Vegan Cinnamon Bun Cookies

My sister Laurie is an AMAZING baker. AND though she's not vegan, she is one of my only relatives that doesn't looks at me cross-eyed for being one myself . Sooo... as a vegan sympathizer, she used her baking powers for good and sent me this batch of Cinnamon Bun Cookies for my birthday.

Despite traveling 3000 miles, the cookies arrived without being broken into a zillion pieces. Frankly, I would have eaten them anyway, but I just love seeing the ribbon of cinnamon swirling around like that. Ahhh. Along with the cookies she included the recipe too... so I guess she expects me to make them for myself from now on. Jeeez.

Vegan Cinnamon Bun Cookies:

Requires chilling dough in fridge for 3 hours.

Filling:
1/2 cup organic sugar
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

For the Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup vegan butter at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
Equivalent of 2 eggs (using egg replacer like Ener-G)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Filling:
Combine sugar and 2 tbsp cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Dough:
Whisk flour, baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

In a new bowl, cream butter and brown sugar with a mixer until smooth. Add the egg replacer and vanilla; mix until Incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, blending until just Incorporated; do not over mix.

Trace a 16" x 9" rectangle on a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Using your hands, pat the dough into the rectangle shape.

Sprinkle filling mixture evenly over the dough.

Beginning on the long side and using the paper to help you, roll the dough into a log. (do not roll paper into the log... duh.) Wrap the log in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours. (At this point I'd probably just eat all the raw dough, but that's just me.)

While your waiting for the big chill, go for a nice hike or bike ride.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Remove dough from fridge and remove plastic wrap. Slice the chilled dough into 1/4" thick slices and arrange on the cookie sheets spacing about 1" apart. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cookies cool on the sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack.

Enjoy!

Catherine