Cinnamon Bun Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• ¾ cup butter, room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

For the Filling

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• Small pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

For the Icing (optional)

• ½ cup cream cheese, room temperature
• ¼ cup icing sugar

Directions

1. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until combined and a soft dough forms. If the dough feels a bit sticky, mix in 1 more tablespoon of flour. Wrap the dough in plastic and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to overnight to chill.
3. Once chilled, dust a work surface with flour and unwrap the dough. Press the dough into a flat rough rectangle then dust the surface of the dough with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a roughly 12-inch square and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, prepare the filling by whisking together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add in the butter and mix to combine. Spread this cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about 1-inch along one side bare. Starting at the side opposite the edge without the cinnamon sugar mixture, roll the dough up like you would a cinnamon bun. When you get to the edge, brush the bare edge with a little water and wrap and pinch to seal the seam.
5. Wrap the log of cookie dough in plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill. Alternatively, you can freeze the log of cookie dough in the fridge for up to 3 months.
6. When ready to bake, heat your oven to 350ºF and line a sheet pan or two with parchment paper. Slice the log into as many approximately 1-cm thick cookies as you’d like to bake, then rewrap and store any remaining cookie dough log in the freezer. Place the cookies onto the prepared sheet pan(s), leaving a few inches of space between each.
7. Bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes (or 13 to 15 minutes if frozen) or until lightly golden and set. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. When the cookies are cool, if you’d like icing, beat together the cream cheese and icing sugar. Transfer to a zip top bag and cut the corner off to form a small hole. Pipe the icing over the cooled cookies.