Cinnamon Roll Cookies

This is another recipe from Nemmie's blog, and was the hands-down favorite from the slew of holiday cookies. It's a little labor intensive, but compared to real cinnamon rolls it's a cinch. You see, I was going to make cinnamon rolls but between finals and preparing for the holidays time managed to slip away from me. I still wanted to include a spicy, cinnamony cookie in the packages when I found this recipe.

The cookies were a bit crumbly after the rolling process and I had to be really careful putting the log into the freezer. I think this problem would be solved by wetting the dough slightly before sprinkling the cinnamon sugar over it, so I'll add that step to this recipe. I also omitted the 1/2 tsp powdered egg whites, primarily because I couldn't find them anywhere. I'm sure it works great either way!

Cinnamon Sugar:

2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2c white sugar

Cookie dough:
3c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1c room temperature butter
zest of 1/2 orange
1c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:
1c confectioners sugar
1/4c warm water or milk

Cream the butter, orange zest and brown sugar in a bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Combine the dry ingredients for the cookie dough and add it to the wet ingredients gradually. Make sure not to overmix so the dough doesn't lose structure.

Line a 16 x 9 inch pan with wax paper and roll the dough out. Brush the surface with a tiny bit of milk and coat with 1/2 of the cinnamon sugar. Roll it into a long log and dust the outside with the remainder of the cinnamon sugar, brushing with milk if needed. Wrap in plastic and chill for 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350. Slice the dough into 1/4 inch thick rounds and arrange on a greased baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake 10-12 minutes and allow to cool. When the cookies are completely cooled, combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle it over them. Let the glaze dry until hardened, usually about an hour.