Snickerdoodles!! They bring back such happy and yummy memories of Jr. High School Home Economics class. We learned how to set a proper table, sew a skirt, cook and bake the basics. Snickerdoodles were one of the first things we learned how to bake way back in the day. They were crisp on the edge and soft and chewy in the center with just a hint of cinnamon. Yum!!
I loved Home Ec.! I loved the way that the classroom smelled like sweet pastry dough as soon as I walked into the room. I think that scent was baked into the walls. I loved that we got to sample what we cooked or baked…although sometimes that wasn’t such a good thing! Lol!
I loved the cute little kitchenettes in the classroom with the linoleum floors. Everything neat and tidy and smelling sweet.
I remember one time we were instructed to make a pie crust. I’d never done that before, nor did my baking buddy. We had a very hard time putting the dough in the pie pan without it cracking and falling apart. Not wanting to get a bad grade, I decided to get a little bowl of water and patch the dough together, patting it here and there, with a few drops of water, once it was in the pan. After all was said and done, and the apple pie was baked, the teacher, Mrs. Anderson, went around to taste each pie. I was astounded when she said to us “Oh my! This is the most flakey crust! What ever did you do?” We were just as surprised as her! Ha Ha! I still chuckle about that!
Cakes, Cookies or pies, baking day was my favorite. And as for cookies, Snickerdoodles were at the top of the list, right up there with chocolate chip!
There were a few rules for cooking or baking that I remember to this day, from dear, ol’ Mrs. Anderson:
- Wash your hands before you begin preparing the food.
- Put your apron on.
- Read the recipe completely.
- Gather all of your ingredients before you start.
They’re good rules that I try to follow to this day. Although, truth be told, I’ve gotten in a hurry, a time or two (or three or four! Lol), and started to mix up ingredients only to find out that I was out of eggs or butter or something. Oopsie-daisy! I’ve learned my lesson more than once! Lol!
For the most part, besides perhaps the cream of tartar, you’ll probably have most of these ingredients on hand to make these Snickerdoodles. Just make sure your baking soda is fresh or your cookies won’t puff up like they’re supposed to which causes the pretty crackling on the top as they deflate when you take them out of the oven. Also, another tip is to gently stir the flour with a whisk in your canister before you measure out the amount you need. Doing this will aerate the flour (add air to it, making it fluffy). Sometimes flour can get packed down which would make a heavier cookie.
Stir everything up in your stand up mixer or bowl. 
Scoop out the dough…
…wrap in plastic wrap to chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
(By the way, I LOVE these cookie sheets!
They are the absolute best!
Old School Snickerdoodles make the best after school or anytime treat! If you have memories of Home Economics class I’d love to hear about it! Share in the comment section below! Here is the recipe for Old School Snickerdoodles!
Old School Snickerdoodles
Preheat oven at 400 degrees F.
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it’s fresh!)
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 3/4 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In your stand-up mixer or large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until creamy.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, mix well until combined.
- Add the flour and mix well.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
- In a small bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
- When the dough is chilled, shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Place the balls of dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-11 minutes at 400 degrees.
The edge of the cookie should be lightly golden and crisp and the center should be soft. This recipe makes approximately 30 cookies. You can keep the uncooked cookie dough in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
For more delicious goodies you may also love:
Grandma’s Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
Aunt Ruthie’s Butter Crunch Pumpkin Bars
Aunt Ruthie’s Chewy Golden Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
Happy Baking!!
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Yep, home ec was my all-time favorite class all three years of junior high. I so looked forward to sewing and cooking. The very first recipe we baked in 7th grade was a basic coffee cake (yes, the official title is Coffee Cake) from the red plaid-covered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Thirty some years later, I still bake it for my husband and me. We burn our mouths on it because we can’t wait until it cools before we bite into the basic goodness of that simple cinnamon and brown sugar topped coffee cake. Similar old school flavor as your delicious looking snickerdoodles.
I loved the cooking part of home ec, but I did not like the sewing. I just didn’t feel that I was good at it but now I wish I could sew more as I see so many things that I would like to do.
Thanks so much for bring back fond memories of Home Economics. I felt really natural and at home in that class. In fact, I made a buffalo plaid apron for my kitchen just a few weeks ago. So simple and so pretty. What a coincidence, I am making Snickerdoodles today. How funny to wake up and see your blog. Merry Christmas Aunt Ruthie.
I liked cooking class, but I loved sewing class. I took so many sewing classes, they had to make up a special one for me as a senior! I don’t even know if they have home ec anymore!
Snickerdoodles were the first thing I learned to cook in home ec, also. Funny, I was just telling my hubby about it the other day. Although I enjoyed learning to cook, sew, set a table and ceramics, it was the wood shop with its greenhouse that spoke to my soul, and still does to this day. I wish they would bring these classes back, generations missing out on how to do such basic essentials. Love your beautiful pictures with all the vintage accessories. Reminds me of my grandmother’s house when I was a child.
I loved my home ec class as well. I sewed a bright yellow peasant top, made raison pudding, only a loving father would eat, and learned how to store staples in a pantry. We truly are blessed to have these memories.
I loved Home ec in middle school. It was my favorite class and I had the sweetest teacher! She taught me how to sew and I am so very thankful for that! I still use those skills today sewing clothes and blankets, toys, etc for my children and my small shop ❤️
( I already cooked at home often helping my mom but learning some stuff different from Home was cool too, made me appreciate my moms excellent cooking all the more! No one can compare to moms Home made sauce and meatballs!!)
The picture of the Home Economics room looks just like the one we had at my High School. Still the same today, but they do not offer Home Ec. We learned to make divinity. Haven’t made it since!! The one tip I still use today is: get a soapy sink full of water and clean up as you go, Merry Christmas Everyone!!
I loved, loved, loved Home Ec and to this day use most of the skills I learned back then. I entertain in my home as often as I can. I’ve had teas, cookie-exhanges, Christmas get-togethers, cake-walks, barbecues and much more. What I failed at in Home Ec was sewing. My first and final project was a pair of shorts made out of polyester knit…and let me tell you…that project was a disaster. What was I thinking? One pant leg was so skinny that I couldn’t even get my leg in it. All the seams were puckered. I think it was hard for my teacher to keep a straight face when I handed it in. Needless to say she had to flunk me in sewing..but she did do it with the greatest of kindness!
Thanks for the recipe ! In the process of baking yummy treats for friends and family on the farm ! Will add these too! They look delicious ! Such an old fashion cookie! Love it and the name !! Happy Baking !!!! I LOVE anything old fashion ! It’s the BEST !!
This looks so yummy! I think I will wait till after the holidays to try them though, because my sweet tooth is been fully supplied already!
We have the sweetest neighbor, who will bring over cookies once in a while. She makes snickerdoodles sometimes. My children love it, and so does my husband, and so do I!!! The day we moved in, she brought over cookies and ice–since our refrigerator wouldn’t be working yet, of course, and it was July. She is such a blessing!
Wow! Aunt Ruthie …you sure brought back some happy memories! And yes I just absolutely loved Home Ec with Mrs. Casey and Sewing with Mrs. Bertsch! I loved them both and could hardly wait for those classes in middle school. Our kitchenette looked just like your pics! Skirts, turtlenecks, saddle oxfords or penny loafers! That was me! Snickerdoodles, walnut crescents, oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies were our favorites to make in class. Thank you so much for the great memories. And I simply adore your kitchen and pantry! I’d never leave it!
My mother told me about an incident in her high school home ec memories.. there was a boy who would wait outside for her after home ec to bully her and steal her treats that she had made. This went on for quite a while.. and one day, she knew that they were making brownies later that week and she hatched a plan, it involved chocolate ex lax… so you can guess what happened.. he bullied and took her brownies.. ate them and consequently got sick… he never bothered her again. Don’t know if that was the best thing she could have shared with me, but it’s an interesting story, sometimes the consequences of bad behavior catches up with you in a very personal way.
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I had 2 fantastic home ec. teachers in high school, plus my mom taught me all of my growing up years how to care for a home and family. I became a home economics education major in college, have taught both of my teen boys to cook (so they can feed themselves and help their sweethearts in the kitchen someday), have included my 13 year old daughter in home adventures since she was small, and am privileged this year to have started a home ec. class at our church’s homeschool Enrichment program. I have 11 girls in my class and we spent 1st semester cooking and will tackle other topics 2nd semester.
Just made two batches ! Whew ! They turned out great the the aroma in the kitchen was wonderful !! Thanks for the recipe !!!
We had to make egg nog, and not only did we have to make it, we had to drink it. (I suspect a good portion may have been poured down the drain when the teacher wasn’t looking.) We learned how to make a basic baking mix, and other things, but the egg nog is the unforgettable memory.
OH! I loved my home economic’s class,especially when we baked, the aromas would flow through the halls of my high school, the boys would stand outside the doors waiting for a taste.
Thanks for the memory and the recipe, I have been wanting to make snickerdoodles.
Blessings,
Sue
What a lovely post! Home Ec. was my favorite class and *nothing* made me prouder than winning the Home Economics award my senior year!
Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies to make! I don’t remember making them in Home Ec, but I do vividly remember everybody bringing in produce from their family gardens (I went to school in a rural part of Pennsylvania) and we all made veggie lasagna and garlic bread.
I also have fond memories of someone bringing in apples from their orchard (the 2nds or “drops” as we used to call them) and we all made apple sauce and apple pies!
Ah, memories. :)
I loved home ec in Junior High and High school. So much that I teach it. It is now called Family and Consumer Science. Was changed years ago.It’s still alive!!! I have full classes with more boys than girls in a few.
Many great memories! I still have some of the recipes we used. We had to write down the recipes the day before. I tried to keep them. Over the years have lost a few. But still have my Apple crisp recipe and use it in my foods classes now!!
Snickerdoodles are my students go to recipe. They beg to make them all the time.
Oh yes, I make them all the time! Just made a batch last week. My husband prefers those to all of the sugary/icing topped cookies. And yes, I still use the same recipe from my home ec. class also.
By the way, would you care to share the names of the books on your pile of novels, they look interesting??
I haven’t made these in years, but I’m adding them to my baking plans for today :) I’m meeting friends tomorrow for brunch and girl time, and these will be the perfect addition to their Christmas goody bags :)
I didn’t take home ec, but took drama instead. Grrr…I’m still upset with my 15 yr old self. I am quite sure I would have enjoyed home ec a whole lot more than drama (which I hated) ☹️
Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie. As far a sewing goes. When I want to relax I go to my sewing machine . I also have an embroidery machine love it all. My Mom was one of the best cooks and baker in the whole world as far as I’m concerned. She also taught me to sew on an old treadle machine. I am a master sewer and also teach sewing to adults and 4h kids. I’m also a very good cook at least that’s what my kids and grandkids say. I’m so lucky
I just love this website. I reminds me of when I was a child. Some really good memories.
This brings back memories not only of Home Ec. but of 4H as well, which is where I learned to make Snickerdoodles. That have a funny name that makes you want to snicker. ;) I remember learning how to wash, peel, and cut carrots into equal sizes so they would look nice upon the table. Our 4H leader stressed colorful balanced meals and proper table setting. In Home Ec., I believe the first thing I sewed was an apron. I made it out of pink and white gingham. I also remember making a long night gown and a pair of gaberdine pants. Thanks for the fun memories. :)
Absolutely love this post! Thank you so much!