Cinnamon Roll Cookies

I'm so excited to post today! This is my first time participating in the annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap - this is the third year of the swap. It's a simple little idea - sign up for the swap, get three bloggers who you're going to treat to a dozen of your homemade cookies and then blog about them. The best part, we've partnered with Cookies for Kid's Cancer and all the proceeds from our participation go to them! The total this year raised was..... $13,778.40! AMAZING!!! I can't wait to participate again next year!


Now onto the part about picking the recipe for my cookies. I had a hard time deciding on what to make and wish I would have had more time to experiment with this recipe. It was good but it was the first time making sugar cookie dough and I wasn't super happy with it. I know, shocker that I've never made sugar cookies before but in my old kitchen, it just wasn't feasible with the limited countertop space I had. The cookies turned out good and I liked the subtle flavor of the cinnamon and sugar, but I'm going to experiment the next time I make them with a different sugar cookie recipe and I think making the filling a little thicker would be better too.

Before I get to the recipe, I have to thank the three bloggers who had me. I enjoyed all their cookies - check out their blogs for their cookie recipes!

A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen - Ginger Explosion Cookies

Chocolate Castles - Chocolate Thumbprint Raspberry Cookies

Whisk and Heels - Pumpkin Crinkles

Now finally, the recipe for cinnamon roll cookies.

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour slowly until it's just combined. Separate the dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

For the filling, you'll need:

2 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar mixed with 3 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator at a time. Divide it into two pieces. On a floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with the melted butter and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture liberally over the dough. Roll the dough up starting from the long side. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Repeat with the other disk of dough.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take out one log of dough and cut it into 3/4 inch slices. Place slices approximately 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are starting to turn golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet and than transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.

Once the cookies have cooled, mix together the following ingredients until smooth.

3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp dried vanilla beans

Drizzle the icing over the cookies to give them a little coating of the glaze. Store in an air-tight container.

Source: Baked Perfection