Cinnamon Bun Cookies
Cinnamon Bun Cookies are the perfect marriage of cinnamon rolls and cookies! These delicious cinnamon roll cookies feature a simple sugar cookie dough infused with cinnamon and nutmeg and a vanilla glaze to finish the classic cinnamon roll flavor.
We’re big fans of mashup recipes. After all, why should you have just one flavor when you can have two? Over the years, we’ve made all kinds of sweet and savory mashup combinations, from casseroles to cheesecake bars, but these cinnamon bun cookies are one of our favorites. They really do taste exactly like the perfect combination of cookies and cinnamon rolls!
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It uses simple baking ingredients already in your kitchen.
- It’s an easy recipe that even beginners can make.
- The cookies are wonderfully soft and chewy and taste just like cinnamon rolls.
🛒Ingredients
If you do any amount of baking at all, you probably have all the ingredients you need to make these cookies in your kitchen right now. That’s how basic this ingredients list is!
All the ingredients for these cookies are listed here, but you can find the exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
For the Cookies
- Sugar
- Butter – room temperature
- Egg
- Vanilla
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
For the Glaze
- Powdered sugar
- Milk
- Vanilla
🔪 How to Make Cinnamon Bun Cookies
Making these cookies is a very straightforward process. Although their swirled pattern requires a bit of extra work, it isn’t hard to do. It’s actually much simpler than you might think!
Step 1: Combine the Wet Dough Ingredients
Beat the sugar and butter in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Then, add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
Step 2: Combine the Dry Dough Ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Step 3: Make the Dough
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until they form a dough.
Step 4: Divide and Flavor
Divide the dough into thirds. Remove 2/3 of the dough and wrap it in plastic wrap. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the remaining dough and mix well. Wrap in plastic wrap.
Step 5: Chill
Place both dough balls in the refrigerator and chill for an hour.
Step 6: Roll
Place each dough ball between two pieces of parchment paper and roll them out into a thin sheet of dough. Try to make them both roughly the same size. Chill the sheets for about 15 minutes.
Step 7: Roll Again
Carefully peel the parchment paper away from the dough sheets and place the spiced layer on top of the plain dough, trying to get it evenly in the middle. Gently roll the two doughs up into a log to make the swirl pattern.
Step 8: Chill Again
Return the log to the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours.
Step 9: Preheat and Slice
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven heats up, slice the log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the slices about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
Step 10: Bake and Cool
Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges turn very lightly golden. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool.
Step 11: Make the Glaze
Combine the powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. Slowly add the milk while wishing until you get a runny consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies while they’re still a bit warm to make the crisscross look. Enjoy!
📝Variations
- For even more cinnamon roll flavor, top your cookies with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting.
- Serve the glaze on the side and dip the cookies into it!
- For a super-rich glaze, use cream for the glaze.
If you think these cinnamon roll cookies look good, then you’ll love our ooey gooey cinnamon roll cake.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Cookie sheet
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment paper
- Wire cooling rack
🥫 Storage
Store these cookies at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 2 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container. Don’t refrigerate them. It will dry them out.
Serve With
These delicious cookies are perfect with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. You can also serve them as a delicious treat after dinner or alongside savory brunch options for a fun start or end to the day.
- Sage Roasted Chicken
- Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole with Sausage
💭 Tips
- Roll your dough as tightly as possible when creating your log so it forms a cookie rather than loose layers.
- It’s important to let the log chill for a minimum of 2 hours, so it’s chilled completely through. This allows it to hold its shape as you cut.
- Use a very sharp knife and apply only gentle pressure. This keeps the cookies round instead of squashed and misshapened.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Cinnamon bun cookies are cookies that combine cookie dough with classic cinnamon roll spices and a vanilla glaze to create cinnamon roll cookies that combine the texture of cookies with the flavor of cinnamon rolls.
No, they aren’t. While you’ll have to roll two doughs into a log, it’s not difficult, and the dough itself is very easy to make.
If the dough isn’t thoroughly chilled or you use a dull knife, the dough will smash rather than cut.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy cinnamon buns? Then try these delicious recipes:
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Cinnamon Bun Cookies
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- mixing bowls
- Cookie sheet
- plastic wrap
- parchment paper
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cup + 2 Tbsp flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.
- Slowly add into the butter mixture until they are well combined.
- Divide the dough into thirds.
- Remove ⅔ of the dough and wrap in plastic wrap.
- To the remaining third, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well.
- Transfer that dough into a piece of plastic wrap and place both the doughs into the refrigerator to chill for about an hour.
- Remove the dough and place them separately between parchment paper to roll out into a thin layer. Try to make sure both pieces are roughly equal in thickness and size.
- Return the dough to the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the refrigerator and carefully peel back the parchment paper and lay the spiced layer of dough on top of the plain dough, trying to get it evenly in the middle. This can be done by holding on to the edge of the spiced dough layer and turning it upside down on top of the plain dough and then peeling off the parchment paper.
- Once they are together, gently roll them lengthwise to form the swirl pattern.
- Return the log back to the refrigerator and let it chill for 2 hours before trying to slice.
- Otherwise it will not hold its shape.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Once thoroughly chilled, place on a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife into ¼” thick slices.
- Place on a baking sheet about 2” apart.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges turn very lightly golden.
- Remove and place on a cooling rack.
To make the glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and add the milk in small amounts and whisk until you get a runny consistency.
- Drizzle over cookies while they are on the cooling rack to achieve the criss-cross effect.
