These fun Cinnamon Roll Cookies are cute, unique, and surprisingly simple to make. They taste like buttery soft cinnamon rolls in cookie form and are perfect when paired with a simple vanilla glaze topping! Recipe includes a step-by-step video, showing you exactly how I make them in my own kitchen.
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
What do you get if you marry cinnamon rolls and sugar cookies together?
Only the cutest Cinnamon Roll Cookies, obviously. With perfect cinnamon/sugar swirls, a crisp cookie exterior that gives way to a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery-soft interior, and a sweet vanilla glaze… what more could you ask for, really?
I was originally going to save this recipe for closer to Christmas cookie season (I’ve been trying to get a little ahead on my holiday baking with the baby coming!), but as with my pecan sandies I didn’t have the patience to wait several more months to share this one with you.
Fortunately, cinnamon roll cookies are great any time of the year, but definitely bookmark this one for your Christmas cookie list, too!
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- First make your cookie dough by creaming together softened butter and sugars, stirring in an egg yolk and vanilla extract, and then gradually stirring in flour, cornstarch, and salt.
- Form dough into a disc, cover in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 15 minutes.
- Use a rolling pin to roll dough into a 12×10″ rectangle. Spread melted butter over the dough, leaving about a half-inch perimeter un-buttered around the edges.
- Evenly sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the butter.
- Carefully so as not to tear the dough, roll into a tight log. Wrap your cinnamon roll cookie log in wax paper and freeze for at least 15 minutes.
- After freezing, use just a sharp knife to cut into slices just shy of ¼″ and arrange on a baking sheet.
- Bake until edges are just beginning to turn light golden brown in color.
- Allow cookies to cool, and then drizzle with a simple milk and sugar glaze, if desired.
Tips for Making Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Chilling
This dough can be chilled longer than 15 minutes, and may even need longer if your kitchen is particularly warm. Keep in mind that if you chill significantly longer than 15 minutes (overnight or even for an hour or longer) the dough will need to soften a bit at room temperature before rolling to prevent cracks.
Once you’ve formed your cookie dough “log”, this can also be chilled longer than the 15 minutes indicated, but keep in mind that if you chill it overnight or longer it will become difficult to slice.
Rolling
Make sure that you roll out your cinnamon roll cookie dough on a lightly floured surface so that it doesn’t stick when you go to form it into a log. If it sticks, you’ll end up with cracks and tears in your cookie dough log, which will ruin the cinnamon-swirl effect and can cause the cookies to fall apart. As I’m rolling my dough, if I notice that it’s sticking to the counter even a little bit, I’ll use a spatula to gently help pry it up off of the counter.
Make sure to roll your cookie dough log tightly! If you don’t roll it tightly enough the cinnamon/sugar filling will fall out once you go to slice your cookies.
Once you’ve rolled your dough into a log, you can place this in a split paper towel roll to prevent it from getting a flat bottom as it sits on your freezer shelf. This is not necessary (I only do it for aesthetics — I like nice round cookies!) but it makes for prettier cookies and is a simple trick. I’ve shown this before in my Slice & Bake Cookies and demonstrate this in my video (below the recipe).
When you are ready to slice your cookies, make sure to use a sharp knife to easily cut through them without smashing them (never use a butter knife!).
Glaze
This glaze is almost identical to the one I use on my favorite coffee cake and it’s very simple to make: just whisk together powdered sugar with a bit of milk and vanilla extract.
You can use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the cookies, you can dip them face first in the glaze (you might want to double the recipe if you go this route), or you can decorate them by filling a small ziploc bag with glaze and then snipping off a small corner and drizzling neatly over the cookies. The glaze will harden enough to eat without making a mess in about 15-20 minutes, but if you intend to stack these cookies or pack them away, I recommend giving the glaze at least an hour to firm up completely.
Enjoy!
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Let’s bake together! Be sure to check out my video at the bottom of the recipe where I’ll show you exactly how I make these Cinnamon Roll Cookies in my own kitchen! If you enjoy watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 150 recipe videos that you can watch for free!
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- ⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar tightly packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
FILLING
- ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter very soft or melted
GLAZE
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar
- 4-6 teaspoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
COOKIES
- Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl and use an electric mixer (or stand mixer) to beat until creamy and well-combined.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, ⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar, ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar
- Stir in egg yolk and vanilla extract.1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl whisk together your flour, cornstarch, and salt.2 ¼ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gradually, with mixer on low-speed, stir dry ingredients into wet until everything is completely combined.
- Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
FILLING/ASSEMBLY
- While dough is chilling, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl and whisk until completely combined. Set aside.⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, 2 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Once dough has chilled, transfer to a clean, lightly floured surface and roll into 12x10 rectangle (dough should be just over ⅛” thick).
- Spread melted butter evenly over the dough, leaving about ½” of space un-buttered around the perimeter.2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Sprinkle brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over butter.
- Starting with the longer edge, carefully and tightly roll dough into a log. Once you get to the end, pinch the dough to make a seam. Wrap in wax paper and transfer to freezer and freeze for 15 minutes.
- While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Once dough has chilled and oven has preheated, remove from freezer and use a sharp knife to cut log into slices that are just shy of ¼” thick.
- Carefully transfer slices to prepared cookie sheet, spacing 2” apart.
- Bake on 375F (190C) for 10-12 minutes or until edges of cookies are just beginning to turn a light golden brown.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet.
- If desired, drizzle cookies with glaze once cooled.
TO MAKE GLAZE
- To make the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Start with just 4 teaspoons of milk and add just a small splash more as needed until proper consistency is reached -- if you lift your whisk out of the glaze it should leave a thin ribbon that when it falls back into the bowl should hold its shape for a few seconds before dissolving back into the rest of the icing.1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar, 4-6 teaspoons milk, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Use a spoon or a small ziploc bag with the corner snipped off to drizzle glaze over cookies.
- Allow glaze to harden (15-30 minutes) and then serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Mohini
Thank you, Sam. I am going to try out full cream yoghurt for eggless cookies. i know taste will be a bit different.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Let us know how it goes for you! 😊
Jody
I followed instructions but my dough was do dry even before putting in refrigerator. Why not use a whole egg not just yoke. I had to pitch it because there was so way to roll it out without all the cracks and crumbling. I think there needs to be more liquid for the dough.
Sam
Hi Jody! I’m so sorry to hear this happened! You shouldn’t need a whole egg here. Did you happen to weigh your flour? Did you make any substitutions? The video right above the recipe may be helpful. 🙁
Mohini
Hi Sam.
I tried this cookies and came out very nice. everyone just loved.
Please suggest a substitute for egg yolk. If we want to make eggless cinnamon roll cookies. 🙏
Sam
I’m so glad they were such a hit, Mohini! Unfortunately I don’t have a good suggestion for making them eggless as I haven’t personally tried it. 🙁