Soft Cinnamon Roll Cookies
“A soft sugar cookie reminiscent of a cinnamon roll! Glazed with cream cheese glaze with swirls of cinnamon sugar”
Visual learner? Watch me make these cinnamon roll cookies from start to finish!
If a fluffy, chewy sugar cookie and cinnamon roll could have a baby together these cookies would be it! , Like, 4 real! The taste is a bit like a fluffy, chewy sugar cookie but with gooey swirls of cinnamon sugar and cream cheese glaze like a cinnamon roll. It’s such a perfect pairing and they go so well with coffee omg!
The moment I saw these cookies pop-up on Pinterest a few years ago I knew I needed them in my life! Every year around this time, I’d say I was going to make them but never got around to it. The night before I made these I dreamed about cinnamon rolls and cookies. Then I turn on the tv the next morning and I see Pioneer Woman making cinnamon roll cookies!
I also woke up that morning to a pretty intense snow storm! Being snowed in always puts me in the mood to bake! If that’s not God telling me I need to make and eat a whole batch of cinnamon roll cookies, I don’t know what else is!
I hear ya speaking Lordt, I will obey!
I’ve got so many cookies I want to try before the year is out but these cinnamon roll cookies were first on the list of waistline crashers. I now sit here on the couch typing to the friends in my head (you) while I devour these cookies with my morning coffee.
Life is good.
*Quick question now that I’m thinking about it* Am I the only one who occasionally talks to their food before they take a bite? Like “hello my little pretty” or something like that? Ok, just checking.
Thank God for this snow and being trapped in the house because it took me several times to get these cookies the way I wanted them. I wasn’t going for a true sugar cookie base and it seemed most recipes I came across had that in mind. I wanted a chewy yet fluffy and “bready” cookie with a gooey cinnamony center like a cinnamon roll (because everyone knows that’s the best part of a cinnamon roll!) Oh and a cream cheese glaze! Must.Have.Cream.Cheese. Glaze.
That’s not too much to ask for from a cookie, is it?
These cinnamon roll cookies are so easy to make but there is one chant you need to ALWAYS keep in mind. KEEP IT COLD! (You can sing it to any beat you want. I prefer singing it to the tune of Focus by H.E.R but whatevs)
Here’s how to get the BEST CINNAMON ROLL COOKIES!
1. The dough MUST be chilled for at least an hour. Overnight is best. I’m hard headed as heck and thought, “psshhh, hour shmour!” I chilled it for 15 minutes and ended up with a dough that was waaay too soft and sticky. I couldn’t even roll it up! Everything just fell apart and tore!! Nooo!!
2. The dough MUST be slightly frozen when you slice the roll. When you roll the cold dough up into a log you must place it in the freezer so that it firms up a bit. It makes it so much easier to slice and the little swirls look much neater.
3. The cookies MUST be cold when they go into the oven. If not they will spread and become flat and chewy
You get the point, COLD, COLD, COLD, always keep the dough cold!!
Oh and one last MAJOR thing to remember: You MUST press the cookies a bit once you cut them so that they are super tight and the seam is pressed into the cookie before baking. If not the cookie with “blossom” and spread out instead of staying in its cute little-rolled form (see the video if this sounds confusing). It’s best to do a test batch with two cookies just to get the hang of it before whipping up an entire batch. This recipe does have a bit of a learning curve so don’t attempt these the day of an event.
I had so much fun making these cookies! I’m really surprised I don’t see these cookies more often at bake sales and cookie swaps! They have such a great presentation which makes them really hard to pass by.
Enjoy!
What’s your favorite holiday cookie?
Get the Recipe: Soft Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIE
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter-flavored shortening
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
CINNAMON SUGAR MIXTURE
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 2 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons milk, may need more or less to achieve desired texture
- vanilla extract, splash
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- To make the cookies, cream together sugar, butter, and shortening.
- Mix in egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until a soft dough forms.
- Place dough in a plastic bag and flatten.
- Refrigerate for 1-hour or longer. (This step is a MUST. Overnight is best.)
- Meanwhile, make the cinnamon mixture by combining brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- When the dough is chilled be ready to work quickly. (The dough gets sticky as it warms up. It must remain super cold while handling)
- Mix together 1 tablespoon of flour + 1 tablespoon of powder sugar and generously flour a nonstick work surface (like a silicone baking mat or parchment paper) with some of the mixture. Be sure to also coat your hands and rolling pin.
- Roll cold dough out into a 12X 9 rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. (Be sure to keep your hands and the rolling pin coated well in the flour-sugar mixture.)
- Brush the surface of dough with melted butter.
- Immediately sprinkle on brown sugar mixture in an even layer. Press it down into the dough just a bit.
- Starting with the longest side, gently, but quickly roll dough into a tight log. (keep your hands floured and add more flour mixture to the nonstick surface if needed)
- Roll log in plastic wrap and place on a pan/tray.
- Freeze for 30 minutes or until the roll is firm enough to cut without squishing when you cut it.
- Carefully slice the cookies about 1-inch thick using a serrated knife. ( I cut off the ends first since they are never pretty)
- Place cookies on parchment paper 2-inches apart.
- VERY IMPORTANT: Press the cookie rolls gently so that they are tighter. Seal the ends of the cookies by pressing them into the dough. (This will keep the cookies from unraveling while baking. Make sure the cookie roll is wrapped nice and tight.)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes (cookies MUST be cold when going into the oven.) Refrigerate the leftover dough until ready for the next batch so that they stay cold. (Check on the cookies at the 6-minute mark to make sure they are not unraveling. If they are, pull them out and quickly press the seam back together with a back of a spoon)
- Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by combining cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
- When cookies are ready (they will be slightly underdone), let them sit on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Carefully brush hot cookies with glaze, allowing the glaze to melt down into the folds of the cookie.
- Let glaze set and then store cookies in an airtight container between rows of parchment paper.
Video
Notes
This glaze does not harden completely. If you are looking for a glaze that will harden, eliminated the butter.
I started a tradition of baking cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning when my oldest was a baby to create a sensory memory. I am still doing that, but I feel like I will need to add in these cookies for after lunch. So excited to try. Yum yum. Love from Texas, and thanks for all of the great recipes. You are my go to for everything!
I’ve got to make these. They look so so good. I might even add toasted pecans before I roll them. Thanks for sharing.
I just love this. Your recipes, your written dialogue, your shout out to H.E.R. —- everything! Off to swoon over these cookies! Happiest of Holidays to you and your family ?
Omg!! Like I need another recipe to try. That was those extra ten pounds talking. I will definitely make this very soon!! Thanks for sharing. I love all your recipes! Keep them coming… Sending my best from NOLA.
You know you’re wrong. Sending out a recipe for cinnamon roll cookies.?
Great Receipe