When I was travelling through the US this summer, the word ‘snickerdoodle’ became somewhat of an in-joke for us. Neither me nor my Ukrainian-Canadian compadre really understood what snickerdoodles were, thinking instead that it was some child-like name for a Snickers or something along those lines.

Having quizzed about a dozen different Americans in Panama about this, I’ve come to learn that snickerdoodles are in fact a type of sugar cookie typified by a cinnamon sugar topping.

Yesterday I was browsing through the wonderful Isa Chandra’s Post Punk Kitchen and came across an amazing-looking Chai Spiced Snickerdoodle recipe. This got me thinking, and I remembered my own Vegan Cookie Dough Truffles recipe from about a year ago.

HELLO! Bringing these ideas together maybe? Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Truffles?

I think so!

You’ll need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup turbinado sugar + more for rolling
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon + more for rolling
2/3 cup Earth Balance or other non-hydrogenated vegan butter + 1 tablespoon for the coating
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 cups dark chocolate
a pinch of ground nutmeg

Method:
Cream the vegan butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar together in a bowl until it’s smooth
Stir in the vanilla essence and then the flour, until just combined
Line a cookie tray or baking tray with wax paper, and roll the mixture into 20-25 small balls
Place into the fridge for at least 1 hour
In a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate slowly, stirring in the extra 1 tablespoon of vegan butter while it melts
When it’s smooth, place the extra sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and stir well to combine
Remove the cookie dough balls from the fridge
Take one, dip / roll it in the melted chocolate, ensuring it’s fully covered, then roll it in the cinnamon sugar and place back onto the tray
Repeat for all the balls then place the tray back into the fridge
Keep them refridgerated until it’s time to eat, then enjoy!

If you prefer your truffles slightly less sweet, you can just roll the chocolate-coated truffles in cinnamon and leave off the sugar. I’ve got a chronic sweet tooth, so I like them just as they are.

This recipe is most definitely one that should be kept for a treat. However, we all know that the occasional treat is good for the soul, so cut yourself some slack once in a while and indulge 🙂