I kinda love this murky time between seasons. Winter feels like a thing of the past, and Spring is almost but not quite here, which makes it perfectly Ok to either wear a spring jacket, or UGG boots, or both. It also lends to all sorts of kitchen adventures being right in season. Soups and stews are still allowed, Spring pastels and berries are welcomed, and cookies, well baking cookies is acceptable all year round am I right? I sure hope so, because even though it was 50 and sunny today, I loved cranking up my oven and pulling out batch after batch of these beauties.
I have been tinkering with this recipe for what seems like forever, and I am so proud to say that I finally figured it out! I wanted soft sugar cookies with a cinnamon swirl and cream cheese glaze. It seemed like no matter what I tried the cookies totally fell apart when I baked them. It’s as if the butter/cinnamon sugar swirl made the cookie pull apart which was so frustrating. What I realized is, the key is smaller, thinner cookies. These babies were only about 2-3 inches wide and I cut them a little thinner so they would stay in tact. You have no idea how happy I was to pull these out of the oven knowing I finally had a win.
I’d describe these cookies as a mix between a snickerdoodle and a cinnamon roll- a buttery cookie, a cinnamon sugar swirl in every bite, and a cream cheese glaze that just sends them over the top. If you like things to be as cute as they are delicious- these will be your new favorite. These would be so perfect for an afternoon tea or any dessert spread. I have a feeling these are going to be crowd pleasers!
- 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 sticks butter, cold & cut into chunks
- 1 egg
- 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons butter- softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
- 1-2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
- Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until mixed. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. (Dough will be crumbly.)
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and knead a few times until it is smooth. Divide the dough in half. Set one half aside.
- Roll the other into a 10 x 14 rectangle (give or take- it doesn't have to be exact.)
- Spread half of the softened butter over the dough- getting all the way to the edges.
- Stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon together, and sprinkle half of it over the dough, using your hand to create a thin, even layer to the edges.
- Slice the dough in half , creating two 10x7 rectangles, which will make it much easier to roll. Starting with the short side, roll the dough and place the first log seam down in the freezer.
- Repeat with the other half of the dough, and place that log in the freezer as well. Roll out the other half of the dough and repeat steps 4-7.
- Let all 4 logs of dough chill in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes, or until firm. Preheat oven to 375F.
- Slice the dough into rounds about a centimeter thick. Place the dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the edge is just golden brown. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Whisk together the softened cream cheese and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Add a tablespoon of milk/cream and stir together. Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to create a thick glaze that will drizzle off the spoon.
- Drizzle the glaze on the cookies as they cool.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
March 18, 2015 at 8:46 amThese look so good!! And dangerously delicious. Yum!
danielle says
March 18, 2015 at 10:06 amThese look amazing! I love the idea of a cinnamon roll in cookie form.
Karina says
March 18, 2015 at 11:39 amA good helper is to make a slice vertically to an empty papertowel roll .. slip rolled cookie log into roll to keep the log from losing its round shape ! Works perfectly
Nyasha says
March 18, 2015 at 11:46 amIs it possible to use the glaze for plain old cinnamon rolls? As opposed to the cream cheese one?
Audra says
March 19, 2015 at 9:35 pmSure I don’t see why not!
Elisa says
March 18, 2015 at 12:31 pmWhat a genius idea! I had never thought to make cinnamon rolls in cookie form! These look soooo cute and I’m sure they taste delicious, too. Can’t wait to make these for my next tea party next week. I’ll let you know how they turn out, I hope they’ll come out at least half as cute as yours :)
xo, Elisa
Bonny @ Clever hen says
March 21, 2015 at 10:47 amYum! I know what I am making today!
Joanne Bruno says
March 23, 2015 at 8:36 amThese are THE CUTEST! I really thought they were mini cinnamon rolls…which would have also been great, but I think I like the concept even better in cookie form!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
March 23, 2015 at 12:45 pmThese cookies look amazing!! They are so cute and sound absolutely delicious. Pinned.
Melissa says
March 23, 2015 at 2:41 pmI made these cookies over the weekend and they taste amazing! However, I had a lot of trouble rolling the dough as it keeps falling apart.
I do realise after making that it’s best that my hands and work surface be as cold but do you have any tips?
Sally says
May 31, 2015 at 12:09 pmThey are soo good! Had trouble rolling out, too crumby next time I’m going to use less flour!