Snickerdoodles.

One of my best childhood memories is of making snickerdoodles in my grandmother's kitchen. My favorite thing to do was pop one of every three balls of dough I rolled in cinnamon sugar into my mouth without Grandma noticing. Snickerdoodles are also one of the foods that I am so picky about it borders on a bit scary. I won't buy them at those cookie stands in the mall, or bake sales, and rarely I'll try one from a professional bakery but almost always am disappointed. For the record:

- Sugar cookies rolled or dusted in cinnamon sugar, or with cinnamon mixed into the dough, are not snickerdoodles.

- Butter cookies similarly treated are not snickerdoodles.

- Neither are shortbread cookies, etc.

I have a trusted favorite snickerdoodle recipe that my grandmother passed on to me that interestingly enough wound up more or less in its original form on allrecipes.com. Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles have that wonderful balance of soft, pillowy insides to crispy, chewy outsides that a good snickerdoodle should have. They also bake up with the picture-perfect crackles that one envisions snickerdoodles having every time. This recipe also contains my #1, never deviate from it rule for cookie baking; an equal ratio of butter to shortening. Trust me on this one, if you want cookies that bake up soft and tender as well as chewy, you will listen and obey.