Is there such a thing as a non-tasty shortbread cookie?
We think not!

But when you make these sweet delights with brown sugar and cinnamon… ah, that takes the classic shortbread to a whole new level of yummy.

Shortbreads can be frozen in air-tight plastic containers, to be pulled out later when company comes over unexpectedly — but don’t count on having any cookies left over to freeze unless you make a double batch.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup (dark) brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups white flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon (or more, to taste)
icing sugar (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350°F, and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

(Yes, you’ll want to use parchment paper — it helps to keep the cookies from browning too much on the bottom. Did you know that you can use parchment paper more than once, sometimes even a couple of times? True. And if you’re out of parchment paper, you can substitute waxed paper instead — not quite as good, but it will work in a pinch.)

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating until it’s very light and fluffy. Beat in the flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon until it’s all well-blended into cookie dough.

(For some reason, my corn starch always seems to have tiny lumps in it, so I like to put it through a sieve on its way into the mixing bowl.)

Form the cookie dough into 3/4″ balls between your (clean!) hands and place them on the lined cookie sheet. They can go quite close together because the cookies don’t tend to spread out very much as they bake. Flatten the balls — just a little, just enough so they don’t roll — using the bottom of a glass or the heel of your hand.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the baking sheet and cool them on a wire rack.

Optional: when the shortbreads are cool, dust them lightly with icing sugar. This is something I don’t usually bother to do, except when I’m trying to be fancy, but it does makes them feel and taste a bit like cinnamon-enhanced polvarones (only a lot less work).

This recipe makes about 40-50 ladylike little cookies.

Young Emily brought a tin of these delicious little cookies when she came to hang out with my dogs after school on Wednesday, and — love anything with cinnamon — of course, I just had to get the recipe.

Be warned, these cookies may be habit-forming!

Cinnamon Cookies

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 ¼ cups flour
4 level tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Cream the sugar and butter, then beat in the egg and milk.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then blend into the creamed mixture.
Stir in the vanilla.
Make the dough into small balls (about the size of a whole walnut).

In a small bowl, combine:
      ½ cup brown sugar
      ½ tsp cinnamon (or a bit more, if you like cinnamon as much as I do!)

Roll the cookie balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake at 350°F for 8 – 10 minutes.

A recipe card, browned with age, the black ink fading from my grandmother’s spidery handwriting, just turned up when I moved a bookcase to clean the baseboard. (Don’t ask how long it’s been since the bookcase was moved!)

The recipe, for Apple Cinnamon Roll, is one I haven’t consulted for years because I’ve made this dessert so often that it’s engraved on my memory.

Apple Cinnamon Roll

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp shortening
3/4 cup milk
4 apples, chopped fine

Topping:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 – 1 tsp cinnamon

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Rub in the shortening with fingers. Add milk. Roll out to 1/2″ thickness. Cover with chopped apples. Roll up and place in greased baking pan.

Boil together for 5 minutes the sugar, water, and cinnamon. Pour this over the apple roll.

Bake for 1 hour in a moderate over (about 325°F), basting occasionally with the cinnamon sauce.

Serve slices hot with whipped cream.

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We enjoyed these decadent little cookies, called Pulvarones, at a friend’s home in Oaxaca and couldn’t rest until we got the recipe! The oval shape is traditional for Pulvarones in Mexico, apparently, and you can wrap each cookie individually in a piece of bright tissue paper if you want to be truly authentic. Makes a tempting and festive display, piled in a big ceramic bowl on a dining room sideboard!

Pulvarones

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Combine:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

Stir in:
1 tsp vanilla extract

Work in, as for pie crust:
1 cup butter

Roll out about 1/3″ thick and cut into ovals. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake about 20 minutes. Watch them! These will burn easily if your oven runs hot!

Combine:
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Cool completely, then roll them in it again.

Tip: Don’t even think about using margarine instead of butter — as in shortbreads, you really want the flavour and texture of real dairy butter in these special cookies!

Kids love these cinnamon rolls as much as grown-ups do, and around here there’s never any shortage of little hands to help bake up a batch for a weekend treat. The secret to these tasty treats is that they have a light high-rising biscuit base, so you don’t have to take the time to make a yeast bread dough. These are so simple to make, but so good when served warm out of the oven and with that lovely scent of cinnamon, we never bother with butter or icing!

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

Sift together:
    4 cups flour
    8 tsp baking powder
    1 tsp salt

Cut in:
    3/4 cup shortening

With a fork, gradually add:
    2 cups of water (or a little less)

Roll the dough out on a floured board to make a rectangle about 12 x 18 inches. This will be quite a sticky dough, but if you keep it as moist as you can (add only as much flour as you need to in order to be able to roll it out) the finished rolls will be all the better, soft and chewy.

Spread the dough with each of these, one at a time:
    1/3 cup butter, melted
    1 cup dark brown sugar
    1 Tbsp cinnamon

Roll up the dough from the long side, like a jelly roll, and press the seam closed with your fingers. You should end up with a roll that is 18 inches long. Cut this into slices 1 inch wide, and lay the slices on their side in a lightly greased pan.

The pan I use is about 9×17 inches and 2 inches deep, but it doesn’t matter if you need to squish the rools together to make them fit in a slightly different size or shape.

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, then cool the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes before serving.