Snickerdoodles, the Shirley Temple King & a Duck

It’s a rainy, dreary day as I write this post. Days like this, for me, are perfect for baking. I’ve been trying very hard to not overeat as we shelter in place right now. Especially, because I’m recovering from foot surgery, and I’m not as active as I normally would be. But I’ve been pretty good, and I feel like baking! So, today I’m going to make my go-to cookie, the one that I turn to when I spontaneously bake and need a recipe I know I’ll have all the ingredients on hand for.

That cookie, is the Snickerdoodle. A simple, but tasty cookie. A cookie with a fun name. 😊 Back in the day, as a teenager, I would even make these cookies for the kids I was babysitting. Because as long as you have cream of tartar in the cupboard, you most likely have all the ingredients you’ll need. Quite frankly, it’s because of this recipe that I keep cream of tartar on my spice rack.

OK, let’s start with the recipe. I got this recipe years ago from my Mom, but I’m not sure of the original source.

SNICKERDOODLES 1 cup shortening

1 1/3 cups sugar 2 eggs 2 ¾ cups flour 2 t. cream of tartar 1 t. baking soda ¼ t. salt 2 T. sugar 2 t. cinnamon

Mix thoroughly shortening, sugar, and eggs. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt till the dough is well mixed together.

Preheat oven to 400°. Stir together the 2 T. of sugar and 2 t. of cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Roll out dough balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Twelve balls per cookie sheet will give them plenty of room to bake. When you’ve rolled out a pan of dough balls, take each one and roll one side of it in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place it on the cookie sheet, cinnamon sugar side up.

Bake about 9-10 minutes per pan, depending whether you like your cookie chewy or crisp. This recipe makes 3 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

Moving on, who or what is a Shirley Temple King? Actually, on Instagram he is known at The Shirley Temple King. He’s a young man named Leo Kelly who lives in Fairfield, Connecticut. He’s six years old, and he loves Shirley Temples! The non-alcohol drink, that is.

The King visits local restaurants and gives adorable, short reviews of their Shirley Temple offerings. He’s pretty honest in his reviews, where he ranks on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best score. Per People Magazine, he can dissect a drink, “with a brutal honesty you can only get from a 6-year-old.” No matter the score, he always gives a cute smile and two thumbs up at the end of each clip.

So, what criteria does Leo base his reviews on? For starters, he always judges the type of straw in the cup. Leo is concerned about the damage plastic straws can do to the environment, so he doesn’t like them. He prefers paper straws or one that can be reused. For the same environmental concern, he prefers glass to plastic for the cups. He likes three to four ice cubes per drink, lots of ginger ale, just enough grenadine and a least three cherries. He then tastes the Shirley Temple; of course, it must taste good as well as look good! Then comes his review. And, always, the two thumbs up at the end.

His Mom started his Instagram account for him just last August. But, one thing led to another, he made an appearance on the Ellen Show in February, and he now has over 280,000 followers on Instagram. I will say he’s gotten a little commercially for me recently though. He’s staying at home like we all are these days, which keeps him from going out to restaurants and reviewing Shirley Temples.

So, companies jumped on board and started sending him other things to review. He’s reviewed cupcakes, donuts, potato chips, etc. While these recent clips seem a lot like product placements to me, he still gives funny, honest reviews. And, anybody who sends their products to him to review must understand he will tell it how he sees it, good or bad.

He’s just a sweet kid, who loves a good Shirley Temple, and gives me a minute or two of joy every time I watch one of his posts. Please check him out on Instagram if you have access. In case you don't have access, I've posted a link just below. The Shirley Temple King will make you smile. 😊

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9fZ8qmltuC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

And, in case watching the Shirley Temple King made you thirsty for the drink yourself, here’s a recipe I found online from Bon Appetit. Here'a the link to it:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/shirley-temple

There are a lot of recipes out there, but I chose one that uses ginger ale because that’s what the Shirley Temple King likes in his. Plus, it's super simple!

INGREDIENTS

Splash of grenadine Ginger ale 1 maraschino cherry

RECIPE PREPARATION

Place grenadine in a Collins glass, fill with ice, and add ginger ale to fill glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

I’m going to tell you one maraschino cherry is not enough! You need at least three.

Right? 😉

Before I go, I want to share with you this picture of a duck who made its way up on my porch today. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move in one of the pots you see right there. I figured it was a squirrel. They often come onto the deck and dig in my pots, the little scamps! Imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw instead this duck sitting in a pot! It jumped down before I could take a picture of it in the pot. But I snapped a few shots before it flew away. Yes, I’m happy to report it flew away. I was worried it was hurt and that’s why it was up on the porch. It looked healthy, and it flew away, so I’m hoping all’s well that ends well.

Stay home and stay safe! Take care.