Linda Lou's Snickerdoodles

Today was a gloomy grey cloud kind of Friday. As I watched the raindrops fall from the sky this afternoon, I had the urge to go downstairs to the kitchen and make something that would be warm, comforting, and downright filled with sunny memories. Searching through recipes, I decided on one for Snickerdoodles, one of my favorite cookies as a child.

As I got out the ingredients, I reminisced about Elementary School and the role these cookies played in my day in and day out, everyday little girl kind of life...

It was the early 80's and I can remember running home from the school bus as fast as my little legs would carry me, just so I could eat warm cookies right out of the oven and watch General Hospital on TV with my mom. Cuddled up next to her on the white velvet couch with the swanky gold pillows, I would admire how beautiful Laura was and I would dream of marrying Rick Springfield as soon as I was grown up and in 1 st grade. When mom was out of listening range, I would vow to my Barbie dolls that I was going to make Rick Springfield babies and cookies every day. He in return would sing songs about both of them on TV and of course like all stories you read in Kindergarten, we would then live happily ever after... Makes me smile now to think that like believing in the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy, that I never doubted for one minute, that my big dreams would really come true...

Of course, they never did... I instead married a much sexier guy, there were no babies, but I do make him cookies from time to time. Blue doesn't sing songs about them and he doesn't even blog about them online. But, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loves me, loves my cookies, and especially loves the little things I do to make even the grey days sunny. Because after all, it is all the little things that make a "Happily Ever After" come true.

*This recipe for Snickerdoodles comes from a very sweet friend of mine by the name of Linda Lou. She has such an amazing upbeat and empowering spirit that is very contagious. After she mentioned her beloved cookie recipe, I have just been dying to try it. According to Linda Lou, her recipe has a slight variation in the fact that it calls for brown sugar as well as white sugar in the recipe. The result is a very rich and decadent Snickerdoodle cookie that has a bit more of a buttery color then most of the recipes I have tried. The results were wonderful and and as I took a bite into the slightly crunchy cinnamon crust of the cookie into the chewy vanilla almond center, my afternoon did feel much sunnier!

Thank you Linda Lou for sharing such a terrific recipe and for reminding me to make every day a little special just by your example and the way you live your life!