Cinnamon Bun Cookies

Source: Adapted from Recipe Girl
Makes: 2 dozen cookies*

Wow, I’m pretty sure I could have eaten a dozen of these in a row. I stopped at five, but I also ate several spoonfuls of the glaze. Because I am powerless against sugar.

These smell amazing while they’re cooking, like actual cinnamon buns. When cooked, they have a classic buttery sugar cookie flavor, but the cinnamon sugar swirl is caramelized and wonderfully crunchy-chewy. Terwilliger thought they tasted like Christmas sugar cookies. I thought they tasted like little slivers of cinnamon butter heaven.

I took one (only one… sigh) to work the next day, and it was amazing. These cookies are really satisfyingly crunchy. So, so good. And, bonus!, you can make the dough ahead of time and leave it in your freezer so that you can slice and bake at will. Go to it, guys.

But first, I will warn you that rolling out the dough and shaping it into a rectangle was kind of a pain in the ass. But it was a fleeting pain in the ass, because it didn’t really take that long, and the end result was completely worth it. I will definitely be making these again.

Ingredients:

For the cookie dough:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1 & 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups flour

For the cinnamon filling:
1 large egg white
1 T. water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 T. half & half or milk

Make the dough: In a large bowl beat together powdered sugar and butter until smooth. Beat in salt and vanilla extract. Stir in flour. Gather mixture into a ball then flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. (Dough keeps in fridge for at least five days, I discovered.)

After it’s chilled, roll out sugar cookie dough onto a lightly floured surface. (I used floured wax paper.) Roll dough into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and water until foamy. In another small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. Brush egg white onto dough and sprinkle liberally and evenly with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Now comes the tricky part: Starting with the long edge, roll dough tightly into a log. Use the wax paper to coax the dough into a long roll. Once fully rolled, wrap the log in wax paper or plastic wrap and freeze for one hour, or until firm. (Dough will keep in freezer for up to two months.)

To bake the cookies: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (or just lightly grease them). Unwrap the dough log. Using a sharp knife, cut the cookies into 1/2-inch slices. Lay flat on cookie sheets and bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown. Transfer to racks to cool.

Make the frosting: Sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add half & half and stir until smooth. Drizzle icing onto cooled cookies.

*1/2-inch slices should yield 2 dozen cookies. I sliced mine a little thinner and ended up with closer to 3.5 dozen.

Cardamom Cookies

Source: Adapted from Baking Bites
Makes: 4 dozen small cookies

A couple of months ago, I bought some cardamom for a cake. I got home, opened the cardamom to see what it smelled like, then read over the recipe and realized the ingredient I actually needed was coriander. So I kept the cardamom which I had so hastily opened and bought some coriander for the cake. So… what do with the cardamom?

These cookies caught my eye not only because they called for my unused spice to take a starring role, but also because they had relatively few ingredients and looked incredibly easy to whip up.

There’s really not that much to say about them — they’re just simple and really good. Reminiscent of snickerdoodles, they’re not soft, but not crunchy, and they have a gentle hit of spice from the cardamom. If you like Chai tea, you’ll like the flavor of these little goodies. In fact, they’d be an excellent mid-afternoon snack with a cup of tea. They’re sophisticated that way.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 cup butter, at room temp
3/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Granulated sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour and cream of tartar in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, cardamom, baking soda and salt. (Yes, it’s an unusual order of adding ingredients, but it works.) Add brown sugar and beat until well combined. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually stir in flour mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten the cookie slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 10 minutes, until cookies are a light, golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing them a wire rack to finish cooling.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies

Source: Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy
Makes: about 4 dozen bite-sized cookies

Are you ready for cookies? I hope you are, because I’m declaring this Cookie Week on my blog.

Why? Because it’s almost December, otherwise known as the Season of Cookies. Plus, I’ve been obsessed with cookies for the last month, trying new recipes every weekend and, um, also during the week. I’ve been baking so many cookies lately that when I had time to bake an apple cake for Thanksgiving, I had to look up the definition of “cake” in the dictionary. No lie.*

See, I’m trying to find the perfect recipe that will win me the “Best in Dough” competition my office holds every December, and I’ve used this as an excuse to try pretty much every cookie recipe that has caught my eye. The competition is next Tuesday, December 8, and I think I know what cookie recipe I’m going to use. You can read along as I post all these cookies I’ve tried and see if you can guess which one is my choice for competitor.

So, let’s talk about these no-bake peanut butter cookies. These are titled “Holy Crap These Are Amazing” Cookies on Susan’s Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy blog, so of course I had to try them. “Holy crap, these are amazing” is pretty much the reaction I’m looking for from my coworkers.

You’ve probably had the traditional butter, sugar, cocoa, peanut butter, and oats no-bake cookies before — they were one of the first things I learned to make when I was a kid, and they are deliciously simple. These cookies follow that formula, and they are indeed ridiculously easy to make. They are also very good. Crunchy and chewy and very, very peanut buttery. Rich and mellow at the same time. I’ll admit, though, that my first response was not “holy crap, amazing.” It was more “mmmm, yummy.” So if you’re looking for a simple, tasty cookie recipe that’s ready for eating in about 15 minutes, these are for you.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 jar (18 oz.) peanut butter
6 cups corn flakes
3 oz chocolate of your choice (I’d recommend milk chocolate — I used bittersweet and it didn’t really do anything for me)

Mix together sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter; mix well.

Place corn flakes in a large bowl. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the corn flakes and mix well, making sure to coat all the corn flakes. Scoop out cookies and form into 1-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.

If you’re using chocolate, melt it in a small bowl in the microwave at 15-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies. (I put the melted chocolate in a plastic bag and poked a hole in the corner, then drizzled from there.)

*Yeah, actually a lie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Terwilliger and I are heading up to Joshua Tree National Park today for a camping trip with friends. We’ll be heating (not cooking) our Thanksgiving treats over the fire. I roasted my first-ever turkey breast yesterday to take along, and I was surprised by how long it took. I was also reminded that I’m not a fan of handling uncooked meat. But the finished product looks pretty good. I also made apricot-glazed yams and an apple cake. I am much more excited about those two things.

And in the spirit of the holiday, five non-sentimental things I am thankful for:

*my husband’s sense of humor
*living in a warm climate
*lemons & oranges & pomegranates in my backyard
*baked goods
*feather pillows

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pecan Blondies

Source: Adapted from Baking Bites
Makes: 20 bars

A letter to squash:

Oh, pumpkin, you irresistible minx. You lure me in with your promise of mingling so sweetly with cinnamon, buoyed by brown sugar. And then the health benefits! You are full of vitamin A and fiber! You are a wonderful, delicious squash, and I very much like you. I especially like you when you are paired with butter and sugar in a delectably moist bar cookie that takes all of 15 minutes to whip up and put in the oven. I daresay you are exquisite that way.

Love, Jill

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan.

Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in spices and salt, then add the egg and the pumpkin puree. Stir in flour until just combined, then add pecans and distribute evenly.

Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the blondies are lightly browned at the edges and the center is set (it may look moist, but it shouldn’t be sticky when lightly pressed).

Cool in pan, then slice and serve.