SNICKERDOODLES

WITH THEIR CRINKLY TOPS AND LIBERAL dusting of cinnamon sugar, chewy snickerdoodles are a favorite in New England. The name is a corruption of a German word that translates as "crinkly noodles."

Traditionally, a snickerdoodle has a subtle tang or sour undertone that contrasts with the cinnamon sugar coating. Most recipes rely on baking soda and cream of tartar as the leavening agent for two reasons. First, the baking soda provides the characteristic tang. Second, the baking soda and cream of tartar cause the cookie to rise very quickly and then to collapse somewhat. The result is the characteristic crinkly top.

We tested both baking powder and the baking soda-cream of tartar combination. As we expected, the latter combination is essential to this cookie. In order to make the cookies especially tangy, we found it helpful not to add vanilla. The vanilla can take away from the sourness, which is fairly subtle.

We noticed that most of the recipes we tested were not nearly chewy enough. We found that increasing the sugar helped, but we wondered why some traditional snickerdoodle recipes contain vegetable shortening or Crisco. Although we generally don't recommend using shortening in cookies (it does not taste as good as butter), we thought it might be worth trying in this case. Unlike butter, which contains about 18 percent water, shortening is 100 percent fat. The water in butter evaporates in the oven and helps the cookies to spread. Since shortening does not contain water, in theory it should help reduce spread in the oven and keep cookies thick and chewy.

Our tests revealed that this bit of common culinary wisdom is in fact true. However, you don't need to use all or half shortening for the desired effect. When we used one part shortening to one part butter, we felt the flavor of the cookie was lacking. After several attempts, we discovered that just one part shortening for every three parts butter is enough to keep the cookies chewy. At this level, the butter flavor still dominates.