No, I didn't drop these Cinnamon Butter Cookies!

Jeff was busy with a few work-related items this morning, so he didn't have a chance to see that I was working on a batch of cookies downstairs. When he came down, he looked at the cooling rack and said "What happened to those cookies? Did you drop the pan when they came out of the oven?!"

Grrr... I replied with a snarky "of course not!" and said they are supposed to be that way. See? I had to point him to the cookbook and show him the picture of these Raivas and prove it. I don't really know the story as to why these are instructed to be formed like this, but believe me that they taste a lot better than their homely appearance may suggest!

Also known as Cinnamon Butter Cookies, the dough for these Portuguese treats is a very clean and basic combination of butter, sugar, flour, a few eggs and a couple pinches of salt. Oh, and of course, the key ingredient - cinnamon! You'll want to use your best, most intense cinnamon for these and if you've been reading us very long, you will already know that we used our favorite Vietnamese cinnamon.

To form these unique-looking cookies, we divided the soft ball of dough into twenty four knobs and rolled each into a long, thin rope. The ends were connected, forming a circle, and gently lifted onto the baking sheet. All that is left to do is push the round into itself in random shapes and sizes so the edges are very irregular and crinkled.

Once the cookies are formed, they are baked until they are firm to the touch and golden - while not too delicate when cooled, let them sit on the baking sheet for a couple minutes before you try and move them over to a rack. The cookies are not necessarily moist or crisp, but they are not dry either - they are fairly sturdy and a bit crumbly, with a lingering aroma of it's sweet fragrances pulsating from each piece. Perfect for dunking into a (wide) glass of milk or your favorite flavored coffee.

Recipes

Raivas (Cinnamon Butter Cookies)