Today I present to you the orange clove snickerdoodle! My latest little creation! I had my roommates do a taste test because cloves are such a tricky little ingredient. I swear just one itty bitty molecule too much and it will ruin everything. Our test was inconclusive however. Some of us liked the cookies with a little less clove, and some of us liked the batch that had a little more clove. Boo. I was hoping it would be definitive, but everyone's palates are different. Such is the spice of life.....oh, that was a bad pun.
I'm not really thrilled at the inconclusive amount of cloves for the recipe. But really, odds are you'll just change it anyway! :) I know I do. Like most home chefs, those measurements are just a guideline. If it says 1/4 that means a little, and if it says 2 that means a lot....somewhere Butchie just snorted and said something along the lines of [The hell you are so lenient in the kitchen. You watch your measurements more than a prima ballerina with an eating disorder! Remember the flying teaspoon?"] Okay, so her insert would have been better.....but without getting sidetracked further.....use your own judgement on how cloves you like. I recommend baking a test cookie.
Cheers!
Orange Clove Snickerdoodles
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup orange sugar**
1 egg
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
2 tablespoons orange sugar**
1/4 tsp. ground cloves, or to taste
Preheat the oven to 400.
In a stand mixer combine the butter, sugar and egg thoroughly. In a bowl sift together the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Slowly add them to the wet ingredients, until a dough is formed.
Shape teaspoons of dough into rounded balls. Roll in the orange sugar and clove mixture.
Place two inches apart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
**If using orange sugar cubes, grind cubes in a food processor to create orange granulated sugar. Measurements are for granulated orange sugar.