This cinnamon roll cookie recipe has all the delicious flavors you crave in a cinnamon roll packaged in a convenient cookie. Made with tender sugar cookie dough and a buttery cinnamon-sugar filling, these cookies are fun to make and even more fun to devour!
Craving cinnamon rolls but not all the work that comes with making them? Look no further than these buttery, soft cinnamon roll cookies.
Sugar cookie dough is rolled out, filled with cinnamon-sugar filling, then rolled into a log that gets sliced into perfect melt-in-your-mouth cookies!
For more irresistible desserts, check out our Soft and Chewy Monster Cookies and Southern Pecan Praline recipes next!
Table of Contents
- Ingredients You Need to Make This Recipe
- How to Make This Recipe
- Variations and Substitutions
- What Flour Works Best For Cookies?
- How To Make Sure Cookies Stay Soft
- Why Is My Cookie Dough Sticking When Rolling Out?
- Can This Cookie Dough Be Frozen?
- Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
- Recommended Tools for This Recipe
- More Irresistible Desserts You Will Love!
- 📖 Recipe
Ingredients You Need to Make This Recipe
Sugar Cookie Dough
- Butter. For flavor and tender cookie dough.
- Granulated sugar. To sweeten the cookies.
- Brown sugar. For a caramel-like sweetness.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor and depth. Use good quality vanilla extract - not vanilla flavoring!
- All-purpose flour. To create soft, tender cookies.
- Cinnamon. To heighten the cinnamon roll flavor.
- Salt. To enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
Cinnamon-Sugar Filling
- Melted butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
Vanilla Glaze
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
How to Make This Recipe
- Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium until no more egg is visible. Start on low speed (3-4 on a stand mixer) then gradually increase the speed to high (7-9).
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter and beat until no more streaks of dry flour are visible. Start at low speed and gradually increase to high speed. Be sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure everything gets evenly mixed.
- Lay plastic wrap on a large flat surface and scoop the dough out onto the plastic wrap. Pat the dough into a rectangle, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for one hour.
- Right before taking the dough out of the refrigerator, add the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix with a fork until combined and it resembles wet sand.
- After one hour, take the dough out of the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and place it on a lightly floured surface. Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out into a ¼-inch thick rectangle.
- Spoon the cinnamon, sugar, and butter mixture all over the cookie dough, getting as close to the edges as possible. Use your fingers to evenly distribute the cinnamon sugar on top of the cookie dough, but do not firmly pat or press it into the dough.
- Starting with one of the long edges, carefully lift the dough, tightly roll it into a log, and seal the seam by patting the cookie dough together to fully enclose the cinnamon-sugar layer. If you notice the cookie dough cracking in places, just use your fingers to seal it back together.
- Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate the cookie dough for at least an hour up to overnight. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the cookie dough log and slice it into ½-inch thick cookies. Place the cookies on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart and bake them in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn light golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth, and use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled cookies.
Variations and Substitutions
- Cinnamon roll cookies can also be made using an electric hand mixer.
- Dark brown or light brown sugar can be used in the dough and filling. However, I recommend dark brown sugar for deeper flavor and softer cookies.
What Flour Works Best For Cookies?
I recommend all-purpose flour for the best cookies. All-purpose flour gives you a cookie with a chewy center and crispy edges that spreads perfectly while baking.
You can also use bread flour or pastry flour for cookies, but the result will be a cookie with a more soft, cake-like texture that does not spread as much while baking.
How To Make Sure Cookies Stay Soft
- Do not overmix the dough! Only mix the dough until no more pockets of dry flour are visible. Do not vigorously beat the dough on high speed as this can result in hard, dense cookies.
- Refrigerate the dough for the recommended time! Do not skip this step as refrigerating the dough not only deepens the flavors of the cookies, it keeps them from spreading out and becoming hard and chewy.
Why Is My Cookie Dough Sticking When Rolling Out?
If your cookie dough is sticking to the work surface or rolling pin, you may not have dusted them with enough flour. You want to use enough to lightly coat both surfaces, but not so much that it makes the cookie dough dry.
A trick to avoid sticky cookie dough is to roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper!
Can This Cookie Dough Be Frozen?
Yes! To freeze cinnamon roll cookie dough, slice the cookies, place them on a baking sheet, freeze them, then transfer them to plastic freezer bags for storage.
Frozen cookie dough will keep for up to six months.
Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
This cookie dough can be made up to five days in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
Leftover cinnamon roll cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Recommended Tools for This Recipe
More Irresistible Desserts You Will Love!
- Apple Cider Donut Cake
- Southern Buttermilk Pie
- Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Southern Sweet Potato Pie
- New Orleans Beignets
- Best Ever Bread Pudding
If you tried this Cinnamon Roll Cookies recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
This cinnamon roll cookie recipe has all the delicious flavors you crave in a cinnamon roll packaged in a convenient cookie. Made with tender sugar cookie dough and a buttery cinnamon-sugar filling, these cookies are fun to make and even more fun to devour!
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter - two sticks, unsalted, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar - or light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract - not vanilla flavoring
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour - (315g) weighed or spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 3 tablespoons butter - unsalted, melted
- ½ cup dark brown sugar - or light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium until no more egg is visible. Start on low speed (3-4 on a stand mixer) then gradually increase the speed to high (7-9).
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the butter and beat until no more streaks of dry flour are visible. Start at low speed and gradually increase to high speed. Be sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure everything gets evenly mixed.
- Lay plastic wrap on a large flat surface and scoop the dough out onto the plastic wrap. Pat the dough into a rectangle, wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for one hour.
- Right before taking the dough out of the refrigerator, add the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix with a fork until combined and it resembles wet sand.
- After one hour, take the dough out of the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and place it on a lightly floured surface. Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out into a ¼-inch thick rectangle.
- Spoon the cinnamon, sugar, and butter mixture all over the cookie dough, getting as close to the edges as possible. Use your fingers to evenly distribute the cinnamon sugar on top of the cookie dough, but do not firmly pat or press it into the dough.
- Starting with one of the long edges, carefully lift the dough, tightly roll it into a log, and seal the seam by patting the cookie dough together to fully enclose the cinnamon-sugar layer. If you notice the cookie dough cracking in places, just use your fingers to seal it back together.
- Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate the cookie dough for at least an hour up to overnight. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the cookie dough log and slice it into ½-inch thick cookies. Place the cookies on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart and bake them in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges just start to turn light golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. While the cookies are cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth, and use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the completely cooled cookies.
Notes
- Be careful not to overmix the cookie dough. Doing so could result in dense cookies.
- To freeze cinnamon roll cookie dough, slice the cookies, place them on a baking sheet, freeze them, then transfer them to plastic freezer bags for storage.
- Leftover cinnamon roll cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1.2g | Fat: 6.3g | Saturated Fat: 3.9g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 10.1g | Calcium: 17mg
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S. Blair
Made these for a cookie exchange party and everyone loved them. Sooooo good! I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out great. Ashley nailed the flavor, as they tasted just like cinnamon rolls - amazing! The cookies don't thin out as they bake, so about 1/2 an inch thick is perfect. I also baked them for 15 minutes but that's because my electric oven is weak.
Ashley Boyd
I'm so happy you enjoyed the cookie recipe! Thank you for giving them a try and for the kind review!