One of my favorite movie quotes comes from (I shudder to admit) “27 Dresses.” The main character, a cynical wedding reporter, said: “Love is patient, love is kind, love is slowly losing your mind.” That got a big laugh out of me and my college roommate when we watched it together.

I guess love *is* losing your mind because it makes you do things you wouldn’t normally do. For me, that means coming home after running five miles for the first time in months and making these snickerdoodle cookies. I was out of breath, sore, and tired, but I didn’t let that stop me.

I made them for my boyfriend because he mentioned offhand that they were his favorite kind. I’ve always liked snickerdoodles but I rarely eat them and I’d never made them. For me, they were the cookie equivalent of a turkey sandwich: Satisfying, flavorful, but not as exciting as, say, prosciutto and Gruyère.

I was wrong. Snickerdoodles are actually the cookie equivalent of spies. They’re very subtle as you make them. The dough has a sugar cookie vibe. It comes together relatively quickly and it doesn’t require many ingredients.

Then, you roll balls of dough in cinnamon and sugar and they take on a new life. The cinnamon/sugar mix does two things: It adds spice AND texture to the cookies. They’re slightly grainy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. They melt in your mouth. I’m tearing up a little just writing about it.

The only weird ingredient in the cookies is cream of tartar. When I saw that in the recipe, I was kind of grossed out because cream of tartar sounds like something you’d serve with lobster. HOWEVER, it’s not that at all. It’s a powder that you use sometimes in baked goods to activate baking soda. I’m not a scientist but I’d imagine that it has something to do with why these cookies are so soft and chewy.

These cookies are delicious on their own but they’re also good in ice cream sandwiches. I put a scoop of toffee ice cream between a couple of them last night for dessert.

So the moral of this story is, take a chance on a cookie that you’ve never made and rarely eat. Do it under the guise of doing something nice for your boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other because it will only help you in the end.

Here’s a song to get you started and to take you into the weekend.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and place them in the refrigerator (this will come in handy later).

Mix the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract at medium speed until well mixed. Add the flour mixture and beat on a low speed until fully incorporated.

Place plastic wrap over the bowl with the dough and place it in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the cinnamon/sugar mixture for the outside. Combine the two ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Once the dough is chilled, use a cookie scoop, ice cream scoop, or tablespoon to scoop out pieces of dough. Gently roll them into balls and dredge them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture until they’re evenly coated. Place them on the chilled cookie sheets.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the sheet immediately after baking and allow them to cool on a rack.

The cookies will keep for a few days in an airtight container. Enjoy!