These cinnamon roll cookies are chewy and delicious and are made with a cookie swirled with cinnamon filling and topped with a cream cheese glaze.
These cookies are perfect for those who love the taste of cinnamon rolls but want something a bit different.
These cookies have the best chewy texture and are swirled with cinnamon filling which creates pockets of cinnamon in every bite, and are topped with a sweet and slightly tangy cream cheese glaze.
With their sweet and aromatic aroma, these cookies are sure to be a hit with both kids and adults alike.
Whether enjoyed with a cup of coffee or as an indulgent dessert, these cinnamon roll cookies are sure to satisfy your cravings.
For more cookie recipes check out my coffee cake cookies, danish butter cookies, buckeyes cookies, double chocolate cookies, and pecan crescent cookies.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- these cookies have chewy and soft texture in the middle and crunchy edges with a creamy glaze. These will melt in your mouth in every bite!
- Cinnamon roll flavor- these cookies are perfect for cinnamon roll lovers, they have all the flavors of cinnamon roll from the cinnamon filling, to the cream cheese glaze.
- Cream cheese glaze- these are topped with a cream cheese glaze that is made with a few simple ingredients that is sweet and slightly tangy and goes perfectly with these cookies.
- Cinnamon roll filling- these cookies are filled with cinnamon filling just like in cinnamon rolls!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe.
Baking powder and baking soda- to allow the cookies to spread. Make sure that your baking powder and baking soda are not expired.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Brown sugar- adds a caramelly flavor and chewy texture to the cookies.
Eggs- you will need 2 large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Cream of tartar- the cream of tartar adds a tang to the cookie dough. This cookie is like a snickerdoodle cookie but better!
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the cinnamon filling
Cinnamon- gives these cookies an amazing taste and compliments the apples perfectly.
For the cream cheese glaze
Cream cheese- make sure that you are using whole-fat cream cheese that is at room temperature. We highly recommend using the famous Philadelphia cream cheese.
Powder sugar- you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Instructions
Make the cinnamon filling
Into a small mixing bowl, add the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and cream it with an electric hand mixer until well combined and creamy. Place it in the fridge while you make the cookie dough.
Into a large mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, kosher salt, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
Cream it with an electric hand mixer until the mixture is creamy and light.
Add the eggs and mix until well combined.
Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until almost combined.
Remove the cinnamon filling from the fridge and scoop dollops of 1 teaspoon onto the dough, when you run out of the cinnamon filling, make swirls using a spatula or a butter knife. Make 4-5 swirls, do not over swirl it!
Use a large cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular tablespoon, 1 ½ tablespoons at a time. Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
The dough needs to chill in the fridge or the freezer for at least an hour. It should be hard to the touch and not soft.
If you are chilling the dough for more than 1 day, cover the dough balls with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are light golden brown. Do not overbake them, we want to keep these cookies soft and chewy.
If desired, scoot the cookies into a perfectly round shape with a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make an easy cream cheese glaze by mixing cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and kosher salt in a small mixing bowl and drizzle the cookies with the glaze. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the dough, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your brown butter chocolate chunk cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Be patient! I know it’s incredibly tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- Let these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Faq's
Cinnamon roll cookies are delicious cookies that are full of cinnamon flavor. These cookies are made with a soft cookie swirled with a cinnamon filling and finally topped with a cream cheese glaze.
We use all-purpose flour for these cookies. Cake flour will work great as well.
This usually means that there is too much flour in the dough. It is very important to measure your flour correctly. Check out our expert tips for how to measure flour correctly.
Storing
Store these cookies at room temperature for up to 4 days. Make sure that you store them in an airtight container so they won't dry out.
Freezing
Freezing cookie dough- Follow the instructions as written and make the dough balls, then transfer the dough balls into a freezer-friendly airtight ziplock bag, and freeze the cookie dough ball for up to 3 months.
Bake the cookies according to the instructions and add 1-2 more minutes of baking. Do not thaw the cookie dough, bake it immediately.
Freezing the cookies- you can store the baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Thaw at room temperature for a few hours or in the fridge overnight and make the cream cheese glaze and top it with the glaze.
Make these ahead of time
To make these cookies ahead of time, you will need to make the cookie dough, scoop it onto a plate or a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and store it in the fridge in an airtight container until you are ready to bake.
You can store them in the fridge for up to two days, and when you are ready to bake them, follow the rest of the instructions and bake as written.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter. Also, swap the cream cheese with vegan cream cheese and the milk with vegan milk.
Gluten-free- you can swap the flour with gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free. I have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it should work.
Variations
Spices- add your favorite spices for cinnamon-spiced desserts! Like nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin spice, ginger, etc.
Nuts- add chopped nuts to the cookie dough for an added crunch.
Glaze- top these cookies with a simple glaze, maple glaze, or caramel sauce instead of cream cheese glaze.
Powdered sugar- instead of topping these cookies with a glaze, top these with powdered sugar.
Equipment
- Baking sheet and rack set (our fave)
- Cookies scoop set of 3 (the best cookie scoop we used)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- Electric hand mixer
More cinnamon roll recipes
Cinnamon roll cheesecake- This cinnamon roll cheesecake is made with a cinnamon crust, creamy cinnamon swirled cheesecake, and topped with cream cheese glaze.
Cinnamon Roll Muffins- These cinnamon roll muffins are soft and tender, and are filled with cinnamon flavor, and are topped with a cream cheese glaze.
Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls- These strawberry cinnamon rolls are soft and gooey and are made with homemade strawberry filling and topped with strawberry cream cheese icing.
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If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Chewy Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Ingredients
Cinnamon roll filling
- ¼ cup Butter softened, unsalted
- ⅓ cup Brown sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ⅓ teaspoon Kosher salt
Cookie dough
- ¾ cup Butter softened, unsalted
- ⅓ cup Granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup Brown sugar use light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 Eggs
- 2 ¼ cups Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Cream of tartar
Cream cheese glaze
- 2.1 oz Cream cheese softened
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 4-5 tablespoon Milk
Instructions
Make the cinnamon filling
- Into a small mixing bowl, add the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and cream it with an electric hand mixer until well combined and creamy. Place it in the fridge while you make the cookie dough.
Make the cookie dough
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, kosher salt, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
- Cream it with an electric hand mixer until the mixture is creamy and light.
- Add the eggs and mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until almost combined.
- Remove the cinnamon filling from the fridge and scoop dollops of 1 teaspoon onto the dough, when you run out of the cinnamon filling, make swirls using a spatula or a butter knife. Make 4-5 swirls, do not over swirl it!
- Use a large cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular tablespoon, 1 ½ tablespoons at a time. Place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- The dough needs to chill in the fridge or the freezer for at least an hour. It should be hard to the touch and not soft.
- If you are chilling the dough for more than 1 day, cover the dough balls with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are light golden brown. Do not overbake them, we want to keep these cookies soft and chewy.
- If desired, scoot the cookies into a perfectly round shape with a cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookies.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the dough, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your brown butter chocolate chunk cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Be patient! I know it’s incredibly tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- Let these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
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