So, I made them again the next morning, and they were delicious. My dad even said, "Are you making cinnamon buns or something? It smells good." I was like score! So they're delicious to taste and they make your house smell like cinnamon buns, as long as you don't burn them to a crisp while watching shark week...
Cinnamon Bun Cookies
Cookie Dough:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2¼ cups flour
Cinnamon Smear:
- 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1½ tsp. corn syrup
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¾ tsp. vanilla extract
Icing:
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1–2 tsp. water
Make the cookie dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cram the butter, sugars, and salt until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat until combined. Add the flour in increments just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the cinnamon smear.
Make the cinnamon smear: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together all the cinnamon smear ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Assemble the cookies: Remove the dough from the refrigerator (it will still be very soft). Roll the dough onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper until it is about 10” tall and 14” wide. To make it a better rectangle, cut out outlying pieces of dough and kind of smush them into places that need more dough (probably the corners). It will not be a perfect rectangle, nor will it be perfectly flat but that is okay. Using an offset spatula (or just a normal one, but an offset helps), spread the cinnamon smear all over the dough. Use the parchment paper to help roll up the dough, starting with the long side (so the side that is 14” long is getting rolled up to make a 14” long log). Do not wrap the dough with the parchment inside however; rather, use the parchment to help lift and roll the dough, then peel it off, then roll again, then peel, until the log is all the way rolled up with a full piece of parchment still on the countertop. Wrap in the parchment and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes, or until firm.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the log from the freezer once it is firm and use a sharp knife to cut into ½” thick rounds. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until just slightly browned on the edges (they shouldn’t brown much though). Cool completely before icing.
Make the icing: Combine all the icing ingredients in a small bowl and using a pastry brush, brush icing onto the cooled cookies. Leave to dry before storing in an airtight container.