Winterdoodles (Snickerdoodles With Eggnog Custard)
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Thick, chewy cinnamon- and cardamom-spiced snickerdoodles are fashioned as a version of thumbprint cookies here — with an indentation for a dollop of rich, smooth eggnog custard that flows over the cookie as it bakes. These two-in-one cookies channel holiday spices, and meld custard and snickerdoodle into its own dessert. Kirsten Mossberg’s recipe for the cookie dough includes cream cheese for a delicate-but-sturdy texture and an added dimension of flavor. It’s an addition she gleaned from a footnote on a snickerdoodle recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. “It said, ‘You can add a quarter cup of cream cheese, but why mess with perfection?’ I did mess with it,” Mossberg says, “and I thought, ‘Oh, this is absolutely necessary.’” She says she prefers to use neufchâtel cheese for its lower fat content. And she notes that cream of tartar is what gives the cookies their pillowy softness.
The winning cookies from the L.A. Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off include sweet potato whoopie pies, mini versions of the Christmas bread stollen, orange-flecked frosted ones, cookie bark, cream wafers, spiced molasses cookies and more.
Make the custard: In a small saucepan, combine the heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. In the same measuring cup you used for the heavy cream, pour in the milk and mix in the cornstarch thoroughly until there are no clumps. Set aside.
Stir the cream mixture over low heat until simmering. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally if a film begins to form.
In a small bowl add the egg yolk, and temper it with spoonfuls of hot cream, mixing continuously so the yolk doesn’t cook. Add 2 or 3 spoonfuls total. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pot and keep stirring until combined.
Give the milk-cornstarch mixture a quick stir before adding it to the saucepan, then increase the heat to medium, and stir until the mixture thickens. Tilt your saucepan and drag your spoon through the mixture. If it slowly fills in the gap, the custard is done. This is the ideal texture, but it’s better to have the custard be too thick than thin. Pour the custard into a heatproof container. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent it from drying out. Place it in the refrigerator to cool, 1 to 2 hours; it will continue to thicken.
Make the dough: Using a mixer, beat softened butter until smooth, then add the sugar and cream cheese and continue to beat on medium speed until the mixture is light, fluffy and pale yellow, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar and cardamom.
Add 1/3 of the dry-ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. Fully mix before adding the next 1/3. Repeat until all dry ingredients have been incorporated. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until the custard is set.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar and set aside.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Shape the cookies by forming about a tablespoon of dough at a time into a ball slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter). Toss the balls in the cinnamon-sugar mix to coat. Place the cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
Use your thumb to press an indentation (like a shallow bowl) in the center of each cookie. Fill the center with some excess cinnamon and sugar if there’s any left over. Spoon a dollop of custard into the center of each cookie. Use a butter knife to spread the custard evenly over the top of cookie.
Bake until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and have about doubled in size, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool on the baking sheet. Optional: Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
