Since I was little, playing with (my) food has been a favorite pastime. So has making puns. Combine these two things and you get SnickerPoodles! Before moving here from Canada, I hadn't ever met American snickerdoodle cookies before - and what a shame! They are an amazing balance of crispy/chewy. Add a dash of poodle shaped fun and you have, in my opinion, the perfect cookie.

*Thanks to Blair Emanuel for being a great model and cookie making cohort!

Step 1: Recipe + Template

Cinnamon SnickerPoodles

2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup room temperature butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 tsps vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar for dusting

Makes 32 poodles.
Print out 4-8 sheets of the attached SnickerPoodle template. (8 if you have 4 baking sheets, 4 if you have 2 and will be making two rounds on the same ones.)

Snickerpoodle template.pdf
Download

Step 2: Ready, Set, Go!

I like to measure out all my ingredients before I get started mixing so there's less chance that I'll forget to add something!

Make sure there's a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F.

Step 3: Mix It Up

In a medium sized bowl, blend the butter and sugar with a spoon or hand mixer until well mixed.

Step 4: Get Wet

Add the vanilla and eggs to the bowl and continue to mix until smooth.

Step 5: Spice & Rising

Add the baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and stir well.

Step 6: It's Flour Time

Slowly sift in the flour, mixing thoroughly until it has all been added. Be sure to stir all the way to the bottom of the bowl, getting any hidden flour bits. The dough will look similar to the last picture above when properly mixed.

Step 7: Line 'Em Up!

On a large baking sheet(s), place two print outs of the poodle templates.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit just inside the edges of the baking sheet(s).

Step 8: The Set Up

Set yourself up with a little dough ball making assembly line. Place your dough bowl next to a prepped baking sheet and have a small bowl with the 1/4 sugar for dough ball dipping nearby.

Step 9: Building Your Poodles

You'll be making small balls of dough that are about the size of the thinner inner circles on the templates. The dough will expand as it cooks to grow to the size of the thicker outer lines, connecting ('gluing') the poodle ball sections together.

Make the balls by rolling small pieces of dough in between your hands, checking the sizes against the template as you go. Once you've achieved the correct size, dip JUST THE TOP of the balls in sugar and place side sugar up on top of that particular ball on the template. Flatten each a bit with the heal of your hand. Your pieces should be about 1/4" thick.

NOTE: The tiny balls that connect the tail and make up the feet don't need to be dipped or flattened.

Step 10: Growing Your Poodles

Make sure to fill in all the circles with dough balls for each SnickerPoodle!

Step 11: Making Faces

To shape the heads, use a sharp paring knife to follow the cut (dashed) lines in order to create the poodle nose profiles.

Step 12: Pre-baked Poodles

Once you've filled in all the circles and cut the faces out, this is what they should look like!

Step 13: Remove the Templates

Before baking, please gently remove the print outs by holding the parchment on the opposite side and slowly sliding them out from underneath.

Step 14: Cook 'Em Up!

Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack of the oven for 8-10 minutes. You want them to be only lightly browned on the bottom. Overcooking them will result in less inner chewiness. (read: less awesome)

Once removed from the oven, let cool on the baking sheet to allow the cookies to crisp up. Trying to remove them before they've cooled can result in the poodle ball connections breaking apart. (= broken Snickerpoodles)

Repeat with the remaining sheets of poodles.