Southern Treats – Cinnamon Cookies

We’ve had great neighbors in all the places we’ve owned houses. It makes the good times (and the bad times) so much better to have people around you that you can depend on when you don’t live near family. In our first house, Kim & Jeff were those awesome neighbors. They moved in shortly after we did. Scott was a year younger than Kelly and Michael was 3 months older than Andrew. Kelly was 3 at the time and Andrew was a newborn. We shared many things. Cookouts, birthdays, illnesses . . . We had less than 4 years of being neighbors with them before we were transferred out of the area. We kept in touch with videos of the kids, cards, letters, phone calls and eventually e-mails.

When our neighbors took a trip down South to visit Kim’s brother, they brought us back a recipe booklet of Southern Favorites. This little 50-page cookbook has withstood the test of time. The cinnamon cookie recipe has been a favorite of Kelly’s & Andrew’s since the first time I made them. They were requested (and made) very often. These cookies were a frequent choice for birthday treats to take to school. They were sent in boarding school and college care packages. Twenty-some years later, I still make these cookies and we are back in the area where we met this wonderful family, spending meals and good times together.

Cinnamon Cookies (adapted from Favorite Southern Recipes)

  • DSCN34271 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg, separated
  • 4 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 cups flour

 

Cream together the butter and the sugar. Add the vanilla and  the egg yolk and mix well.

Separating the egg the old fashioned way.

Separating the egg the old fashioned way.

Add in the cinnamon, mixing to combine well then add the flour. Mix the dough until it is well combined.

The dusky color comes from the 4 teaspoons of cinnamon!

The dusky color comes from the 4 teaspoons of cinnamon!

Press the dough flat into a cookie sheet and glaze it with the unbeaten egg white. Bake the dough at 350° for 15 minutes, until the top of the dough looks cooked.

The egg white is reserved for brushing over the top of the dough.

The egg white is reserved for brushing over the top of the dough.

Cut the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven then allow them to finish cooling in the cookie sheet on a cooling rack.

The cookies crisp up as they cool, so they need to be cut as soon as they come out of the oven then left in the pan to cool.

The cookies crisp up as they cool, so they need to be cut as soon as they come out of the oven then left in the pan to cool.

Store in an airtight container after they have completely cooled.

Buttery smoothness & cinnamon richness!

Buttery smoothness & cinnamon richness!

Here’s to withstanding the test of time!  ~Linda

Cinnamon Cookies (adapted from Favorite Southern Recipes)

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg, separated
  • 4 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 cups flour

Cream together the butter and the sugar. Add the vanilla and  the egg yolk and mix well.

Add in the cinnamon, mixing to combine well then add the flour. Mix the dough until it is well combined.

Press the dough flat into a cookie sheet and glaze it with the unbeaten egg white. Bake the dough at 350° for 15 minutes, until the top of the dough looks cooked.

Cut the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven then allow them to finish cooling in the cookie sheet on a cooling rack.

Store in an airtight container after they have completely cooled.