Hello!

I'm Thuy-An (on the right) and I like Vietnamese food. Unfortunately, I don't know how to cook it.

I'm currently a junior in college, and for the first time, I'm living in my own apartment, which means I am responsible for cooking for myself. I love the freedom of being able to eat whatever and whenever I want, but it's also quite daunting since I've never cooked very much before, so I do give in to the occasional ramen or sneak into the dining hall.

I'm excited about sharing my cooking ventures here, especially my baking recipes. I LOVE baking! I find baking therapeutic and fun, and a great way to keep up with friends. Ironically, I don't like sweets very much, with the exception of cookies and banana bread, which I bake quite often. My friends and I have a Baking Sunday tradition that we hope to hold up for the rest of the year, so I will share our best recipes here. So far, it's been a success!

Last week, we made snickerdoodles (which comes from the German word schneckennudelns, according to Wikipedia), which were a HUGE hit! Snickerdoodles are basically butter cookies with a sugar and cinnamon coating. Yum! I pulled the recipe from Betty Crocker online.

Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar (I usually use a reduced 1 cup sugar)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp vanilla (if desired - I put vanilla in everything, even if the recipe doesn't call for it, like here)
• 2 tsp cream of tartar (you can replace this with 2 tsp baking powder)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon (I like to put about a tsp more)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Mix softened butter with sugar, then stir in eggs.
3. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
4. Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture.
5. Chill dough for 10-15 minutes.
6. In a separate bowl, mix the 3 Tbsp sugar and cinnamon.
7. Roll the chilled dough into 1-inch balls.
8. Coat the balls by gently rolling the balls in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.
9. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies are done when you see cracks on the surface of the cookies. Don't leave them in for too long, or they get hard, and don't worry if they are not flat.

The result should be delicious, moist, soft, and fluffy cookies that taste great with a cup of milk. Enjoy!