Hey guys! Thanksgiving is over, and it’s time for cookie season! The first one this year is super simple, but really addictive- Crispy Cinnamon Tea Cookies.
These are easy, and really simple- they are similar in flavor to a snickerdoodle cookie, but this version is thin and light and crisp. It’s almost a shortbread texture, but a bit thinner than a traditional shortbread. But enough describing it, let’s make it!
How to Make Crispy Cinnamon Cookies
This uses a pretty classic method, so we’re starting by mixing together the dry ingredients- flour, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set that aside for now.
In a large bowl, beat together some soft butter, oil, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until it’s well combined. Beat in the vanilla extract and egg until smooth. Finally, just slowly beat in the flour mixture until your dough comes together. It’s a pretty soft dough- here’s what she looks like:
So, we’re using a pretty small scoop, or rolling the dough into balls that are about 1 tbs each. We’re going to press them down, so you want them to be pretty small.
Wet the bottom of a glass, and dip it in your cinnamon/sugar mixture. Then, press the dough balls down until they are pretty thin- about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat the process with all the remaining dough.
And bake them up until they are just very lightly golden. They will crisp as they cool!
Tips & Tricks for Your Crispy Cookies
These cookies are pretty simple, but here are some tips and info to help out!
- Don’t skip the sugar on the glass or your cookie dough will stick to the glass. It’s a fairly soft dough, so you need a buffer here. Plus, it gives it great texture and flavor on the outside!
- Cream of tartar helps give the cookies a bit of acidity, but it’s more of a background flavor and effect. It’s also used in snickerdoodles, so they taste similar, even though the texture is different.
- I’m at 5,000 ft above sea level and I usually find that most people who are between 3,000-7,000 ft above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes!
- Go with small dough-balls because once you press the dough, the cookies will be a good size. If you go bigger, you won’t be able to press the cookies as thin as needed here.
I hope you guys enjoy this one- it’s a perfect coffee or tea cookie, and it’s a great way to break into holiday cookie baking this year!
Crispy Cinnamon Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp plus 1 tsp. cinnamon separated
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup soft butter
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 1/2 cup white sugar separated
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
-
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cream of tartar, salt, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and baking soda and set aside.
-
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, powdered sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar and brown sugar until combined. Beat in the vanilla extract and egg until smooth. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until a dough forms- it will be fairly soft.
-
In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar until combined. Scoop tablespoon-sized balls onto your baking sheet with space between. Wet the bottom of glass with water, and then dip in the cinnamon/sugar mix to coat. Then, use the sugar coated glass to press down the dough-balls until they are about 2 inches in diameter, and about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with remaining dough!
-
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they are just lightly starting to become golden around the edges. Cool completely on a wire rack and enjoy with coffee or tea!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
Your the best teacher online.. I tried so many tips (still learning) on my own, yours is the best and came out perfectly.. Thanks you
Hi Jason- Thank you so much, I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying the blog!!
Great taste. Three testers. One said too thin. One said the cookies were great. I say they are crispy and cinnamony.. After two rounds of dipping the glass into water, shaking it off and then coating the cinnamon sugar and pressing flat, I decided to try rolling the balls in cinnamon sugar, wetting with water once and then the cinnamon. After that just dip in cinnamon and flatten. This was much easier and better looking. I live in the Denver area at 5400’.
Great tips, glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Excellent cookie for tea in the afternoon. They're not too sweet and whipped up quickly. I only needed to wet the bottom of my glass one time and picked up plenty of cinnamon sugar. My glass has some texture on the bottom and even left a pretty indentation.