A lifetime ago, when I could count my age on two hands, I loved to bake cookies. I especially loved when my older brother joined my Mom and I in the kitchen. One of our go-to recipes was for Snickerdoodles.

As a kid, I think it was the funny name and the cinnamon and sugar that made these so appealing. As an adult they fell off the cookie radar, replaced by more decadent confections with nuts and chocolate chunks. But yesterday, as I struggled to decide what treat to bring to the hospital where I would visit my brother, sister-in-law, and their new baby (yep, niece #2!), the forgotten Snickerdoodle presented itself as the answer.

Brownies would be too heavy and cake too difficult to eat. These days I avoid baking with any type of nut or peanut butter when children and babies are in the mix. My sister-in-law makes killer Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with which I would never dare compete. Chocolate Chip Cookies seemed too boring. My options were limited. And then I remembered my Snickerdoodle roots.

The simple, light, buttery, crispy-edged, soft-middled Snickernoodle. They’re a perfect way to end a meal and just as ideal with a midday cup of coffee or tea. They even work for breakfast (a theory I tested today).

There isn’t a cookie on earth that could be as sweet as my new niece, but what better way to greet the future, than with a blast from the past?