Snickerdoodles with Maple Pecan Filling

I love the name of snickerdoodles, very quirky and nonsensical for such a lovely cookie. I hadn’t made them before, which I know is quite strange given my love of all things cinnamon.
To the uninitiated a snickerdoodle is a cookie flavoured with cinnamon, then rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. They are classically a soft chewy cookie, which is just how I like them. They contain cream of tartar as a leavener which gives it a slight acidic tang, balanced well with the cinnamon sugar. Classically that have a cracked top, but mines didn't come out of the oven like that sadly. They still tasted smashing though.
Being me, I decided to amp them up a little and turn them into sandwich cookies with a filling made from maple and pecans, quite seasonal! (thanks to Val from last years GBBO for that one).

The cookies were a (snicker)doddle to whip up in the mixer, roll into balls, dunk into cinna-sugar all before placing them on the baking sheet, spaced well apart as they do spread. They went slightly darker on the edges, so I knew they were baked perfectly at that point. You could stop at this point if you just wanted snickerdoodles.

I let them cool however and in the meantime, chopped up some pecans, placed them in a high speed blender with butter, maple syrup and light brown sugar. This made for a spreadable paste which I could slather on one cookie before placing another on top.

These are so warming and comforting with their cinnamon goodness plus the sweetness of the maple and slight nuttiness from the pecans just make these so good to eat with a cuppa. Here's the recipe...
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Snickerdoodles with Maple Pecan Fillingby S Vettese October-2-2017Soft and chewy snickerdoodles sandwiched with a scrummy maple pecan filling.Ingredients

• 225 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 150 grams granulated sugar
• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or paste)
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 heaped teaspoon cinnamon
• 300 grams plain flour
• Coating
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• Filling
• 75 grams pecans, roughly chopped
• 40 grams light brown sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 15 grams softened unsalted butter

InstructionsPreheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper.In the bowl of a food mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes depending in whether you use an electric mixer or by hand.Add the eggs and vanilla and beat through until combined.Add the bicarb, tartar, salt and cinnamon and stir throughAdd the flour and beat until combined and no dry bits of flour can be seen.In a bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon for the coating.Take tablespoon sized amounts of the cookie dough and with your hands roll into a ball before tossing in the cinnamon sugar.Place the ball on the baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the cookie dough making sure to space the balls at least an inch apart as they do spread.Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, rotate the pans and bake for another 5 minutes.Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.Make the filling by placing the chopped pecans in a high speed blender with the softened butter, maple syrup and sugar. Blitz until a smooth(ish) paste is formed, add more syrup if needed to make it smoother.Spread a small amount on the underside of half the cooled cookies. Sandwich together with the other cookies.These cookies will store well in an air-tight container for up to a week, but I promise they won’t last that long. Enjoy!DetailsPrep time: 20 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 16 Sandwich Cookies approx.