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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.)
Cinnamon Roll Cookies Recipe Video
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 9×7 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 coffee icing from my cinnamon rolls recipe.
More Shaped Cookie Recipes
- Maple Cinnamon Star Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Spritz Cookies
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Raspberry Pistachio Linzer Cookies
- Snowman Sugar Cookies
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
- Yield: about 36 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These simple, sweet, and irresistible cinnamon roll cookies are made from sugar cookie dough!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (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 (15g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute on high speed until creamy. On medium-high speed, beat in the granulated sugar until completely creamed and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. If the dough still seems too soft, you can add 1 Tablespoon more flour until it is a better consistency for rolling.
- 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 1/4″ 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. 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 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. (Always recommended for cookies.)
- Remove dough logs from the refrigerator. Cut 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. 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.
- Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Silpat Baking Mat | Rolling Pin | Baking Sheet
Keywords: cinnamon roll cookies, cinnamon cookies
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Reader Questions and Reviews
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Made these yesterday. And they are so incredibly delicious!!!! I had thought about skipping the glaze but I’m glad I didn’t. Thanks for another fabulous recipe Sally!
I made a double batch and they came out great. The dough is just sweet enough. I did not make the icing but will on the next batch. They taste great and are easy to make. I bought a 24″ X 36″ silicone mat and it makes rolling out the dough easy. Nobody can eat less then 5 of these !
★★★★★
Refrigerate the dough for 10min before rolling! Also, this recipe is great but not cinnamon-y enough… I did the exact instructions but these taste way more like sugar cookies. Really bummed.
★★★
Maggie …
the recipe does instruct to refrigerate the dough…
My dough always cracks and breaks when I start to roll. No matter how slow or careful I go, it’s the same ): It doesn’t feel super dry or sticky. Help!
Make sure to use plenty of flour when rolling out the dough so it doesn’t stick to your work surface! Also be careful when measuring your flour – too much flour in the dough would dry it out and lead to cracking. Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
what is all purpose flour.we have plain or self raising here
Hi Ky, All-purpose flour in America is actually just plain flour in the UK.
Hi! I tried making these cookies, at first the dough turned out well and when I was about to roll it seems like the butter was melting and the dough became quite soft. But I still continued, and chilled it for 2 hours in the fridge. The shape was good, but when I baked them, they turned out like soft cookies not crispy at all. Is it supposed to be soft? Ah.. and I live in warm-temp area. Does it matter?
I really hope I can make these cookies.
Thank you 🙂
Hi Kanisha! Yes, these sugar cookies should be on the softer side. Make sure you’re starting with proper room temperature butter. The warmth of the kitchen/environment likely came into play here. The butter shouldn’t be melting as you first roll out the dough, so try to see if you can start the process a little earlier after you remove the butter from the refrigerator.
Made these today and they’re fantastic! I am making lots of baked goods for best friend and her husband who just had a baby. Mainly these are oat based but I try to include a fun treat too. Followed the recipe exactly and these worked out great! I was a bit worried about making roll out ones but they were so easy to do. I rolled the dough between pieces of parchment paper and even though I didn’t achieve perfect rectangles, they look great and taste even better. Thank you!
★★★★★
These were super cute and fun cookies to make for my mother, who loves cinnamon rolls. I made these as a Christmas gift. Tasty and fun to look at.
★★★★★
Super delicious and straightforward recipe! And of course they look amazing!
★★★★★
Can I use pumpkin pie spice in place of cinnamon?
You could, yes! Or half of each.
Hi Sally,
I just tried to make these cookies. I did everything the recipe asked for (including chilling them for 24 hours!) but after being in the oven for 5 minutes they spread everywhere and got really thin. Do you have any idea what I did wrong? I am so sad, they looked so pretty!
Hi Sally, can I freeze cookie and ice them after thawed and ready to serve?
Thank you – Mary Lou
Hi Mary Lou! Yes, baked cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and ice when ready to serve.
I love cinnamon and these cookies were absolutely perfect. Definitely going to be making them again. Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
Could you add a small amount of baking powder to “puff” up the rings to look more like a traditional cinnamon roll and less flat?
★★★★★
Hi Nick, I’m sure that would be fine. Let me know if you try it.
Omg these cookies..there are no words. I definitely ate too many because they’re so delicious and taste like cinnamon rolls! These are going on my holiday bake list! They’re fun and easy to make with the kids or just to have a zen time in the kitchen. 100% recommend trying these!
★★★★★
I made these for the kids today, they were delicious! This is the 12th recipe I’ve used from your website and my absolute favorite. Thank you for sharing with us!
Very straightforward and so delicious! I’m definitely adding this to my regular things to bake.
★★★★★
Hi! I was wondering when the glaze set, will it remain color white or will it become transparent? For the espresso glaze as well. I tried the glaze and used full cream milk and after glazing, it just became transparent. Should I use cream? By the way I used it to glaze muffins. Thank you so much!
Hi Risse, if your glaze became transparent, it sounds like perhaps it was a bit thin. For next time, you can add more confectioners’ sugar to help thicken it up a bit. If you’re using it to glaze muffins, some of it will naturally soak into the top of the muffin, too. Hope this helps!
How do you make it so that the bottom of the logs aren’t flat when you slice them?
Feel free to gently re-roll the log as you cut it to help with flattening on the bottom.
I made these today. I cheated, and used store bought sugar cookie dough (I’m ashamed) and instead of butter I used peanut butter. I replaced the sugar with brown sugar and was quite liberal with the cinnamon.
So good!
Quick question, I want to send my son whose away at school some of these cookies. Does the glaze harden or does it stay sticky? Was wondering if they would stand up to being thrown around on the journey. They look delish!! Thanks!
Hi Lola, the glaze will harden. Here’s the best way to ship cookies!
These were great! I added a bit of orange zest to the dough and it was an amazing addition! I just wish there was a bit more of a snap to these cookies, they’re a bit softer than I prefer.
★★★★
Never made these before and currently have them in the oven! However not sure if I’ve done something wrong but they are all unravelling, looks a disaster.. 🙁
I’ve made these several times now. They are always a hit! Sometimes I don’t get the icing to the right consistency, but it’s still good!
★★★★★
These turned out to be a hit at the office. I read the other comments about blandness and decided to use brown sugar in place of granulated in the filling, and my coworkers said they’re perfect. It gives them a nice “Cinnabon” flavor.
★★★★★
These cookies are so pretty! The dough was fairly crumbly, and it cracked a little as I rolled it up (which I expected – thanks for the heads up, Sally! ;D) but they turned out so cute and delicious. Such a fun idea!
★★★★★
Followed the recipe exactly and they were delicious! The only thing I would say is don’t be scared to go a little heavier on the cinnamon and sugar filling. My batch made about 55 cookies. Made these for my co-workers and they loved them! Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
OMG!! You did it again! These are outstandingly addictive to say the least. Can’t stop eating them.
Thank you soo much for all the wonderful recipes.
★★★★★
Find a better sugar cookie recipe if you want to make these. This ones crap. I’m sure they’ll taste fine but absolutely horrible to make. Way too much butter
★★★