Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Cinna-spin Cookies With A Muffin Twist



A couple weeks ago, I was offered the opportunity to bake the winning cookie recipe from Betty Crocker's Bake Life Sweeter contest. The winning cookie was baked by Lynette S which won her a $5,000 prize. She used a sugar cookie mix to create a "cinnamon roll-cookie". She aptly named the cookies Cinna-spins.

I was immediately intrigued by her concept. I read the recipe and decided that I would bake another version of her award winning cookie. I finally settled a mini muffin cinna-spin cookie. They baked up beautifully and had a cinnamon bun taste to them. Once the cookies were cooled and iced, I packed them in little boxes and took them over to my neighbors. I know, you're wondering how much of the recipe did I change? Nothing, except for the presentation.

I stayed true to the recipe by using the same amount of cinnamon, butter, egg, and a Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix. Instead of coiling the cookies, I rolled the dough into a 12"x 7" rectangle (a little shy 1/4" thick) in between two sheets of parchment paper. I then chilled the dough for 30 minutes. Once the dough was chilled, I sprinkled the cinnamon over it. And starting with the long side, I rolled it away from me.

Spray 3 mini-muffin tins with non-stick spray. Slice the cookie dough into 30 even pieces. Place the sliced cookie dough into the muffin tins and bake at 350F degrees for 10-13 minutes. Cool cookies in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove to cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the cookies are cooled drizzle with glaze and enjoy.
Printable Recipe

38 comments:

Maria♥ said...

Oh these are so cute and I love the cinnamon swirls. Great job Gigi!

Maria
x

Honeyed Hashette said...

These are adorable! I love snickerdoodles and pretty much any kind of cinnamon cookie. Yum!

The cupcake liners are cute too.

Ann said...

Ooooh, these look really good - light, fluffy, moist! Yum.

Deborah said...

These are too cute! Great presentation!

Kyrie said...

These are really cute! Our school (University of Oregon) puts out a really good magazine annually, and I was in an article talking about foodblogging. I mentioned you as one of my top ten favorites, so if you want to check out the article here is the link:

http://flux.uoregon.edu/2008/fob/food/just-like-your-motherboard-used-to-make/

keep up the great work!

glamah16 said...

Ohhhhhhhh, so good looking!Those contest yiels some yummy treats.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

So fun that you tried the winning recipe - the swirls in those muffins are PERFECT!!! Nice job!!!

Anonymous said...

Perfect cinnamon swirls! Those would look perfect next to my coffee in the morning!

Anonymous said...

They're just beautiful!

Megan said...

Now I want a cinna-spin with a twist!

Silvia - Magnolia Wedding Planner said...

Gigi these muffins are stunning and look delicious! :-D i loce cinnammon so they are perfect for me
Thanks and very good job honey!
have a good day :-D
Silvia

Katie said...

These look so cute, your swirls turned out fantastically. What a clever idea, I was wondering how you managed to get such perfect swirls into a muffin. You get the best of both words - cinnamon swirls and muffins.

Charlotte said...

Wow they look fantastic! My mum is a big fan of cinnamon so I'll have to give these a go! I don't think we get Betty Crocker mixes over here though! WAH!

grace said...

what a great idea! i always appreciate new vehicles for cinnamon and butter consumption, and this one has the bonus of being easy on the eyes! nice work, gigi!

Chibog in Chief said...

you know gigi i am always in love with your pastries.;they are always brilliant concocted!! you never fail to impress me!!

btw, this cinna-spin cookies with muffin twist looks really yummy

April said...

Very cute, and they look delicious!

Stef said...

Such a cute idea! I love the way that swirl looks.

Patricia Scarpin said...

This is genius!!

Unknown said...

This is such a cool concept! :) Good pick!

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

You are awesome!
the cupcake rock-star :-)

test it comm said...

Those cinnamon swirl muffins look really good!

Megan said...

You've been tagged!

Anonymous said...

I thought these sounded good when you were telling me about them, but these look even more adorable than I pictured.They don't look like cookies at all. Great job. ;)
~Shannon

marae said...

those are so cute, love the swirl. random Q gigi but how do you frost your cupcakes aka the persian love ones. start in the center outwards a bit or start outside?

Anonymous said...

These are just too good-- I may have to try these for Father's day breakfast, as my hubby loves cinnamon! Thanks

LyB said...

That is such a creative idea, and the mini size makes them look so cute! I love the photo with the drizzle of glaze. :)

Half Baked said...

These are so cute! I love the paper liners too they go so well with the cinna-spins! Nice job!!

Anna said...

Baking cookies as muffins has to be the cutest thing ever; definitely doing that XD. I love the little swirls.

Rosie said...

Ooooooh these are SO adorable Gigi!! You really are an inspiration!!

Anonymous said...

What a brilliant idea! These look really cute. Beautiful work, sweetie! :)

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Those are so cute and swirly. I'd almost hate to put glaze on it.

Anonymous said...

These are so cute and sound yummy!

Christy

My Sweet & Saucy said...

These look wonderful! What a great play-off you did!

RecipeGirl said...

These sure are cute little treats!

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

You are such a freakin genius!!

eatme_delicious said...

Wow I love your take on this! These look so incredibly delicious. I'm a sucker for cinnamon buns or things resembling cinnamon buns... or things that say they'll taste like cinnamon buns!

Mari said...

I think that topping a muffin with a cookie is genius, and they're cute as a button too!

Anonymous said...

Your variation looks alot better than the cookies on the Betty Crocker webite.