White Chocolate Filled Snickerdoodles

This Christmas, I was faced with a very unfamiliar problem: I actually wanted to give gifts to my co-workers. I’ve never had a job before where I’ve felt close enough to my co-workers to get anything for them. It’s not that I’ve always hated my co-workers in the past; I’ve just never bonded with them. However, since acquiring my public relations intern position, I met a group of really great people who have been warm and welcoming. We probably do as much chatting as we do working, but that’s got to be better than stuffing your head in a cubicle and avoiding everyone else in the office like the plague for the rest of the day.

I knew I wanted to bake some delicious goodies for my co-workers this Christmas, but the hard part was deciding which ones to make. I wanted to customize the collection so that there would be something for everyone. After much consideration, I decided on my Snow-Covered No-Bake Peanut Butter Balls, Fudge Brownie Thumbprints with Caramel Drizzle, and these White Chocolate Filled Snickerdoodles.

Being the Smart Cookie Cook, I’m always thinking up ways to put a Smart Cookie twist on classic recipes. Snickerdoodles are a traditional cookie and rather underrated, as my co-worker pointed out. They just needed a little Smart Cookie touch to take them to the next level, like stuffing ’em with white chocolate ganache.

These, my friends, are perfect cookies in every single way. They are so super soft and buttery, dusted with sweet and spicy cinnamon-sugar then filled with rich white chocolate. Never was their a snickerdoodle with such a tender texture; it’s truly heavenly.

In fact, the only fault you’ll find with them is how addicting they are; one snickerdoodle ain’t enough. Once you experience that chewy cookie coated in comforting cinnamon and laced with silky smooth white chocolate, there’s no going back. You better buckle in and prepare to eat the whole batch!

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

1. You can easily leave out the filling for a traditional but incredible Snickerdoodle.
2. I adapted my favorite ever Soft Sugar Cookie recipe to make these. They are my go-to, never-fail sugar cookies.
3. You might have extra white chocolate ganache, and I’ve got the perfect solution: my White Chocolate Walnut Truffles.
4. Most recipes tell you to bake cookies until golden brown around the edges but that is NOT the case here; you just want them to be set. It you let them brown, they’ll be overcooked.
5. If you don’t want to stuff the cookies, you can just drizzle on the ganache after they cool.

White Chocolate Filled Snickerdoodles

Yield – About 4 dozen

Adapted from Foodbeast

Ingredients:

• 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup cinnamon-sugar, for rolling
• 2 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2.  In an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla until blended. Gradually add flour mixture and beat on low just until incorporated. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
3. Pour the white chocolate and heavy cream into a medium sauce pan over low heat. Stir continuously as it melts (don’t stop mixing; chocolate burns easy). When chocolate is almost completely melted, remove from heat and keep whisking until totally smooth. You don’t have to get the chocolate hot to melt it completely.
4. Pour melted chocolate into a heat proof container and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill until completely firm, about 1 hour.
5. When ganache is firm and you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and pour cinnamon-sugar into a shallow bowl.
6. Scoop into 1-ounce balls (about 1 tablespoon) and flatten out with your hand. Take about 1 teaspoon of ganache, roll into a ball, and set it in the middle of the dough. Wrap the dough around chocolate so it’s completely covered. Gently roll in cinnamon-sugar so dough is completely covered.
7. Bake cookies 8 – 10 minutes until set, they should not be browned at all. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. You may have several exploding cookies; this is totally fine!