Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies
These sweet little gluten free cinnamon roll sugar cookies have all the taste of cinnamon rolls without all the fuss and rising time.
Yield: 24 cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (22 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 9 tablespoons (126 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the filling
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¾ cup (164 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon plus more for sprinkling
For the glaze
- ¾ cup (86 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk plus more by the 1/4 teaspoonful if necessary
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.
Make the cookie dough.
- In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar and confectioners’ sugar and whisk to combine well.
- Add the butter, eggs and vanilla, and mix to combine. The dough will be thick and smooth.
- Roll the dough between two sheets of unbleached parchment paper into a 12-inch square, a bit less than 1/3-inch thick.
- For the cleanest rolls, chill the rolled-out dough in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes or until firm to the touch.
Shape the cookie dough.
- Remove the top sheet of parchment paper, and spread the butter from the filling in an even layer on top of the entire surface of the dough, all the way to the edges.
- In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and the ground cinnamon and mix to combine well.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of the melted butter, and spread into an even layer, again all the way to the edges.
- Using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, slice the dough into 4 squares of equal size (6-inch squares).
- Roll each 6-inch square tightly into a coil.
- Spread the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on the parchment paper, and roll the coils in the sugar to coat the outsides of the coils.
- With a sharp knife, slice each of the coils by cross-section into 6 pieces of equal size, each about 1-inch thick.
- Place each piece, one cut side up, about 2 inches apart from one another, on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the cookies.
- Place the baking sheets, one at a time, in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the cookies are puffed, pale golden and somewhat firm to the touch (about 11 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature on the baking sheet.
- They will crisp around the edges as they cool.
Make the glaze.
- In a small bowl, place the confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk.
- Mix well, until a thick paste forms.
- Add more milk by the 1/4-teaspoon, mixing to combine well, until the glaze falls off the spoon slowly, in a thick but pourable glaze.
- Add milk very slowly, as it is much easier to thin, than to thicken, the glaze.
- If you do thin the glaze too much, add more confectioners’ sugar a teaspoon at a time to thicken it.
Decorate the cookies.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies, sprinkle with a bit more ground cinnamon.
- Allow to set at room temperature before serving.