Cinnamon Bun Cookies

Before my mom discovered her gluten allergy, we used to share a mutual love of Cinnabons from the mall. So much so, that she used to pick me up from school when I was little  (17 is little right?) for a “doctor’s appointment” whenever we needed to have a girls day and we would drive to the Trumbull mall and order a Cinnabon (extra frosting on the side) and a large diet coke. And without fail, Skip (aka Dad) would always happen to call my mom JUST as we were pulling into the mall parking lot and catch us. I think he has a dad radar for whenever he feels like his money is being spent. My ultimate baking goal in life is to make a gluten-free Cinnabon that tastes exactly like the mall version (or better, which is not possible). That’s my KPI for ultimate baking success.

These cookies were very easy to make. A little more time consuming than a normal Salted Cookie recipe, but they were definitely worth it. So much so, I had to make a second batch today to make sure there were enough to last past 9am for coworker cookie Monday.

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cinnamon Filling 

• 1 large egg white
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Icing

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Step 1: To make the dough, cream together sugar and butter. Mix in vanilla. Add in the salt and flour and mix on a low speed until the dough comes together. It will be a little sticky. Roll the dough into a ball and flatten it. Wrap it in saran wrap and put in the fridge for an hour or more to harden.

Step 2: Rolling the dough is not something I enjoy doing at all. It took me several times to get it right. After messing it up several times, here are my tips: use lots of flour. Flour the rolling pin, flour the counter, flour the dough. When we made batch two today, Mom rolled out the dough on top of parchment paper, which was smart because we didnt have the issue of not being able to get the dough off the counter. Roll out the dough into a 9×12 rectangle.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white and water until fluffy. Brush that onto the rolled out dough.

Step 4: Mix together the white sugar and cinnamon for the filling. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Viatnamese Cinnamon is the most amazing spice. Once you mix the cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle it all over the dough.

Step 5: Starting from the long edge, carefully roll the doll tightly into a log. Wrap in plastic or parchment and freeze until it is firm. I had it in the freezer for about 2 hours.

Step 6: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a large knife, slice the frozen cookie dough log into even-size 1/2 inch slices.

Step 7: Spread out the cookies onto a sil-pat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.

Step 8: To make the icing, mix powdered sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla together. Whisk the cream into the sugar to make a thin smooth icing. Drizzle or spread onto cookies.

These are seriously delicious and taste just like a Cinnabon in a cookie! I’m not sure what the best part is. The dough is nice and flaky and tastes almost like pastry dough. The cinnamon swirl filling packs a lot of flavor. And the icing is well … the icing on the cake. They were getting taste tested all day yesterday, so I think the second batch we made today will hopefully prevent the Hunger Games in the office tomorrow morning. The only thing that would make tomorrow better? Having my mom call my manager to pick me up for my doctors appointment and going to the mall with her to eat Cinnabons. Fingers crossed? 🙂