Grilled Pineapple Cinnamon Cookie Delight

Grilled Pineapple Cinnamon Cookie Delight

I have tried several grilled pineapple recipes and either ended up with watery mush or overly sweet nothing. I was determined to find something that worked as it is one of the most delicious fruit desserts I have ever eaten! I wanted to develop something that incorporated cinnamon and frozen yogurt and came up with an absolutely scrumptous concoction. Layers of fresh cinnamon sugar cookies, grilled pineapple with a warm brown sugar coating topped with vanilla frozen yogurt! It sounds complicated but really isn't. You can make the cookies up to 2 days in advance and slicing pineapple is not difficult. So if you're looking for a refreshing end of the summer treat - try my Grilled Pineapple Cinnamon Cookie Delights!

origin - lisa lou
difficulty - medium
health meter - medium (it is fruit after all....)

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. salted butter, softened
2 lg. eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon for topping. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine flour, soda and salt. Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl blend sugars with an electric mixer set at medium speed. Add the butter and mix to form a grainy paste. Scrape sides of bowl, then add the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add the flour mixture and blend at low speed just until combined. Do not overmix. Shape dough into 1" balls and roll each ball in cinnamon-sugar topping.

Place onto ungreased cookie sheets, 2" apart. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies with a spatula to a cool, flat surface. Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

Grilled Pineapple
1/2 inch slices of pineapple (one slice makes one serving)
1/2 cup brown sugar
leftover cinnamon sugar from the cookies

Pat brown sugar onto both sides of each pineapple slice and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Grill on medium high heat for approximately 2-3 minutes per side or until the brown sugar is bubbly and the pineapple is heated through.

Assembly
Place one slice of warm grilled pineapple on one cookie and top with one scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt (I use yogurt because it is less sweet than ice cream and the pineapple is already very sweet). Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar and serve.