Homemade cinnamon roll cookies come together with my favorite recipe for sugar cookies as the base, a buttery cinnamon sugar filling, and vanilla icing drizzle. They’re soft in the centers with slightly crisp edges and taste like a cookie version of cinnamon rolls!
I know exactly what your plans should be today and they must include these cinnamon roll cookies. They’re fun to make, taste like cinnamon buns, and they’re itty bitty adorable. Mini cookies are ALWAYS a good idea! (PS: you’ll love my mini M&M cookies, too.
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cookies
These cookies are prepared just like cinnamon rolls, but without the yeast, dough rising, and all that razzmatazz. Let’s review:
- Make the sugar cookie dough. We’ll use my favorite recipe for sugar cookies. If you’ve already made them, you’re a pro.
- Shape the cookie dough. Roll the cookie dough out into 2 rectangles (about 9ร7 inches) just like you would with cinnamon roll dough. We follow the same process for pumpkin spice roll cookies.
- Spread the filling onto the cookie dough rectangles.
- Roll into logs. Tightly roll up each rectangle into a 9-inch log. You’ll have 2 of them!
- Chill the logs. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. We do this prior to slicing them so the cookies keep their cute shape.
- Cut into slices. Each cookie should be about 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake. Unlike cinnamon rolls, these cookies bake up pretty quickly.
- Make the icing. Drizzle vanilla icing on completely cooled cookies.
Here are some step-by-step pictures:
Baker’s Tips
- I always roll the cookie dough out on a silicone baking mat instead of a floured counter because it makes clean up easier. I highly recommend it!
- When you’re rolling the dough into logs, the dough might crack a little. That’s ok! Simply smooth the dough out with your fingers if you notice any cracks. Roll the dough up slowly and tightly.
- Below: The left picture below is the dough all rolled up before chilling and the right picture is the dough log chilled. Chilling is the most important step because it prevents the cookies from over-spreading and losing their cinnamon roll shape.
Cinnamon Roll Cookies Icing
So they taste more like traditional cinnamon rolls, we have to top them with icing! If you’re not into vanilla icing, try any of the following instead: maple icing used on my maple brown sugar cookies, brown butter icing used on my brown butter pumpkin oatmeal cookies, or cream cheese icing from my cinnamon rolls recipe.
If you are craving a more traditional style of cinnamon rolls but don’t want to wait hours for the dough to rise, try these no yeast cinnamon rolls next!
More Shaped Cookie Recipes
- Maple Cinnamon Cut-Out Cookies & Pecan Sugar Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookies & Snowman Sugar Cookies
- Spritz Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Linzer Cookies
- Pinwheel Cookies
- Brown Sugar Shortbread
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
- Yield: about 36 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These simple, sweet, and irresistible cinnamon roll cookies are made from sugar cookie dough!
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for rolling and work surface
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Filling
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Icing
- 1ย cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the dough:ย Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be a bit soft. If the dough seems too soft and sticky for rolling, add 1 more Tablespoon of flour.
- Shape and fill: Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out in a rectangle (about 9×7 inches) onto a floured silicone baking mat (or floured parchment paper) to about 1/4โณ thickness. Spread 1 Tablespoon of melted butter onto each rectangle. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon together then sprinkle evenly over each.
- Working slowly, tightly roll up each rectangle into a 9-inch log. If the dough is cracking at all, use your fingers to smooth it out. Some cracks are OK. Chill the logs of dough for at least 2 hours (or freeze up to 3 months). What I like to do is carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board or plate and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Line aย large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove dough logs from the refrigerator. Cutย into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, until lightly browned on the sides.ย Remove from the oven, allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
- Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together. Drizzle over cookies.
- Cover and store cookies at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Baked cookies (with or without icing) freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. You can chill the cookie dough for up to 2 days (step 5). You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months before rolling it out. Prepare the dough through step 3, divide into two portions, flatten both halves into a disk as we do with pie crust, wrap each in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Continue with step 4. OR you can freeze the dough logs in step 5. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 6.
- Special Toolsย (affiliate links):ย Electric Mixer (Handheldย orย Stand Mixer) |ย Baking Sheetsย |ย Silicone Baking Matย orย Parchment Paperย |ย Rolling Pin or Adjustable Rolling Pin
- Be sure to check out my top 5ย cookie baking tipsย AND these are my 10 must-haveย cookie baking tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My name is Juliana Rosal. I’m lived in Brazil. I love so much this recipe. Making always for my family and friends.
Gratitude, Sally! <3
I love your recipes use them often . My cookies came out dry I carefully measured flour and butter was definitely at room temp . Had a hard time rolling cause dough kept falling apart . Not sure what went wrong .
Is it possible to get the nutritional values on this please? Like cals, fat etc per cookie serving. Thanks
Hi Ali, We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076