Ingredients
2½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup powdered sugar, plus 3 tablespoons for filling
¼ tsp salt
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened
2 Tbsp cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Directions
With electric mixer on low speed, combine flour, ¾ cup sugar, salt, and butter, and mix until crumbly and slightly wet, 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and vanilla and mix until dough just begins to form. Finish kneading dough by hand to form large cohesive mass. Divide into 2 disks of dough, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Whisk remaining sugar and cinnamon together. Turn half the dough onto floured parchment and place another sheet on top. Roll into a 12-by-7-inch rectangle, then trim edges straight. Remove the top layer of parchment and sprinkle dough with half of the cinnamon-sugar, leaving ¼-inch border along the edges. Spritz the filling with water, and roll dough into a 7-inch log, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Repeat with remaining dough and cinnamon-sugar.
Preheat oven to 375° and place rack to the middle position. Trim the edges of each log, then cut each log crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake until edges are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes, switching baking sheets halfway through baking. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.