Sugar cookies and cinnamon rolls had a baby and I think you’re going to get along. You can find all your favorite flavors of a cinnamon roll in these soft, buttery cinnamon roll cookies drizzled with a classic cream cheese frosting!
Sugar cookies and cinnamon rolls had a baby and I think you’re going to get along. You can find all your favorite flavors of a cinnamon roll in these soft, buttery cinnamon roll cookies drizzled with a sweet cream cheese glaze.
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
By now you’ve probably noticed that we kind of have a thing for cinnamon rolls. Especially in different dessert forms. Because buttery, cinnamon sugary goodness shouldn’t be reserved solely for a yeasted roll! You can make cinnamon rolls blondies, cinnamon roll sheet cake, cinnamon roll ice cream…the options are endless. And now you can make cinnamon roll cookies AKA a soft, buttery sugar cookie that tastes just like a gooey homemade cinnamon roll. Drizzle them with a homemade cream cheese icing and all your cinnamon roll cravings will be satisfied.
What are cinnamon roll cookies
I don’t know about you, but the mere notion of a cinnamon roll sets my taste buds on fire. But the thought of making cinnamon rolls can seem like a lot. Do you even know how LONG it takes to make a homemade cinnamon roll?! It takes hours–nay days–of premeditated thought and I’m the girl trying to bring her butter to room temperature in the microwave 30 seconds before I make cookies so you know that’s not my style.
Now I won’t lie–these cinnamon roll cookies still take some time to put together, but there’s no kneading, rise time or pesky homemade dough to worry about. You’ll make a soft, buttery sugar cookie dough, roll it out and top with a cinnamon sugar filling and then roll it up, slice off your cookies and bake them! The result tastes just like a homemade cinnamon roll in cookie form!
Ingredients for cinnamon roll cookies
While you won’t need to deal with yeast for these cinnamon roll cookies, you will need a fair amount of ingredients to make the sugar cookie dough, cinnamon sugar filling and cream cheese icing. The good news is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples you probably already have lying in your cabinets. Here’s what you’ll need:
Unsalted Butter
Brown Sugar
Vanilla Extract
Eggs
All Purpose Flour
Baking Powder
Salt
Ground Cinnamon
Cream Cheese
Powdered Sugar
Milk
Tips for the best cinnamon roll cookies
These cinnamon roll cookies are easier to make than homemade cinnamon rolls, but they still require more than your average cookie. You’ll need to make the roll the dough up, slice off the cookies, bake them, let them cool, and finally ice them! But before you get scared off by all those steps rest assured these are actually pretty easy to make. And lucky for you, I’ve rounded up all our tips to guarantee you perfect cinnamon roll cookies every time.
Use high quality ingredients: The ingredients in these cinnamon roll cookies are very simple, so the quality of your ingredients will really shine through. We recommend splurging on good butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract for best results.
Let your dough rest before rolling it out and cutting out the cookies: When it comes to a swirled cookie like this it’s so important to let the dough chill. Otherwise it will get sticky and messy, which can make baking stressful. When it should be FUN. We recommend chilling the dough before rolling it out and then chilling the cookie dough log before slicing for best results! If your dough is especially tacky, feel free to chill it longer than directed!
Under bake them slightly: Just like a normal cinnamon roll, these cinnamon roll cookies are best with a slightly under baked, gooey center. Remember that your cookies will continue to cook as they cool so you’ll want to take them out when they’re still under done.
How to store your cinnamon roll cookies?
Freezer friendly? Heck yeah! You can freeze the baked cookies, the cookie dough log, or slices of cookie dough! I’ve broken down how to best freeze them whatever step of the process you want!
Freeze the cookie dough log: I find this the easiest way to store these cookies in the freezer because it takes up the least space! Simply make your cookies as directed up until the point where you roll the cookie dough into a log. Wrap the log tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to bake them off, bring the cookie dough to room temperature and slice and bake as directed!
Freeze the cut cookies: If you want to be able to bake off one or a few cookies at a time, this one if for you! Make the recipe as directed and slice the cookie dough into each cookie. But wait–don’t bake them off yet! Place them in a freezer safe plastic bag or airtight container in a single layer and freeze for up to 3 months! When ready to bake, let the cookies come to room temperature and continue on as directed!
Freeze the baked cookies: You can also just freeze baked cookies for whenever you need them next! Make sure you let the cookies cool completely before placing in a freezer safe plastic bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months! I recommend freezing them without the icing for best results. When ready to eat them, let the cookies come to room temperature (or pop in the microwave for 30 seconds) and drizzle with icing
And if you can eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast, you can totally eat these cinnamon roll cookies for breakfast too. 🙂
Sugar cookies and cinnamon rolls had a baby and I think you’re going to get along. You can find all your favorite flavors of a cinnamon roll in these soft, buttery cinnamon roll cookies drizzled with a classic cream cheese frosting!
Sugar cookies and cinnamon rolls had a baby and I think you’re going to get along. You can find all your favorite flavors of a cinnamon roll in these soft, buttery cinnamon roll cookies drizzled with a classic cream cheese frosting!
In a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and combined.Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until just combined and no streaks of flour remain.
Form the cookie dough into a flat rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm enough to work with.
Generously flour a work surface and roll out the cookie dough into a roughly 10 x 6 inch rectangle.
In a small bowl combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the filling. Mix until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Spread the mixture in an even layer, all the way to the edges of your cookie dough.
Roll from the long side into a tight log, sealing the edge of the cookie dough log. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up a little. (Alternatively, you can also place in the fridge for up to 3 days before slicing off your cookies!)
While the dough firms up, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Once the dough is firm enough to handle, slice the cinnamon roll cookie. Using a sharp knife, slice off 1/2 inch thick cookies and place 2 inches apart on your cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the centers have puffed up a little, but the are still slightly underdone. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
While the cookies cool, make the glaze if using! Place the cream cheese in the microwave for 15 seconds or until melted. Add the rest of the glaze ingredients and whisk to combine.
Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies. Let the glaze set and enjoy!
well these are certainly adorable and certainly my kind of cookie, even over chocolate chip cookies or any other I can think of, and a very creative mash up of cinnamon rolls flavors and cookies, thank you!
I followed instructions using the 3X scale because I wanted a lot. The ingredients scaled up, but the directions still said to roll the dough out to 10 x 6 inch rectangle. Knowing this can’t be the case, I made three 10 x 6 inch rectangles. The dough was way too thick – yielding three, one inch thick slabs of 10 x 6 inches. I continued to thin it out, so now it’s rolled and sitting in the fridge overnight to bake in the morning. How thick should the dough be? I hope it works when I bake tomorrow 🫤.
Hi Susan! Unfortunately with the scale feature it won’t change the insturctions at all (I know it’s frustrating and confusing! I wish I could make that more clear!!). Hoping they still turned out well for you despite that!
Amazing recipe! Definitely recommend doubling the filling recipe. Other than that cookies come out super soft and delicious!
Made this was a little THC infused in the butter…all i have to say is it was a hit!
This is an amazing recipe that I will definitely be making again. So good! One thing I would recommend doing is leaving the dough to harden overnight in the fridge as it will made it easier to cut and kept their shape better when cooked.
Leave a comment and rate this recipe!
well these are certainly adorable and certainly my kind of cookie, even over chocolate chip cookies or any other I can think of, and a very creative mash up of cinnamon rolls flavors and cookies, thank you!
★★★★★
I followed instructions using the 3X scale because I wanted a lot. The ingredients scaled up, but the directions still said to roll the dough out to 10 x 6 inch rectangle. Knowing this can’t be the case, I made three 10 x 6 inch rectangles. The dough was way too thick – yielding three, one inch thick slabs of 10 x 6 inches. I continued to thin it out, so now it’s rolled and sitting in the fridge overnight to bake in the morning. How thick should the dough be? I hope it works when I bake tomorrow 🫤.
Hi Susan! Unfortunately with the scale feature it won’t change the insturctions at all (I know it’s frustrating and confusing! I wish I could make that more clear!!). Hoping they still turned out well for you despite that!
Hey! I really want to make these but I do not have a standing mixer. If I mix myself would it still work?
Yes–you can definitely do these by hand, it just will require some arm workout 🙂
Amazing recipe! Definitely recommend doubling the filling recipe. Other than that cookies come out super soft and delicious!
Made this was a little THC infused in the butter…all i have to say is it was a hit!
I’m glad someone before me tried it, I’m making these with infused butter tonight!
This is an amazing recipe that I will definitely be making again. So good! One thing I would recommend doing is leaving the dough to harden overnight in the fridge as it will made it easier to cut and kept their shape better when cooked.
★★★★★