I’m pretty sure this is the longest I’ve ever gone without having a cookie. Four weeks without a cookie? WHO DOES THAT!? People with self-control, I suppose, but I am most definitely NOT one of those people. I love cookies! LOVE! I think, if I wasn’t afraid of some fictitious repercussion I’ve made up in my head, I could do a blog completely on cookies. I could make cookies EVERY DAY and not have a problem with it! Seriously: I’m a cookie lover, and I’m not afraid to admit it. {I have a HUGE edit to this: I’ve been eating a lot of Oreo’s, which I’ve just realized are technically cookies, but they’re so different from homemade cookies that my brain put them in a different category. Whoopsies! But I have proven my point on lack of self-control…}
The first cookbook I ever really bought for myself was Martha Stewart’s COOKIES, which is a pretty darn awesome cookbook. I’m sure I’d love her Pies book too, but I’ve found that I almost never use a recipe for a pie anymore… so maybe it’d be better as a coffee table book. Pies are so pretty!
But we’re talking about cookies! I based this snickerdoodle recipe off of Martha’s classic snickerdoodle recipe. I’ve found you really can’t go wrong with a good snickerdoodle, and thinking about my brown butter snickerdoodles is making my mouth water right now. They’re SO flavorful! Recently, though, I’ve been really digging black pepper in baked goods. I’ve always been a fan of black pepper on savory foods, in embarrassingly large quantities and on everything, but have just recently started putting it into sweets. Black pepper + sweet snickerdoodles = a hint of spicy in a yummy cookie! WIN!
As we’ve been looking at houses to rent over here in Vietnam, I’m sad to say none of them have ovens. Literally, I have not seen one oven in a home. I guess that means no homemade cookies for a while! A few do have toaster ovens, so I suppose all hope is not lost, it’s just unknown territory for me! I’m assuming a quick Google with let me know how to bake in a toaster oven — I’m crossing my fingers it’s just as good!
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2¾ cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
- ******
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add the vanilla, and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper before adding to the butter mixture. Mix gently until just combined. If your dough is too sticky to roll into balls, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the 2 Tbsp sugar, black pepper, and cinnamon and stir together with a fork. Roll the dough into ⅛ cup-sized balls and roll in the sugar mixture before placing on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are set and tops are barely cracking.
Love the idea of adding black pepper to a cookie. This is awesome!!
Thanks, Matt!
Black pepper?!? Yes please!
These have to be amazing!
Thanks, Graham!
I often bake cookies in a toaster oven, just reduce heat about 25 degrees
and watch them so that they do not overbake. Baking a small toaster-oven-size pan of cookies helps with thie temptation to eat too many. And another plus . . Fresh-baked cookies more often!
These cookies are amazing. I made them for work a while back and everyone loved them and kept talking about how great the spice mixture was.
Thanks for the comment! I’m glad to hear they were a hit! xo