Cinnamon Roll Cookies

When I was a kid, whenever my Aunt Geneva would baby-sit us, we would make cookies out of pie crust.  Sometimes I would sprinkle the pie crust with cinnamon and sugar and roll it up like a cinnamon roll and bake it.  To be honest, I think if I hadn’t been 7, I probably wouldn’t have thought they were that great.  They never really cooked all the way through.  But it was sure fun.

THIS cinnamon roll cookie, made with The Barefoot Contessa’s rugelach dough, is a very big improvement.  Rugelach is a cream cheese based pastry dough.  It is very sticky to work with and bakes up thick and soft.  I found this recipe on The Kitchen is My Playground, and altered it just a tiny bit: I used Cinnabon style cinnamon/sugar mixture (brown instead of granulated) and these cookies turned out fabulous.

Dough:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
1/2 lb. unsalted butter
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour

Filling:
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg white
1 T. water

Glaze:
1 c. confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 T. milk
Directions:

DOUGH: Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature; cream together until fluffy. Add 1/4 c. granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla. With mixer on low, add the flour, mixing until just combined. Dump dough onto a well-floured board; roll it into a ball. Cut dough ball in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour.

After chilling, roll each dough half into a 9×6-inch rectangle.

FILLING: Whisk together the egg white and water until foamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and 1/4 c. brown sugar. Brush egg white mixture onto the surface of the rolled out dough; sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Starting with the 6-inch side of the dough rectangle, roll each into a log, pressing gently to seal the edge. Wrap each roll in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Remove dough logs from the refrigerator and unwrap. Using a serrated knife, gently cut dough logs into 1/2-inch thick slices. Transfer to a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes. Cool.

GLAZE: Combine confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the top of cooled cookies. Let glaze set to dry.