If you are a cinnamon roll fan, then you HAVE to try these scrumptious and easy-to-make Cinnamon Roll Cookies! Made from a simple sugar cookie base with a cinnamon filling and a sweet icing glaze. It is like your favorite cinnamon roll and cookie got married!
We love cinnamon desserts! Something about the warm cinnamon smell with a hot cup of coffee just warms my soul. From our apple crumb cake with cinnamon drizzle to our caramel apple crisp bites to our easy apple dump cake! There are so many wonderful cinnamon-y recipes, we cannot possibly include them all!
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
I didn’t think that cinnamon rolls could get any better. I love the warm, fluffy dough, full of cinnamon and drizzled with sweet icing. So, I truly thought that cinnamon rolls were as good as it gets. That is, until I tried this cinnamon roll cookie recipe!
I now know that cinnamon rolls can definitely get better – by making them in cookie form! I wasn’t the only one who was literally drooling over these, either. My husband and kids absolutely raved about them!
So here’s my warning: even though this makes a batch of 40 cookies, these will very likely be gone FAST!
Cinnamon Roll Cookies Ingredients
These cookies are made in three steps. First, the sugar cookie batter. Second, the cinnamon filling. Third, the icing drizzle. Here are the ingredients needed for each of the three steps.
Ingredients for Sugar Cookies:
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoons Fine Sea Salt
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature is important)
- 4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- ¾ teaspoons Almond Extract
Ingredients for Cinnamon Filling:
- 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) Melted Butter
- 4 Tablespoons Cinnamon
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar
Ingredients for Icing Drizzle:
- 2 cup +1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 4-5 Tablespoons Whole Milk
- 2 Tablespoons Melted Crisco (original or butter)
- 1/2 teaspoons Almond Extract Optional
SEE FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BELOW
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cookies:
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Pro-Tip: (optional) Sift out any clumps. - Using a stand mixer, mix add the butter, cream cheese, sugar, eggs, pure vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Do not over mix!
- Divide the dough into two equal amounts (logs), wrap plastic wrap around each dough mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Stir together all ingredients for the cinnamon filling in a small mixing bowl and then divide it in half.
Pro-Tip: Do not refrigerate the cinnamon filling so it stays soft and spreadable. - Remove dough from the fridge. Dust powdered sugar on the whole area (silpat mat works best or a clean counter), dust the log and dust your hands. Roll out one log at a time to roughly 8×9 inches and around ¼ inch thick.
Pro-Tip: Flipping the dough over periodically and powdering your hands or roller, while rolling will prevent the dough from sticking to your silicone mat or surface. You can use a rolling pin but it’s easier to get your measurements quicker if you press it out by hand. You don’t want it to be too thick or it will lose the cinnamon roll shape while baking in the oven! - Evenly spread ½ of the cinnamon mixture over the dough.
Pro-Tip: It’s important that whatever end you choose to be the inside of the roll has cinnamon all the way to the edge. - Tightly and slowly roll the dough into a 9-inch log. If it starts to crack, hold your hand over that area for a few seconds so the warmth from your hands warms the dough.
- Once logs are tightly rolled, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Put a long piece of dental floss underneath the log in place to make a cut for a ½ inch cookie. Pull each piece of floss to the opposite side of the log, slicing gently through the dough. You want to work quick to ensure the logs are still chilled when you cut them.
Pro-Tip: Serrated knives can work to cut the cookies but dental floss works best. - Place each cookie on a silicone baking mat and place in the oven 2-inches apart from each other or about 10 on a sheet for space to spread out a bit.
Pro-Tip: Place the cookie dough in the oven while still cold. This is what helps them to maintain their rolled shape! - Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until they start to just slightly brown on the edges. Do not overcook.
- Leave on the baking mat for 3 minutes before gently removing to a cooling rack.
- Whisk all icing ingredients together in a bowl.
Pro-Tip: If the mixture is too thick for your liking, add additional milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Add powdered sugar 1 tsp at a time if it is too thin, until desired consistency is reached - Drizzle the icing over the cookies. Squeeze bottles work very efficiently to apply the icing very neatly and thinly so the adorable cinnamon roll spiral still peaks through the icing! Enjoy!
Storage:
The dough will keep well in the refrigerator for several days to one week. I think I had the dough in my fridge for almost a week and it was still good!
More Great Cookie Recipes
- Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
- Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies
- The Perfect Meringue Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Cake Mix Cookies
- No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Strawberry Pudding Cookies
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Serves — 40
A simple sugar cookie base with a cinnamon filling and a sweet icing glaze. It is like your favorite cinnamon roll and cookie got married!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Video
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 3 cups Flour
- 1½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature is important)
- 4 ounces Cream Cheese softened
- 1½ cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs room temperature
- 2 tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- ¾ tsp Almond Extract
Cinnamon Filling
- 1 stick Melted Butter
- 4 tbsp Cinnamon
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar
Icing
- 2 cup + ½ cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 4-5 tbsp Whole Milk
- 2 tbsp Melted Crisco (original or butter)
- ½ tsp Almond Extract Optional
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside. (optional) Sift out any clumps.
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the butter and beat on medium until soft and fluffy, for no less than two minutes. Add the cream cheese and continue to beat together until creamy and no lumps remain, about two minutes. Add the sugar and continue beating for another 2 minutes, until fluffy. After scraping down sides with a rubber spatula of your mixer bowl, turn the mixer on medium speed and add the eggs, pure vanilla extract, and almond extract. Allow to mix until fluffy, about two minutes.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture while on low stir speed and allow the mixture to slowly incorporate. Again, be sure to scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula as needed. Do not over mix!
- Divide the dough into two equal amounts (logs), placing each in a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap plastic wrap around each dough mixture and refrigerate for 1 hour before rolling out the dough.
- While your dough is chilling in the refrigerator, make your cinnamon filling. Combine all ingredients for the cinnamon filling in a small mixing bowl, stir together and then divide it in half and leave sitting out until chilling time for the dough is complete. Do not refrigerate the cinnamon filling so it stays soft and spreadable.
- After chilling, remove dough from the fridge. Dust powdered sugar on your whole area (silicon baking mat works best or a clean counter), dust the log and dust your hands. You can use a rolling pin but it’s easier to get your measurements quicker if you press it out by hand. Roll out one log at a time to roughly 8×9 inches. You want the rolled dough to be about ¼ inch thick. You don't want it to be too thick or it will lose the cinnamon roll shape while baking in the oven!
- HELPFUL TIP: Flipping the dough over periodically and powdering your hands or roller, while rolling will prevent the dough from sticking to your silicone mat or surface.
- One log at a time, evenly spread ½ of the cinnamon mixture over the dough and get ready to roll! It’s important that whatever end you choose to be the inside of the roll has cinnamon all the way to the edge.
- The opposite end (which will be the largest end part of the spiral within the roll, you want to leave 1/4 inch of area along the whole edge that does not have cinnamon filling on it. Leaving a bit of plain dough helps the dough glue to itself, completing the perfect spiral without having to deal with the butter in the cinnamon filling that could make it unstick in the baking process leaving you with a loose sloppy spiral. Tightly roll the dough into a 9-inch log. The center of the cookie is the start of the rolling process so go slowly, if it starts to crack or bunch, hold your hand over that area for a few seconds so the warmth from your hands warms the dough. By warming the dough it makes it more elastic so you can easily patch a little crack or hole with your fingers and continue rolling.
- Once logs are tightly rolled, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
- Remove your cinnamon roll cookie logs and place them on a large cutting board. Preheat your oven now to 350 degrees. Serrated knives can work to cut the cookies but dental floss works best. Put a long piece of dental floss underneath the log in place to make a cut for a ½ inch cookie. Pull each piece of floss to the opposite side of the log, slicing gently through the dough. The gentleness of the floss cutting from one side to the other helps the log not to be squished down by the knife. If you do use a knife, be very gentle while pressing down to cut through the log. You want to work quick to ensure the logs are still chilled when you cut them. Cut each cookie to a thickness of about ½ inch slice. Again, you don't want it to be thicker than that so it doesn't lose its shape.
- HELPFUL TIP: These cookies need to be placed in the oven while still cold! This is what helps them to maintain their rolled shape!a. Place each cookie on a silicone baking mat and place in the oven 2-inches apart from each other or about 10 on a sheet for space to spread out a bit.b. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven right as they start to just slightly brown on the edges. Do not overcook. They are best when they are taken out of the oven when they are still very light and golden. They may appear to be undercooked but will continue cooking inside after removing from the oven.c. Leave on the baking mat for 3 minutes before gently removing to a cooling rack with a spatula
- While the cookies are cooling, make your icing. Whisk all icing ingredients together in a bowl. If the mixture is too thick for your liking, add additional milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Add powdered sugar 1 tsp at a time if it is too thin, until desired consistency is reached.Drizzle the icing over the cookies. Squeeze bottles work very efficiently to apply the icing very neatly and thinly so the adorable cinnamon roll spiral still peaks through the icing! Enjoy!
Nutrition Info
Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 231IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
These cinnamon roll cookies are seriously some of my favorite to make, and of course… TO EAT! Anyone who tries them is sure to love them. Happy baking!
Can these be made with a sheet of puff pastry?
Any idea how well they freeze before baking?
Love these! I made these and they were gone within 24 hours (mostly my husband) they are so good! Will definitely be making these again! Thank you for yet another amazing cookie recipe!