Cinnamon Roll Cookies

So my mom calls me the other morning and grills me over whether or not I'm eating breakfast. (She loves to advocate breakfast and also eating adequate amounts of protein. Neither of these things do I do on anything resembling a consistent basis.) I said *of course* I was eating breakfast (Because I was. I had a half-eaten piece of licorice in my hand at that very moment.)
Actually what I was doing was baking hundreds of little treats for the Hands & Voices benefit. Out of all the things I made, these cookies were probably my favorite. And the bonus is since they are *kinda* cinnamon rolls, which is *kinda* a breakfast food, you can *kinda* consider them breakfast. Cookies for breakfast is always a good thing.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter, slightly softened

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Filling
6 tablespoons softened butter, (slice 2 Tablespoons 3 times totaling 6 tablespoons)
3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar, divided into 1/4 Cups
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided (1/4 teaspoon for each batch)

Frosting

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 Cup powdered sugar

2-4 Tablespoons milk, to thin icing

1. In an electric or stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream until well combined. Slowly add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well combined.

2. Place in plastic wrap in a disc shape and chill for at least 2 hours for best results.

3. Once chilled, cut disc into thirds and roll into a 1/8 inch thick oval, about 12 inches X 5 inches.

4. Spread each rolled piece of dough with 2 Tablespoons softened butter, 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Start rolling from the long end closest to you, rolling into a log shape. If your dough is too soft at this point put it back in the fridge to get harder. Use a piece of dental floss to cut your cinnamon log into 1/2 inch pieces of dough. (slide it under the log, cross the pieces over the top and pull both ends tight so it slices each piece). Place each piece onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. You are going to want to try to cook them longer. DON'T! Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

6. To prepare frosting, beat the cream cheese until softened and smooth, slowly add powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency. You can place in a ziploc bag and snip the corner off to pipe the frosting if you want. Frost cookies then place in refrigerator until ready to serve. These are 100 times better chilled!

*As written, this recipe makes lots of mini cinnamon roll cookies. I see no reason why you couldn't use the dough to just make one big cinnamon log and make larger cookies. Just be sure to increase your baking time a little.