Snickerdoodles

Directions

1. 1
   ["Dough: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the shortening and sugar till smooth, then beat in the eggs, again beating till smooth.", "The mixture will become lighter, and lighter-colored, as you beat; this is the result of air being absorbed.", "And this is why cake recipes tell you to beat sugar, butter and eggs till they're very light, in both texture and color; the light color assures you air has been incorporated into the mixture, and your cake will be nice and light.", "Beat in the vanilla, cream of tartar and baking soda (or baking powder, in place of the cream of tartar and soda), then add the flour, mixing slowly till combined.", "(If you beat the dickens out of the dough at this point, your cookies run the risk of being tough.)", "Place about 1/2 cup cinnamon-sugar in a shallow bowl (or in a large plastic bag).", "Shaping: Using a cookie scoop, a spoon, or your fingers, dip out 1 level tablespoon of dough, and roll it into a ball.", "Place the ball in the bowl or bag of cinnamon sugar.", "When you've got five or six dough balls in the sugar, gently shake them till they're completely coated.", "Place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between them.", "Using the bottom of a glass, flatten each cookie till it's about 1/2-inch thick.", "Repeat till you've used up all the dough.", "Baking: Bake the snickerdoodles in a preheated 400F oven for 12 minutes, reversing the position of the pans (top to bottom, and back to front) midway through.", "Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool them on a wire rack.", "Yield: about 45 3-inch cookies.", "*Or substitute 2 teaspoons baking powder for the cream of tartar and baking soda (2 teaspoons total, not 3!)", "*Mix cinnamon and sugar till you've got just the flavor and color you want; if you have no idea where to begin, try 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed with 1/2 cup sugar, which makes a \"middle-of-the-road\"" version of cinnamon-sugar.""]"