Cinnamon Log Slice Cookies #FilltheCookieJar

It’s time to #FilltheCookieJar again and this month’s theme is Christmas cookies!!!

I just love making Christmas cookies!  I never run out of ideas for Christmas cookies! 

For this event, though, I wanted to make log slice cookies, because I’ve had my eye on them since last Christmas!  And last year I ran out of time and already had a million cookies made and I just couldn’t justify it!

Thankfully, I can be pretty patient when I need to, so I put these cookies on the back burner until it was finally Christmas season again!

And yay!!  I’m so happy I made these!  They’re so delicious!  But, they can be a little daunting.  If you add too much cocoa powder, it can be difficult to make the layers stick together, so there may be a little trial and error.  It’s a definite balance between enough cocoa to make a distinct line in the log slice, but not too much that the layers won’t stick.

It can also be challenging to make the layers all the same size, though that could just be my tendency to eschew measuring and just eyeball everything.

I actually kinda loved the oops cookies that resulted from my imprecise measuring – one almost looks like a geode and another looks like there’s a little tree in the center.  Always look for the silver lining, right?

Check out what everyone else baked up below the recipe!

Cinnamon Log Slice Cookies

Inspired by Martha Stewart

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 stick salted butter, softened

¾ cup white sugar, divided

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 ½ tbsp. cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butters, ½ cup white sugar, and the brown sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add the egg, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and vanilla, and mix until combined. Slowly add in the flour.

Divide the dough into four portions, more or less the same size (it doesn’t need to be precise).  Wrap three pieces in plastic wrap.  Roll the fourth piece into a log and wrap securely.  Place the log into a paper towel roll (I cut mine down one long end, so the roll would fit the dough) to keep it perfectly round.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Mix together the remaining cinnamon, cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, set the log aside.

Sprinkle a rolling mat with about a third of the cocoa mixture. 

Unwrap one of the dough pieces and roll out over the cocoa.  Roll the dough as wide as the dough log is long.  Roll thin, about ¼-inch thick.

Pick up the dough sheet and tap off any loose cocoa.  Roll the dough around the dough log, as tightly as possible (if the dough if having difficultly sticking, use a bit less cocoa in the next step).

Sprinkle the rolling mat with more cocoa, and repeat the previous step with the next two dough pieces.

Sprinkle the rolling mat with the remaining white sugar and press the dough log into the sugar to coat (a bit of the remaining cocoa may mix in as well).

Wrap tightly in waxed paper.  Place the dough log back into the paper towel tube (if using), and freeze for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Unwrap the dough.  Use a sharp knife to slice the dough log into thin slices (about ¼-inch thick or so).  Place the slices onto the prepared baking mats, reshaping as necessary.

Bake in the preheat oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are set and  just beginning to brown around the edges.  Cool slightly on the pans, then move to wire racks to cool completely.