Cheryl’s Chai Snickerdoodles

Cheryl served these in her backyard when Hayley and Helen and Miss Gloria came by to interview her about the murder. The chai spice gives them a special kick.

Ingredients

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups sugar

2½ teaspoons baking powder (low-sodium works fine)

2¾ cups flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs, room temperature

For the topping:

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon chai spice

3 tablespoons additional sugar

Preheat oven to 375.

Sift dry ingredients (salt, sugar, low-sodium baking powder, and flour) together. Set aside.

Using either a beater or a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, about 1 to 2 minutes after each addition.

Slowly mix in the dry ingredients—don’t beat too long or the cookies will be tough.

Divide dough into two parts, roll into logs, and wrap with parchment paper. This isn’t a beauty contest, so no need to be too fussy about your logs, as you’ll be rolling the cookies too.

Refrigerate two hours or freeze one hour.

Mix the cinnamon, chai spice, and remaining sugar on a plate. Cut the logs into one-inch pieces and form them into balls. Roll the balls in the cinnamon mixture and place them on 2 parchment-covered baking sheets. You should end up with about 2 dozen cookies—big ones!

Bake 8–10 minutes, removing them from the oven as soon as the first cracks appear.