cinnamon roll cookies

Christmas is quite possibly my favorite time of year. I love all of the magic that the holiday season brings, the extra kindness people show, and all of the delicious food. Here's something that's quickly becoming a family favorite in our house. They do take a bit of work, but it's definitely worth it.

This year I made these cookies 100% wheat/gluten free for Katie. Just substitute the all-purpose flour for a gluten free flour. I used a mixture of gluten free all purpose baking flour and sweet white sorghum flour (both Bob's Red Mill brand). Using a wheat free flour makes the dough a bit more difficult to roll up, but don't worry if it doesn't look perfectly rolled. It will still look like a yummy cinnamon roll when you drizzle it with glaze.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

for the dough:

2 2/3 cups cake flour*

4 1/2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, frozen

9 to 12 tablespoons ice water

* If you don't have cake flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour (1 cup cake flour = 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour)

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt together into a large chilled bowl. Set a grater in or over the flour mixture and grate in frozen butter, gently lifting the flour with a fork to coat the butter. Sprinkle 9 tablespoons of the ice water evenly over the flour/butter mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated. Add more ice water if needed. The dough should be similar to a pie or pastry dough and hold together when a small amount is squeezed in your hand. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and knead twice just to distribute the butter. Be careful not to overwork the mixture. Form dough into two disks, cover in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.

for the cinnamon filling:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

3 tablespoons melted butter

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Roll disk of chilled dough on a floured surface into an approximate rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. Roll up dough like a jelly roll. Cut into 1/2 in thick slices. Put on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Cool cookies on a wire rack. When cooled, drizzle with glaze (1 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon water (or more if needed to thin), a few drops of vanilla extract.

Enjoy!!