Picture Perfect Cooking

Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap.  You’ll find me posting over at Bake Sew Write about my honey baked ham recipe made with family-produced honey, and I’m excited to welcome Laura from Food Snob St. Louis to Picture Perfect Cooking:

Hi Picture Perfect Cooking readers!

I’m Laura, and I blog over at Food Snob St. Louis. I’m really excited to be guest posting today and sharing a fun recipe with you that I recently made for a local blogger bake sale.

Figuring out what to make for a bake sale can be daunting. Your item needs to be #1 tasty, #2 look delicious and #3 packaged well. Not only do I feel the pressure of my baked goods tasting really good, but I also want people to see them and want to buy them – let’s just say that pretty food presentation isn’t my strongest skill.

Lucky for you and me, these cookies are very simple to make and look delicious with very little effort!

Cinnamon Roll Cookies (slightly adapted from Heat Oven to 350)

*These cookies need to be refrigerated and frozen. Be sure to allow yourself at least a day or overnight to make them.

For Cookies:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 large egg white

1 tbs. water

For Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 – 2 tbs. milk

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer, cream 1/2 cup of the sugar, butter, vanilla and salt. Stir in the flour until a ball of dough is formed. Wrap this dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

2. Remove dough from refrigerator and plastic wrap. Roll it out on a piece of parchment paper into a rectangle (mine was about 9’x13′). In a small bowl whisk together the egg white and water. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg white mixture on top of the dough.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the dough.

4. Starting at one of the longer ends, tightly roll up the dough into a log. Wrap this tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

5. When the dough is ready to cook, heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from freezer and line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/2 inch discs and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly golden along the edges.

6. When cookies are done, transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely, then make the glaze by stirring together the powdered sugar and milk (you can adjust the thickness of the glaze by adding or using less milk). Drizzle the glaze over the cookies.

I found these cute little confectionery boxes at World Market. I lined them with parchment paper and also put a layer of parchment paper in-between each layer of cookies.

I also made a loaf of my Boozy Banana Bread to take to the bake sale. You can find that recipe over at my website here. Both sold fast! If you like what you saw here, I also encourage you to come check out all of my recipes or my ramblings about being a new mom!

Visit Life Your Way to see all of the Ultimate Blog Swap participants!