Frosted Cinnamon Sugar Cookies - made dough March 12, 2016, adapted from
I Heart Naptime
You know how I always say that I only have 1 taste test
cookie or taste test piece of whatever I make and I give the rest away? But if
something is really, really good, I’ll have a second piece? Compared to all I
bake, it’s relatively rare when I like something enough to have more than 1
piece of it. And that includes even my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes.
A warm chocolate chip cookie 10 minutes out of the oven is the peak of culinary
dessert nirvana for me but even so, I’m fine only having one cookie and no
more. At least not until I make the next batch days or weeks later. But eating one
after the other of something? Very rare for me. I’m a moderate; I don’t
overindulge like that.
So it says something when I flag that this cookie is one
of those rare ones. I honestly didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I
figured I would like the cookie well enough because it had all the right
elements I look for in a good cookie: it didn’t spread, it was soft, moist and
chewy and it tasted good. No, make that: it tasted
great. Much as I love
chocolate, when it comes to cookies, I actually prefer vanilla. I even liked
the frosting. Hello, not a frosting person but I liked the frosting. Actually, I
made up the frosting recipe based on modifying the original one that came with
the recipe. And I liked it paired with
this cookie. The cookie would be good without the frosting but it was great
with it.
I waited for the first batch to cool so I could frost the
cookies, had a taste test cookie and thought “hmm, that’s really good.” Then “Wow,
that’s
really good.” So, although it was supposed to be a rest day, I went and
did a 40-minute workout, came back and had a second cookie. There you go, that’s
how much I liked this cookie.
Don’t overbake these! I know I say that with almost every
recipe I post but seriously, don’t overbake them or they’ll be more cakey than
chewy and they’ll be dry. I shaped the dough balls into thick discs instead of “balls”
so that when they baked, they would stay a fairly uniform thickness. They did
still dome a bit in the middle but that’s okay, the edges didn’t spread thin. Depending
on your oven, I wouldn’t bake these longer than 11-13 minutes, long enough for
the edges to get golden and the middles not to look shiny or raw. Let them cool
completely before you spread them with frosting. They’ll be moist, chewy
cinnamon-vanilla goodness. Oh, and
please, don’t use old, tired cinnamon. You know I’m talking about that bottle
you’ve had in your pantry forever because you haven’t used it in awhile and
there’s still some left. If you can’t remember when you bought the cinnamon
and/or if you remember but it wasn’t during this decade, please go buy a new
bottle. Trust me, it’s worth it.
1 cup (8 ounces) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) butter, softened
2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (to taste and desired consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 teaspoons whole milk (to desired consistency)
additional cinnamon for sprinkling
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla; mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; mix just until combined. Chill 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into golf-ball-size balls, flatten slightly into thick discs and space evenly on baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes (depending on the thickness of your discs) or until edges are golden and middles no longer look raw. Remove and cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting: beat together the cream cheese and butter until completely combined and no lumps remain. Add up to 2 cups powdered sugar, vanilla and a little milk. Alternately add remaining powdered sugar and additional drops of milk until desired consistency. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Frost cookies and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.