My name is Littlebakerbunny and I'm a cookbook addict. Sometimes I just can't help myself, even though our house is overflowing with cookbooks and I'm ostensibly trying to stop expanding my collection. Still, I recently bought a copy of Irvin Lin's cookbook Marbled, Swirled, and Layered, even though I had never heard of Irvin Lin or his blog Eat the Love. What I had heard was good things about the cookbook and Melissa Clark even included it in her list of the top baking cookbooks of 2016. (Melissa Clark is also responsible for my purchase of Luisa Weiss' Classic German Baking; I'm thrilled with that buy and have no regrets.)
As I flipped through the cookbook, a lot of the recipes looked very appealing but the one I decided to try first was "Cinnamon Honey Bun Cookies." It was the photo that did it for me, showing off a pile of perfectly formed pinwheel cookies (the two photos here are the same two photos in the cookbook). It also helps that I love cinnamon.
The recipe is simple enough. First you make the cookie dough by mixing together softened butter, powdered sugar, salt, and baking soda; adding vanilla and eggs; and incorporating flour. You end up with a very soft dough that you roll out into a rectangle. The cinnamon filling is just a mixture of softened butter, dark brown sugar, flour, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg. You spread the filling onto the cookie dough, roll up the dough, and freeze it for an hour. Because the dough was soft, my roll of cookies was floppy and I tried the best I could to get the roll tight and even.
After the dough was frozen, I sliced it and baked the cookies. I was disappointed that my swirls of cinnamon filling were uneven and the cookies did not look anywhere near as neat as the ones in the cookbook photo -- but still, I thought they looked pretty good.
When it came to making the glaze for these cookies I found the recipe instructions baffling. First, I could swear that the cookies in the cookbook photo aren't actually glazed at all. Take another look here -- I can't see any sort of glaze on the cookies. Second, the instructions are vague. The glaze is a mixture of honey, buttermilk, vanilla, and powdered sugar -- but at no point does the recipe describe the desired glaze consistency. Instead, the recipe says that if the glaze is "too thin," you should add more powdered sugar a little at a time, until it reaches "the right consistency." Beyond the fact that the glaze should be thin enough to apply with a pastry brush, I had no idea what consistency I was aiming for.
I made my best guess and after I brushed on the glaze the cookies had a hazy finish. I was worried that the glaze might be too thick and wondered if it would dry completely, especially because it contains honey. Thankfully, the glaze set totally firm with no lingering stickiness, making it easy to store and transport the cookies. And I actually really liked the hazy appearance -- I thought it nicely mimicked the appearance of the glaze on a vending machine honey bun. Of course, I'm not sure if the cookies are supposed to look like this, since the cookies pictured in the cookbook either bear no glaze or a completely invisible glaze.
I quickly got over my irritation about the glaze confusion because the cookies were delicious. The cinnamon flavor was surprisingly spicy, but I really liked it, as did my tasters. I like the fact that this dainty cookie delivers big flavors that are a nice balance of sweet, buttery, and spicy. Every mouthful was a delight.
Recipe: "Cinnamon Honey Bun Cookies" from Marbled, Swirled, and Layered by Irvin Lin, recipe available here at Food Republic.
Previous Posts:
As I flipped through the cookbook, a lot of the recipes looked very appealing but the one I decided to try first was "Cinnamon Honey Bun Cookies." It was the photo that did it for me, showing off a pile of perfectly formed pinwheel cookies (the two photos here are the same two photos in the cookbook). It also helps that I love cinnamon.
The recipe is simple enough. First you make the cookie dough by mixing together softened butter, powdered sugar, salt, and baking soda; adding vanilla and eggs; and incorporating flour. You end up with a very soft dough that you roll out into a rectangle. The cinnamon filling is just a mixture of softened butter, dark brown sugar, flour, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg. You spread the filling onto the cookie dough, roll up the dough, and freeze it for an hour. Because the dough was soft, my roll of cookies was floppy and I tried the best I could to get the roll tight and even.
When it came to making the glaze for these cookies I found the recipe instructions baffling. First, I could swear that the cookies in the cookbook photo aren't actually glazed at all. Take another look here -- I can't see any sort of glaze on the cookies. Second, the instructions are vague. The glaze is a mixture of honey, buttermilk, vanilla, and powdered sugar -- but at no point does the recipe describe the desired glaze consistency. Instead, the recipe says that if the glaze is "too thin," you should add more powdered sugar a little at a time, until it reaches "the right consistency." Beyond the fact that the glaze should be thin enough to apply with a pastry brush, I had no idea what consistency I was aiming for.
I made my best guess and after I brushed on the glaze the cookies had a hazy finish. I was worried that the glaze might be too thick and wondered if it would dry completely, especially because it contains honey. Thankfully, the glaze set totally firm with no lingering stickiness, making it easy to store and transport the cookies. And I actually really liked the hazy appearance -- I thought it nicely mimicked the appearance of the glaze on a vending machine honey bun. Of course, I'm not sure if the cookies are supposed to look like this, since the cookies pictured in the cookbook either bear no glaze or a completely invisible glaze.
I quickly got over my irritation about the glaze confusion because the cookies were delicious. The cinnamon flavor was surprisingly spicy, but I really liked it, as did my tasters. I like the fact that this dainty cookie delivers big flavors that are a nice balance of sweet, buttery, and spicy. Every mouthful was a delight.
Recipe: "Cinnamon Honey Bun Cookies" from Marbled, Swirled, and Layered by Irvin Lin, recipe available here at Food Republic.
Previous Posts:
- "Baked Sunday Mornings: Peanut Butter Chocolate Whirligigs," March 30, 2014.
- "Holiday Baking Begins: Peppermint Pinwheels," December 16, 2010.
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