Mom's Cinnamon Snackerdoodles

My Dad used to love pie. Almost every weekend, summer or winter, my Mom would bake my dad some kind of fruit pie. And I have to be honest, I'm really not a huge pie fan. I like a few choice pies, but the only fruit pie I really enjoy is a strawberry-rhubarb pie. My dad... not so much. So, to satisfy my sweet tooth, my mom always made extra pie crust and used it to make me these really awesome cinnamon roll things. Today I'm officially naming them Cinnamon Snackerdoodles. And, in honor of my Mom, I'm going to show you how to make this yummy treat.

First of all, they're super easy, so if you like cinnamon and sugar, you should really give them a try! Second of all, they only use pie crust (shortening, flour and water), butter, cinnamon and sugar. All ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

If you've never made a pie crust from scratch, I urge you to do it now. A lot of people don't, but it's really easy and tastes excellent. All you need is 1 cup of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening and 2-3 tablespoons of water. Because my Mom always did it this way, I always measure my shortening by the  tablespoon. Add that to the salt and flour mixture. Cut it in with a pastry blender if you have one (just because I think they're super fun to use!), or just use a fork, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Then sprinkle with cold water one tablespoon at a time and mix, until all the flour is moistened and almost cleaning the side of the bowl. See how easy that was? Now you've made your own pie crust. :)

Flour your rolling surface. Form your dough into a ball and then into a flattened round on your rolling surface. Then roll away! The best part of this snack is that it doesn't really matter so much what kind of shape the dough is rolled into. If you have kids, let them do it. They'll love using the rolling pin! :)
Once the dough is rolled, butter it up! I just use a knife and spread butter all over the rolled surface. Then sprinkle with lots and lots of cinnnamon sugar.

The next step is to cut a little more butter right over the cinnamon and sugar mixture so the dough will stay together when rolled. And, well, a little more butter on these isn't really gonna hurt anything. :)

Now, roll the dough into a log, pinch the ends together, and cut the log into bite sized pieces. In memory of my mom, I'm baking them in a tin pie plate, because that's always what she baked them in. Make sure to spray with a little cooking spray so they won't stick. Pop those babies into the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes (a little longer if you want them less doughy than me) and, voila, you're done! Let them cool a bit, pop one into your mouth and enjoy!

Next time you make a pie, or just want a quick little sweet snack, give these goodies a try. Hope you enjoy! :)