Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies

I don't like chocolate, so it is always awesome to find good desserts that I like, and my chocolate-loving friends will like too. These are definitely one of those recipes. These snickerdoodles are nothing short of amazing! Most of the snickerdoodle recipes I have seen online call for about a 1:1 ratio of butter and shorteneing. However, we don't really keep that much shortening around, so this recipe is all butter, no shortening. They came out so well that I doubt I will ever need another recipe!

Ingredients:

Cookies:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 and 1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer, cream the butter for about 1 minute on low to medium-low speed.
3. Add the sugar on medium-low speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. Set aside.
4. In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 additions, mixing with hand mixer. You may have to stir in the last addition by hand (the dough gets quite thick).
6. Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon to make topping.
7. Take 1.5 - 2 Tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball (approximately 1 inch ball). Roll the ball in the cinnamon-sugar topping. Sprinkle extra cinnamon-sugar on top. Depending on how round and puffy you like your cookies, you can gently flatten the dough balls before putting them in the oven. I usually do this, but you can also flatten the cookies after baking for thicker cookies.
8. Bake cookies for 11-12 minutes.
9. If you did not flatten the cookies before baking, lightly press down on them with the back of a spoon or fork to slightly flatten them while they are still warm.
10. Cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.

This recipe was modified from the recipe "Soft & Thick Snickerdoodles" at Sally's Baking Addiction (http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/05/19/soft-thick-snickerdoodles-in-20-minutes/).