64 Cookielove: Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Happy December everyone! Is it just me, or is it crazy insane that it's already December? Oh well, at least its that time of the year or Christmas, time with friends and family, and most importantly of all: cookies. I've always associated cookies with the Christmas season, so what better way to celebrate the month of December than with a #cookielove blog hop. 

Last month was my first time co-hosting a #love event (catch last month's event, squash, over here), and I'm excited to co-host #cookielove this month. For those who are reading a #love post for the first time, it's a monthly event where food bloggers share recipes of a common theme (i.e. apple, squash, cookies, etc). Its not only a fun way of sharing food blogs, but its a great way of finding high quality themed recipes. I'm excited to see all the creative recipes that come out of this cookie theme. I plan on posting a variety of recipes this month, each as a different type of cookie. So here is what will (hopefully) be my first, a variation on the sugar cookie. Sugar cookies are basically recipes that have a higher ratio of butter and sugar to flour, resulting in a creamy, sweet texture. This gluten free recipe is inspired by cinnamon rolls. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are some foods that you absolutely crave when you're gluten free. For me, cinnamon rolls are one of those things. It's the smell that absolutely leaves me in desperate need for a bite. This cookie gives you that satisfaction. When you bite into it you get the creaminess of the sugar cookies and the crunchiness of the baked sugar, all topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. Check the recipe under the blog hop to see how to make them!

Thank you to all of the co-hosts this month. Please contact me if you would like to join the bloghop!

Badger Girl Learns to Cook, Baking and Cooking: A Tale of Two Loves, BigFatBaker, Bloc de Recetas, Bon a Croquer, CafeTerraBlog, Cake Duchess, Creative Cooking Corner, Easily Good Eats, Georgie Cakes, Hobby and More, Knitstamatic, Mike's Baking, Mis Pensamientos, Oh Cake,Queen's Notebook, Savoring Every Bite, Simply Reem, Soni's Food for Thought, Teaspoon of Spice, That Skinny Chick Can Bake, The Art of Cooking Real Food, The Spicy RD, The Wimpy Vegetarian, Vegetarian Tastebuds, Vegan Yack Attack

Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Active Prep Time: 25 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 18 minutes
Servings: 18 cookies

Ingredients


1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup room temperature butter
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup white rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp xantham gum

For the filling:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the frosting:
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Steps


In a medium bowl, whip the sugar, butter, and vanilla until fluffy. Mix in the flours, powder, and gum until a cookie dough has formed. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Prepare a cutting board by covering it with a sheet of plastic wrap. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and place it on top of the board. Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 1/4 inch thickness. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and cover all but a one inch strip of dough with the filling. The bare strip will be used to seal the dough shut when rolled into a log.

To roll the log, start at the end that has the cinnamon sugar, with the bare strip-end furthest away. Tightly roll the dough into a log, using the wrap to lift and roll it. This should minimize tearing of the dough. Roll until the dough has formed a log, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 10 minutes. While the dough refrigerates, preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a baking sheet, and unwrap the dough log. Cut the dough into quarter inch thick cookies, and lay onto the baking sheets. Bake for about 18 minutes, and let cool completely.

While the cookies cool, whip together the cream cheese and the sugar, adding the sugar by the 1/4 cup. Whip in the vanilla and milk until smooth, and frost the cookies.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!