Pie Crust Cookies are flaky, buttery, cinnamon sugar cookies that were born from not wanting to waste the trimmings when mom made pie! You can either make these cookies as pinwheels or cutouts.
Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a fork, a pastry cutter, 2 butter knives, or your fingertips. It should look crumbly, with some pieces of butter the size of small peas.
Drizzle the water in a little at a time, mixing as you go (you can use a fork to mix, but it works best mixing with your fingertips). Add just enough water so it comes together to form a ball of dough (you may need more or less water).
Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each into a ball, flatten each ball slightly into a disk, wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
To Assemble the Pinwheels:
Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.
Place 1 disk of dough onto a floured work surface. Working from the center out, roll the dough out to a rectangle about 11 to 12 by 16 to 18 inches.
Brush the dough with 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and then sprinkle on half of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Starting with one of the shorter sides, roll the dough up as tightly as you can into a tube. Wrap the tube in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes or in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, repeat this process with the second dough ball.
Preheat the oven to 375F, and line 2 large baking trays with silpat baking mats or parchment paper.
After chilling, slice the tubes of dough horizontally into ¼ to ⅓-inch thick slices.
To Bake:
Arrange the cookie spirals on the prepared baking trays and bake until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes at 375F, rotating the trays once halfway through.
To Make the Icing and Frost the Cookies:
Let the cookies cool completely.
Use a fork to mix together all ingredients in a bowl.
Drizzle the icing onto the cookies and let it set before serving.
Notes
Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 50 cookies; each serving is 2 cookies, for a total of 25 servings.
Storage: Once the icing is set, you can store these cookies stacked between wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You Can Skip the Butter That’s Brushed on the Filling: This recipe will still work just fine. Your cookies will have slightly less of a buttery flavor (but they will still be buttery thanks to the all-butter pie dough), and their color will be lighter.
To Make Pie Crust Cut-Out Cookies: Make the recipe above to the point where you have brushed on the butter and sprinkled on the sugar and cinnamon. Don’t roll the dough up into a tube; instead, use your favorite cookie cutters to stamp out the dough into shapes. Arrange on baking trays and bake until golden, about 10 to 15 minutes at 375F.