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Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles with pockets of cinnamon swirl and a sweet cream cheese icing. These are yummmmy! Homemade snickerdoodle cookies, made with browned butter, chunks of cinnamon that melt into wonderful swirls, and a small pinch of flaky sea salt. The best snickerdoodle recipe to share with family and friends. Each cookie dough ball is rolled with cinnamon sugar for that classic snickerdoodle finish before baking to perfection, then topped with creamy icing. There’s nothing not to love about these sweet Christmas cookies.
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Ingredients
- dark brown sugar
- salted butter
- cinnamon
- large eggs
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- kosher salt
- granulated sugar
- cream cheese
- milk
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
What to have in the kitchen:
- Bowl
- Baking sheet
- parchment paper
- electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- skillet
- heatproof bowl
- small bowl
- whisk
- teaspoons/ tablespoons
- wire rack for cooling
Cookies! Tis’ the season! And man oh man, I have baked up a lot of cookies this week. I had quite a few failures until I landed on these. But these – oh these are extra special and worth all the testing time.
Oh, how I adore these cinnamon cookies. They’re Christmas time in a nice big, chewy, snickerdoodle(ish) cookie. The cinnamon-sugar coating is delicious. These are the best snickerdoodles and definitely a new holiday favorite.
Here’s the story, I’ve been testing a lot of cookies! And I am finally close to completing my 2022 Christmas cookie box, which I’m excited to share soon. But all the cookies came with a lot of failed recipes.
Failed recipes are sad in the moment, but often times they lead me to some of my very favorite recipes. After I worked and worked on a new gingerbread recipe, I decided to completely switch gears and move on to cinnamon cookies.
I just needed to forget about gingerbread for the moment. Once I did, I dreamt these up. They’re my favorite chewy snickerdoodle cookies. This might be my best snickerdoodle cookie recipe. Swirled with chunks of buttery cinnamon and notes of brown butter and vanilla. Then iced with creamy icing. I envisioned these like a cinnamon roll cookie, so the icing was needed.
Cream cheese icing, but not too sweet. Tis’ so delicious glazed over each cookie.
Here are details
Make the cinnamon swirl first. It’s just brown sugar mixed with butter and cinnamon. The best cinnamon sugar mixture! Exactly what you’d roll a cinnamon roll up with!
Now crumble the cinnamon into chunks and then freeze. It’s not fancy at all.
While the chunks freeze, make the cookies.
Start by browning half of your butter. It’s one stick of browned butter, and one stick of soft. This gives you the flavor of browned butter but leaves you with a cookie that has great texture too. Shocker, I know, I added browned butter (yes, I may have a browned butter fetish). But the browned butter really does add so much to cookies. It’s worth the extra step.
Then add brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix together, then add all the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, and salt. I didn’t add chocolate chips in this recipe, but I’m sure that would be delicious as well!
By now the chunks should be frozen, mix them into the cookie dough and scoop out all your cookies. In classic snickerdoodle form, take each dough ball and roll through cinnamon sugar.
I do a light roll as I didn’t want the cookies to be overly sweet. Bake them up until they are barely set on the edge. Remove the pan and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. The cookies continue to bake on the warm sheet.
For the icing. I suppose it’s not needed, but it’s certainly delicious, and I think it balances all the cinnamon in the cookie.
Cream cheese, milk, vanilla, and sugar. It’s thick and creamy, just the way we want it!
These are soft and gooey in the center. The best kind of cookie. I’m not normally such a decadent cookie person, but as I always say, I like to really do it up for the holidays. They only come once a year, so let’s just have fun and enjoy every minute of the season.
It’s cheesy, but the holidays do only come once a year!
Looking for other Christmas cookies? Here are my favorites:
Easy Vanilla Bean Christmas Lights Cookies
Easy Hot Chocolate Lace Cookies
Lastly, if you make these Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chewy Frosted Cinnamon Swirl Snickerdoodles
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cookies
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Icing
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- 1. To make the cinnamon swirl. In a bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Line a small baking sheet with parchment. Crumble/tear the cinnamon mix over the baking sheet, creating small chunks, no more than 2 teaspoons in size. They should be small like chips. Freeze 10 minutes, until firm.2. To make the cookies. Add 1 stick butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a heatproof bowl. Freeze 10-15 minutes, but no longer.3. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.4. In a bowl, beat together the remaining stick of butter, the cooled browned butter, and the brown sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Add the vanilla, beating until creamy. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in the frozen cinnamon chunks. 5. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Roll the dough into rounded tablespoon size balls and then roll through the cinnamon sugar. Place 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. 6. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate the pan and bake another 1-3 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to set on the edges but still doughy in the center. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet. They will continue to cook slightly as they sit. 7. Meanwhile, make the icing. Melt the cream cheese in the microwave, stirring until smooth, 15-20 seconds. Whisk in the milk and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, whisking to combine. Add milk, if needed, to thin. Spread or drizzle each cookie with icing. Eat warm or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The icing will harden/dry enough to stack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Another reader recommended to not freeze the cinnamon/brown sugar/ butter swirl, and instead to stir it gently into the rest of the dough mixture. I did this, and did not tweak any of the other ratios, and the cookies were spot on perfect. No issue with texture, and the taste was out of this world. The icing was delicious, too.
Hey Devin,
Happy Monday!❄️🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Ok, made these and they are DELICIOUS. But a bunch of the brown sugar chunks oozed out and messed up the cookies. Anyway to prevent this?! I tried to push them back to cookie shape but it didn’t work very well.
Hey Beth,
Thanks for giving these cookies a try! Next time, be sure to only use 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon chunks per cookie, that should help! xT
Tasted delicious but the icing never hardened. It’s sticky and not easy to stack in cookie box. What could help ?
Hey Renee,
Thanks for giving these cookies a try!! Does the icing just need some more powdered sugar? Let me know if that helps! xx
My daughter said these are the beat cookies she’s ever eaten! I used GF flour and they were perfect. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Hey Alexis,
Happy Monday!❄️🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
They taste amazing, but almost half of the spread out across the pan where the cinnamon chunks were, like it was melting everywhere. Is there something I might have done wrong that could remedy that? Thanks!
I was really excited to make these. Unfortunately they were a bust for me. All the cookies turned into one huge blob of crispy chewy not so goodness. I would suggest less butter and more flour to remedy this. Very bummed because I just waisted very expensive all organic ingredients.
Hi Leah,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback. Sorry to hear you had some issues. It sounds like your dough may have been too warm. Please let me know how I can help! xT
This happened to me too. I tried to postion the cookie so the chunk was in the center and not onto the bottom or side, seemed to help with the “spilling”.
Because of the homemade chips, there is way too much butter in these and they spread all over the pan. If I try them again, I will definitely pull back on the butter in the batter by at least a half a stick.
Hi Michelle,
Sorry to hear this! I would just use 1/2 teaspoon next time, I hope this helps! xx
The same happened to me too?
Hey Emalee,
Thanks so much for trying these cookies! Sorry about the cinnamon chunks!! Next time, I would try using less, just 1/2 teaspoon. I hope this helps! xx
Hey Tieghan,
Happy Sunday! These cookies were loved as well by me and especially by my good friend’s daughter this was her favorite!! The frosting spectacular on these cookies. I found myself eating frosting out of the bowl when I was done making them. It makes the cookie for sure the frosting and it’s absolutely needed. I’ll be making more of these cookies as well. Thank you for such amazing recipes they are always so delicious no matter what I make you’re the best hands down! 🙂
Hey Mike,
Happy Monday!❄️🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
I’m a cinnamon-lover, so I had to try these. They’re insanely good! I didn’t use the icing since I don’t like cream cheese. I’d planned to just make regular icing, but I may have gotten carried away with rolling the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mix, so they were pretty sweet. I didn’t think they needed the sweet icing too.
Hey Jill,
Thank you!! So glad to hear you enjoyed these cookies, thanks for giving them a try! xT
These are SO YUMMY and the icing really is the perfect finisher (though they’re super tasty even without it). I followed the recipe exactly and mine came out a tad cakey (they didn’t quite spread like in the recipe photos) but still delicious. I might try adding just a tiny bit less flour next time to see if that helps (or would love any other suggestions). Thank you for these yummy yummy cookies!
Hey Yana,
Happy Monday!❄️🎄 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
How can I substitute eggs
Hey there,
So sorry, I’ve not tested this recipe without the eggs, you could try a chia or flax egg! Let me know how these cookies turn out, I hope you love them! xT
WOW. These are AMAZING!!! I made them for my grandpa’s birthday party that we’re going to tonight, and I sampled a few (I couldn’t help myself.) They’re beyond good. At first, my first batch turned out too soft and they spread everywhere, so I chilled the dough and it worked great! I’ve never had anything like them! I’ll let you know how my relatives like them. Also, I found out that cookie baking works up quite an appetite! 🙂 Abigail
Hey Abigail,
Happy Sunday! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was delish! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
Just made these – mine came out a little dry and didn’t crinkle at first – I made bigger balls and cooked for less time and they were much better. I also chilled the dough in between batches and that made it easier to work with. They are very tasty and the icing is a must.
Hey Lara,
Happy Sunday! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was delish! xx
Hi Tieghan, these cookies are amazing! I love a good snickerdoodle & the fact that you can freeze the dough & bake later. They came out beautifully for me that way. But I am curious, you call the cookie a snickerdoodle, but there is no cream of tartar in the recipe? Cream of tartar is usually an essential ingredient and what distinguishes a snickerdoodle from a regular cinnamon cookie, adding that tang. Any reason you didn’t include it in this recipe?
Hey Joanna,
Thanks so much for making these cookies and sharing your feedback, I am so glad they were enjoyed!! As for the cream of tartar, I just don’t find it necessary here, but I bet you could add it if you wanted:) Happy Holidays! xT
The picture of these cookies has been calling out to me since it was posted, and now I have finally made them! Probably the most flavorful and delicious cinnamon cookie I have ever had! Truly unique, and I agree that the genius twist of brown butter and cream cheese icing put these over the top in comparison to similar cookies. I went a tiny step further and swapped out the 3 tablespoons of milk in the icing for 1 tablespoon of milk and two tablespoons of Salted Caramel Baileys. 😉 It was OMGood.
Regarding the melting out of the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon chunks…that happened on a couple of my cookies, but I just nudged it back in place with a rubber spatula after they came out of the oven, not a problem. An alternative for anyone having problems with this, would be to make the cinnamon/sugar and butter mixture (the consistency will be soft and formed) and stir that into the main mix, without freezing or crumbling first, but not combining entirely. Leave it so you can see bands of cinnamon swirl throughout. This will change the color of the cookie a little, but the delicious flavor will be the same. The extra butter/cinnamon/sugar mixed in might also help the cookies to flatten more for those who had trouble with them being too puffy. I didn’t, but there are so many factors that can cause this, including your general environment (humidity, etc .) and your ingredients. Hope this helps someone who tries the recipe! Merry Christmas, Tieghan and fam! Thanks for all you do! 🙂
Hey Aline,
Thanks so much for your kind message and giving these cookies a try! So glad to hear that they were enjoyed and thanks for sharing all of the details, I’m sure this will be helpful for others! Happy Holidays! xT
My cookies taste good but look nothing like the pictures. Still puffy and high. 🤷🏻♀️
Hey Kirsten,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! Did you try tapping your baking sheet on the counter? That usually helps to flatten them a bit! xx
Hi Tieghan! Made these and loved! However they really puffed up and were cakey not chewey. Tried banging the pan mid bake several times. Any other ideas? Would love them even more flatter and chewier! Plan to make for my in laws for New Years!! Thank you!
Hey Brooke,
Thanks so much for giving these cookies a try! Next time, you could gently press the dough down with your hand before baking. I hope this helps! xx
I agree! Rolling the cookies into balls, placing them on the cookie sheet, then pressing them about halfway down helps too! I do that with most cookies, and it works well. Good idea, Tieghan! 😊
Thanks Aline!!
These are absolutely delicious. I doubled the recipe and the cookies turned out great! Would make again in a heartbeat.
Hey Natalie,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend!🎄⛄️
For some reason my dough came out a little thin. Like I cannot roll them into balls 😫 Should I add more flour?
Hi Amanda,
Hmmm, did you adjust anything in the recipe? I would try popping it into the fridge for a bit and see if that helps! Let me know! xT
Hi,
The same thing occurred with my dough when making the cookies. I tried putting them in the refrigerator and it helped a little bit but the dough was still very sticky and when baking they ran together.
It sounds like your dough was way too warm!