Cinnamon Roll Cookies are thick, soft, buttery cookies, swirled with cinnamon sugar and topped with sweet icing. All the flavors of a cinnamon roll in a EPIC cookie recipe!
Table of Contents
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies Are Going to Be Your New Favorite Cookie Recipe!
- What Makes These Cinnamon Roll Cookies Great?
- Ingredients You Will Need:
- Let’s Talk About How To Make Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Tips on How To Make Cinnamon Roll Cookies Pretty!
- If you love Cinnamon Sugar Desserts I have tons more! Try these:
- Get the Recipe
Oh friends, you are in for a real treat today, a real treat indeed. I have been thinking about the idea for these Cinnamon Roll Cookies for quite a while. And I will tell you there was some trial and error to get them how I imagined. Let me explain.
We LOVE Cinnamon Sugar desserts. From the Best Snickerdoodle Cookies ever to exist, to Cinnamon Roll Cake to Churro Bars and literally everything in between, I have so many cinnamon sweet treats here on my site. But these cookies, OH these cookies…they might be my best creation in a while. I know I say that a lot, but these are just truly epic cookies. You guys are going to LOVE them.
Like I’ve said, I have had the idea for this cookie recipe in my brain for a bit of time. And getting them exactly right took some trial and error. I knew I didn’t want a Cinnamon Roll Cookie that looked like mini cinnamon rolls. I’ve seen those all around the internet and they are so cute, but it wasn’t what I was going for. I didn’t want a fussy looking cookie, AND I wanted to make sure that my recipe made THICK, ultra-soft cookies with a slightly crisp edge, and melty, buttery centers, with ribbons of cinnamon sugar in every bite.
After 7 different batches, that were *almost* right, I nailed it on the 8th try. And then I tried them again 2 more times to makes sure. It’s been a cookie filled week, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
These Cinnamon Roll Cookies were worth every.last.calorie.
Ingredients You Will Need:
FULL recipe at the bottom of the post!
- Butter
- Dark brown sugar (yes you can use light brown sugar)
- Ground cinnamon
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Heavy cream
- Baking powder
- Kosher salt
- All purpose flour
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
There are a few easy tricks to make these cookies. They aren’t fussy or difficult, just a few instructions to ensure success!
- Make the cinnamon sugar filling first (as per the instructions). The recipe calls for melted butter, so it’s easy to mix, but as it sits for a few minutes while you make your cookie dough, it thickens back up as the butter cools making it easier to spread than when the butter is completely melted.
- Don’t worry about making things perfect. The beauty of these cookies is that they are rustic and non-fussy looking. When the cookie dough is made, spread it out into a large rectangle. I gave the measurements 10×15, but don’t get too hung up on this. This is a guideline, you don’t have to get out your tape measure. You just want the dough to be thin enough to roll up, and give you enough space to spread out the cinnamon sugar.
- Also I just used my hands to press the dough into the rectangle shape. You CAN use a rolling pin, but it’s just as easy to press it into shape. It’s a pretty sticky dough, but you don’t want to add too much flour rolling it out, as that will change the texture of the cookie.
- When you roll the dough up into a log, cut the pieces into 10 equal slices. You can absolutely make more than 10 cookies if you don’t want large cookies, just adjust your bake time down a few minutes.
- Once you make the slices, pick up the slice and roll it into a ball! You want the ribbons of cinnamon sugar filling to swirl throughout the cookie in all directions. This also helps seal in the cinnamon sugar mixture, which contains a healthy amount of butter, and it can potentially leak out a little bit (which is fine) but rolling it into a ball helps seal it!
- Place the dough balls into the freezer for 20 minutes before baking and while your oven is preheating. This helps keep the cookies on the thicker side. BUT while the first batch is baking place the remaining dough in the fridge. You don’t want the dough to be completely frozen, just cold.
I feel like these are a stunner of a cookie…especially when you break one in half and see all those cinnamon sugar swirls! But I get asked a LOT how I make my cookies look so pretty, and here are a few tips for not only these cookies, but most cookie recipes!
- Make sure all the cookies are the same size. Using a cookie scoop, a scale, or in this case, cutting the slices into equal portions ensures that the cookies are all the same size, which makes them bake evenly. If you have a small cookie and a larger cookie on the same baking sheet, clearly the smaller cookie will bake quicker than the larger.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven grab a spatula and form them into the perfect circle. Sometimes cookies can spread in strange ways. This could be because of an oven that doesn’t heat evenly, ingredients that are different temperatures, dough that wasn’t mixed thoroughly, or in this case, the cinnamon sugar mixture is inside (and by design, isn’t completely uniform) which could cause it to spread more on one side than the other making non-symmetrical cookies. Using a spatula is a simple fix to form the cookie back into shape. This only works as soon as they come out of the oven when they are hot. As they cool they become less malleable.
- The icing in this recipe is an easy way to make these cookies pretty. You can either dip the entire top into the icing to coat the surface, or drizzle it on top. I did it both ways, and it’s completely a personal preference. If you do dunk the entire top of the cookie into icing, you might want to make it a little thinner, adding an extra tablespoon of milk into the mixture. If you prefer to drizzle the icing in stripes, make it a little thicker. Don’t get too hung up on this step. If you on accident make it too thin, just add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add more milk. You really can’t mess it up!
I have a STRONG suspicion that you guys are gonna go nuts for these cookies. Like they are pretty amazing. I love it when I have an idea that comes together in the way I imagine!
If you love Cinnamon Sugar Desserts I have tons more! Try these:
- Churro Snack Mix
- Snickerdoodle Muffins
- Cinnamon Roll Layer Cake
- Snickerdoodle Krispie Treats
- Cream Cheese Churro Roll Ups
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 large cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
These thick, buttery cookies have all the flavors of cinnamon rolls in cookie form!
Ingredients
Filling
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cookie Dough
- 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1–2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- For the filling, in a medium bowl combine the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and the granulated sugar, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla, cream, baking powder, and salt. Mix for 1 minute, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour, mixing until just combined.
- On a lightly floured piece of wax or parchment paper, press the dough out into a 15×10 rectangle. This doesn’t have to be exact or neat.
- Spread the filling mixture on top of the dough, leaving about an inch at the edges. Roll the dough up tightly from the long edge.
- Cut the dough into 10 equal slices. Roll each slice into a ball and place on a lightly floured plate or baking sheet. Place into the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place 5 of the dough balls onto the prepared pan, leaving space for them to spread. Place the remaining dough in the refrigerator while the first batch bakes.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- For the icing, in a medium bowl combine the powdered sugar, butter and 1 tablespoon milk. Whisk until no lumps remain. Add more milk if a thinner icing is desired.
- Dip the tops of the cooled cookies into the icing, or drizzle on top. Allow the icing to set.
Notes
Store airtight for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 428
- Sugar: 29.9 g
- Sodium: 131.3 mg
- Fat: 23.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 52.3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 78.6 mg
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Hi! If making 2oz since dough balls. How much should I bake them for?
Hi. I wrote earlier about my problems and my adjustments. The cookies were very good but next time I would 1and a half the filling and still add the extra flour. Some were thin and some were crispy and I attributed that to too much filling. I made them very small yield 60 cookies. Would definitely make again and give 5 stars.
There were a few things I wasn’t a fan of with this recipe:
1) it doesn’t yield much so suggest if you are going through this much work to double it
2) no one agreed the end result was a ‘cookie’. Mine didn’t flatten or spread much which made it very thick. People felt it was more like a scone or dried out mini roll
3) it didn’t transport well (made them for work) because the icing never truly set so couldn’t stack them
4) a lot of the cinnamon flavor leaked out during baking, so next time I would increase that amount to have more in the end result
5) the flavors were great though! If I make again I think I would leave as slices without the rolling step
I am an experienced baker, though self- taught, and had a bakery business. I had a bit of trouble with the batter..too sticky and added probably a cup of flour to make it workable. Also doubled the filling. Made 60 small cookies. They are in the freezer now and I’m baking them tomorrow. I will let you know how they come out. Maybe they are too small? Will see.
I read in an earlier comment or a question whether you can freeze these and bake them at a later date. You said yes.
After being frozen for a few days, they can still go right into the oven?
Help – for the butter, am I measuring it before it’s melted or after?
before!
So Delicious!!!
This cookie is most requested recipe from friends @ family!!!!
This cookie was #1 pick from a bride to be at her engagement party‼️
Ahh I love hearing that!
This is the most buttery – almost like shortbread, versatile and easy recipe! I added finely chopped walnuts to the filling! I added only Skor Toffee bits to the dough for the third try. I substituted cocoa powder for the cinnamon in the filling and drizzled melted mint chocolate chips for the icing – my daughters like chocolate. Finally I made the original recipe cookies much smaller – 24 cookies for a cookie exchange. The variations seem endless. I am passing your web-site to all the ladies!
How long did you cook your 24 cookies for?
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but the dough was not the right consistency to roll out. So, I swirled the filling mixture into the cookie dough instead and dropped tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. This made about 2 dozen cookies and they were cooked through in about 15 min. The texture was a little different but the taste was great.