Everything you love about a cinnamon roll in a cookie that takes a fraction of the time and makes your kitchen smell absolutely incredible. These cinnamon roll cookies have been one of the most requested recipes I have shared and once you make them you will completely understand why. Soft, buttery, swirled with a brown sugar cinnamon filling, and drizzled with a sweet vanilla glaze that ties the whole thing together. The kind of cookie that disappears from the counter faster than you can plate them.

The technique is a little different from a drop cookie and it is what makes these so special. You roll the dough out into a rectangle, spread it with softened butter, cover it in the cinnamon sugar filling, roll it up tightly into a log, and chill it before slicing into rounds. Two things to know before you start. First, work quickly once the filling goes on because the warmer the dough gets the harder it is to roll up cleanly. Second, do not skip the chilling steps. Fifteen to twenty minutes after rolling the dough out and at least an hour after forming the log. Those resting periods are what keep the swirl intact and give you that clean defined spiral in every single cookie.

The other detail worth calling out is the bake time. Nine minutes at 350 degrees and you pull them when the centers still look slightly underdone. This is not a mistake, this is the move. They continue to set as they cool and the result is a cookie with that perfect soft, almost pillowy center that makes cinnamon roll cookies completely different from every other cookie in your rotation. Overbake them and you lose that magic entirely so trust the process and pull them early.

Drizzle the vanilla glaze over completely cooled cookies and then try to let them sit for five minutes before eating one. I will not promise that is easy. These are the cookies you bring to a cookie exchange and come home with zero of, the ones people ask you for the recipe for before they have even finished their first one. Make a batch this weekend and see for yourself.

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Soft, buttery slice and bake cinnamon roll cookies with a swirled brown sugar cinnamon filling and a simple vanilla glaze drizzled on top. Chilled before baking for a clean defined spiral in every single cookie and pulled from the oven slightly underdone for that perfectly soft center. The cinnamon roll experience in cookie form and worth every single step.

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Prep Time 2 hours hrs

Cook Time 9 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15 cookies

Ingredients

  

Dough

• ¾ cup 150g brown sugar
• ¼ cup 50g granulated sugar
• ¾ cup 170g salted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups 250g all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

Cinnamon Filling

• 3 Tbs salted butter very soft but not melted
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1½ Tbs cinnamon

Glaze

• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tbs milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

Instructions

 

Make and Chill the Dough

• Cream butter + sugars 2–3 minutes until fluffy.
• Add egg + vanilla. Mix until combined.
• Whisk dry ingredients together separately, then combine into the wet ingredients just until incorporated. Dough should be soft but not sticky
• Roll dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a ¼-inch thick rectangle.
• Chill 15–20 minutes. Don’t skip this step!

Fill and Roll Dough

• Spread softened butter over the top of the dough reaching to all the corners.
• Sprinkle brown sugar + cinnamon evenly. (you might not use all of the brown sugar, just make sure the whole area is covered.)
• Gently press filling in.
• Roll tightly from the long edge. (Try to do steps 6-9 quickly because the softer the dough gets the harder it will be to roll up.)
• Wrap log and chill at least 1 hour (or freeze 30 min)

Slice and Bake

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Slice into ¾-inch rounds
• Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 9 minutes.
• Pull when centers look slightly underdone. They will continue to set as they cool.

Make glaze and top

• Whisk ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and drizzle over cooled cookies.
• Enjoy!

Keyword cookies, easy desserts

Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar
• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• ¾ cup (170g) salted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt

Cinnamon Filling:

• 3 Tbs salted butter, very soft but not melted
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1½ Tbs cinnamon

Glaze:

• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tbs milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Cream butter + sugars 2–3 minutes until fluffy.
2. Add egg + vanilla. Mix until combined.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together separately, then combine into the wet ingredients just until incorporated.
   → Dough should be soft but not sticky
4. Roll dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a ¼-inch thick rectangle.
5. Chill 15–20 minutes. Don’t skip this step!
6. Spread softened butter over the top of the dough reaching to all the corners.
7. Sprinkle brown sugar + cinnamon evenly. (you might not use all of the brown sugar, just make sure the whole area is covered.)
8. Gently press filling in.
9. Roll tightly from the long edge. (Try to do steps 6-9 quickly because the softer the dough gets the harder it will be to roll up.)
10. Wrap log and chill at least 1 hour (or freeze 30 min)
11. Slice into ¾-inch rounds
12. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 9 minutes.
13. Pull when centers look slightly underdone. They will continue to set as they cool.
14. Whisk ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and drizzle over cooled cookies.
15. Enjoy!