Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Well, starting summer classes has definitely taken away most of my free time, therefore, not quite as many cooking adventures will be taking place, much to my chagrin. However, last night I decided to set aside my mountain of reading and bake these cinnamon roll cookies for my boyfriend. I made them over the weekend and loved them so I had to make them again and of course take pictures this time.

I came up with this idea a few weeks ago and finally got around to making them. I cut corners though because I'm cheap...haha. I used a package of pre-made sugar cookie dough. Next time I make these I definitely want to use my own sugar cookie recipe, but if you're in a pinch, this is a very easy and quite impressive recipe. One thing to note though is that one package of the pre-made dough only gets you about 24 cookies. My guess is that when making them from your own sugar cookie recipe, you may have to double the cinnamon sugar filling.

The dough was a bit soft and hard to work with, but with some patience, they really do turn out quite well. And the smell!!! I'm telling you, there is nothing better than the smell of cinnamon, I LOOOOVE it. These cookies are great for those times when you're really craving something decadent like a cinnamon roll but the last thing you want to do is eat a ginormous, icing smothered cinnamon roll. This is also a great recipe because you can just make yourself a few logs and keep them in the freezer until you need them, and then just slice and bake!

The icing was just a simple glaze that satisfies the must have for cinnamon rolls. I chose to only ice half of the cookies because when I made them this weekend, there was much discussion and pondering over which one tasted better. My boyfriend ended up making quite the experiment out of the whole situation, therefore eating just about all of them in one day. He still has yet to come to a conclusion. I'll keep you informed of that decision. 

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

1 package pre-made sugar cookie dough

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Pre-heat oven according to the cookie dough directions.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 18 by 10 inches (just make sure it's a pretty good rectangle).

Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together and sprinkle over the dough and run the rolling pin over the dough to lightly press the filling into the cookies.

Starting from the long edge of the rectangle, gently roll up the dough and wrap in plastic wrap.

Chill in the freezer until firm, about 1 hour.

Slice into 3/4 to 1 inch slices and bake for 6-8 minutes.

Glaze

1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients until they reach a "drizzlable" consistency. Adding more sugar or milk when needed. 

Drizzle over the cookies once they have cooled.

Enjoy!