured made it through some seriously gnarly NYC weather and were still near perfect. And by near perfect, I mean perfect-perfect.
e2 bakes brooklyn 