Cinnamon rolls are my thing. We’ve been together since 3rd grade when I found out that they were the only thing the school lunch ladies made from scratch and actually tasted good.
In the winter, chili and cinnamon rolls were only available once a few weeks. Every fourth Friday, people would rush to the cafeteria in a frenzy to get their sticky prize. They didn’t know that I was the first one in line and always had a big grin on my lips while holding my tray, pointing at the largest cinnamon roll, and chirping, “Ooh Ooh, Mine Mine,” to the lunch ladies. All hated my 10-year-old self with her horribly crooked smile.
The next few moments were like a scene from “50 Shades of Grey.” I was perched on the plastic brown benches of our cafeteria, eating my cinnamon rolls between large spoonfuls of spicy chili. I was anticipating that final ooey, gooey bite of the center—both a tragic and climaxing moment. After the experience was over, Mom provided a cold lunch until the next day of chili and cinnamon rolls.
When I try to make my cinnamon rolls, they always look like hockey pucks. They are not worthy of being covered in cream frosting and eaten while snuggled up with a cup of hot tea. Not even close.
My mom would happily share her super secret caramel glaze recipe with anyone who asked. The night before baking my cookies, I called her to copy down the instructions. I also called again when I was making the caramel glaze. I wanted it to be perfect; after all, we couldn’t let the name of our family be tarnished by a cinnamon roll that was not up to par.
What do they taste like, you ask? Imagine a soft sugar cookie with an ooey, pumpkin butter-brown-sugar center and a caramel glaze that melts in your mouth. After just one cookie, you’ll be wishing for more.
This is not your delicate tea-time cookie. You can laugh with your legs crossed and your mouth closed. These cookies are more like the full-fat chocolate milk in the can that you eat while grunting “yeeeeeehaw” and eating them like a trucker. Do you get the picture? Yeah…good.
Ingredients
DOUGH
- One stick of butter (slightly softer)
- Half a cup of sugar
- Half a cup of brown sugar
- One large egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
Filling
- 4 Tbsp Pumpkin Butter
- Use 1 tsp of each pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon
- Brown sugar, 4 Tbsp
- Butter (slightly melted): 4 Tbsp
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add egg and cream sugars with a mixer.
- Add the dry ingredients into a sifter. While mixing, alternate adding the milk and dry ingredients. Add vanilla and stir.
- Roll out and chill for 30 minutes. Spread butter and pumpkin butter on a floured surface. Sprinkle with cinnamon, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spices.
- Roll tightly and carefully into a log. Then, using floss or a serrated blade, cut into thin slices.
- Be careful not to overbake. Transfer the cookies to a baking tray (they will not spread too much). Bake for 14-15 mins. The cookies will look a bit tender, but remove them from the oven, allow them to rest on the baking tray for 3-4 minutes, then transfer them onto a cooling rack.
