Get the classic cinnamon roll look and feel in crisp, melt-in-your-mouth cookie form! The perfect dessert for someone who’s looking to enjoy a homemade cinnamon roll treat without fussing around with a yeast dough.
Cinnamon rolls, meet cookies. Cookies, meet cinnamon rolls.
Putting cinnamon rolls into cookie form is by far one of the best inventions anyone has ever come up with, and I think whoever thought of it deserves to have both sides of their pillow eternally cold.
Seriously, a round of applause for them!
We’re tackling this easy and delicious treat in this post today! I mean, I think that’s obvious, but felt the need to say it….
ANYWAYS. These cookies are basically everything we know and love about cinnamon rolls, but instead of using a yeast dough, we’re using cookie dough as the base.
This cookie dough is perfectly crisp, but totally melts in your mouth! You can also slightly under-bake it for a soft and chewy cookie if you prefer!
cinnamon roll cookies ingredients:
• flour:
• baking powder
• salt
• butter: softened butter for the cookie dough and melted butter for the cinnamon roll filling
• sugar: granulated for the cookie dough and filling, and powdered sugar for the simple icing
• eggs
• vanilla
• cinnamon
• milk or water: either one works fine for the icing. You could also use heavy cream if you want some added richness
how to make cinnamon roll cookies:
Make the cookie dough:
1. Whisk together dry ingredients. Set aside.
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, along with vanilla.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients.
5. Divide dough in half, and wrap and chill. The dough is too soft to work with while it’s at room temperature, so chill until it’s firm enough to handle (about 1 hour).
Prep cinnamon sugar for filling:
1. Whisk together cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.
Roll cookies:
1. Roll the first disk of chilled dough into a rectangle that’s about 7×10 inches large (or 1/4 inch thick). If the dough is cracking, it’s probably too cold, so just give it a few quick kneads with your hands to soften then roll.
2. Spread butter over dough and then sprinkle over cinnamon sugar.
3. Roll the dough into a log. Wrap the log in plastic wrap.
4. Repeat with second disk of dough, then chill until firm enough to cut. The dough will need at least 2 hours in the fridge to firm up.
5. Slice logs of dough into 1/2 inch thick cookies.
6. Arrange cookies on baking sheet and bake until golden.
7. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Make the icing:
1. Whisk together powdered sugar and milk / water until smooth.
2. Pipe over cooled cookies & serve!
cinnamon roll cookies storage:
Keep these cookies stored in an airtight container or plastic bag, and they should keep for about 1 to 2 weeks at room temperature!
Check out these other recipes!
• Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread
• Cinnamon Swirl Wreath Bread + Video
• Matcha Sandwich Cookies
• Easy Thumbprint Cookies
• Snowball Cookies
Cinnamon Roll Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
For the cookie dough:
- 2 & 3/4 cups (210g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 225g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the cinnamon filling:
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick / 60g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
For the icing (optional):
- 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk or water
Instructions
- Make the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Using an electric or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a sturdy spoon by hand, cream together butter and sugar until you no longer see any dry sugar crystals and the mixture is creamy. This'll take about 2 minutes on medium high speed with a mixer or 3 to 5 minutes by hand.
- Whisk your eggs into the butter / sugar mix, one at a time, mixing well after each addition until combined. Whisk in your vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir together until you have a thick, sticky dough. The dough will be QUITE soft at this point.
- Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap, flattening the dough into a rough disk shape. Chill the dough disks in your fridge for 1 hour or until firm enough to work with.
- Prep the cinnamon layer: In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Rolling & cutting: Take one of your chilled disks of dough out of the fridge, and unwrap and place on a well floured work surface. If the dough is too cold and firm, give it a few quick kneads with your hands to soften so it rolls without cracking. Roll the dough out into a rough rectangle that measures about 7×10 inches (or 1/4 inch thick). You can use a dough scraper or your hands to push the dough to even out the rectangle shape, but it doesn't have to be perfect.
- Brush half of your melted butter over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle over half of your cinnamon sugar. Working on the 10 inch side of the dough, tightly roll it up into a log and gently pinch the seam to seal.
- Wrap the rolled dough in plastic wrap, and transfer onto a cutting board or small baking sheet (to make transferring easier). Repeat the rolling process with the second disk of dough, and wrap in plastic wrap and place on the cutting board or baking sheet as well. Chill both logs in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or until firm enough to slice.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Slice & bake: Unwrap the chilled log of dough, and place on a cutting board. Slice dough into 1/2 inch cookies, and arrange the cookies on your parchment lined baking sheets, leaving a little over 1 inch of space between each cookie.
- Bake the cookies in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown on the sides and edges of the cookies. Bake until just golden brown for soft cookies or bake until a rich golden brown color for crisp cookies!
- Cool the baked cookies for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely before icing.
- Make the icing (optional): In a medium bowl, combing powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk or water. Whisk together until you have a smooth icing. If needed, gradually whisk in more milk or water if the icing is too thick until you reach your desired consistency.
- Pipe or drizzle the icing over your cooled cookies and serve!
Enjoy!
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