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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.
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
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories Per Serving: 192 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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
Freezing: the cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 3 months. Then just thaw and bake as directed.
This post was originally published on December 2, 2022
Made these today, and they taste fabulous, just not very pretty to take to my event tonight. Any suggestions for them not spreading so much? I got 30 from a recipe – maybe they were too big? Should I try some baking powder so they want be completely flat? Taste is amazing!
Hey Patti,
Happy Sunday! So kind of you to try this recipe and leave feedback, I’m glad it was a hit!
I would try chilling your dough to prevent so much spreading.
Tricky recipe but finally mastered it – stuck with it b/c my husband is obsessed!
Things I learned that have helped get them more consistent:
1. “room temp” butter is considered 18 degrees C – if butter softened more than that (or if browned butter not allowed to cool enough), batter gets too sticky & it also makes it really hard to crumble your chip mixture!
2. if batter is too sticky to roll balls, refrigerate for about 5 minutes – I think it also helps reduce excessive spread in the oven. I tried extra flour – didn’t work
3. browning butter takes longer than you think – wait until at foam stage then foam coming up is actually brown (prob more like 10 minutes if done on medium)
4. Make brown sugar chunks small to avoid them melting out the side of your cookie (and cookie losing it’s shape) or really runny spots from the butter…I would aim for about a tsp which isn’t hard as long as it’s crumbly
Hope this helps! They really are worth the effort 🙂
Thanks so much, Lacey! So glad you enjoyed these cookies, I appreciate you making them and your feedback! Have a wonderful weekend! xx
I don’t know if my math just didn’t math right, but I made a double batch and ended up with 91 cookies! I mean, I’m not complaining. 😄 I used a 1-tablespoon sized scoop to portion each bit of dough.
They tasted amazing and were easy to make even without using my mixer. I will definitely be making these again!
Hey Leah,
Lol thanks so much for trying these cookies! I may have a heavy hand when scooping. So glad to hear they were enjoyed! xT
I have no idea how this recipe is 4.7 stars. Followed instructions but the cookies ran everywhere, just like the other reviewers experienced.
Hi Anon,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you had issues with the cookies. Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Your dough may have been a bit too warm. Again, so sorry! xx
If I wanted to put the dough in the fridge overnight would you recommend putting them into balls before I do that?
Hi Ari! Yes I would recommend putting them into balls and then refrigerating because the dough will be harder to scoop once refrigerated! 🙂 xT
I would like to add cream of tartar to this recipe for it to be a snickerdoodle Does 2 Teaspoon sound correct?
Hi Melissa,
You bet, that should work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe! Happy Holidays! xx
These were so good! My husband loves cinnamon rolls and he was obsessed with this cookie! Thank you for the recipe! Mine didn’t turn out as pretty as yours, they were way taller and the cinnamon swirl stuff partly melted away from the cookie? Any idea what I may have done wrong?
Hi Nicole,
Happy Holidays! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I’m so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Did you freeze the cinnamon chunks? I would do a longer freeze next time. For a flatter cookie, trying banging your baking sheet on the counter a few times while baking. Have the best day:) xx
These cookies are so delicious! I followed the instructions exactly, letting the brown butter and the cinnamon chips/chunks freeze for about 15 minutes, and they turned out amazing. They are the softest, chewiest cookies I’ve ever made! I did not have powdered sugar on hand for the frosting, so I decided to fold in some dark chocolate chips instead, and they’re super tasty. Thanks, Tieghan!
Hi Sarah,
Happy Monday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I’m so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Have a nice week:) xx
Texture came out weird for these cookies. They didn’t look at all like the picture. Dough was more wet than normal. I think due to the browned butter. Taste was still excellent.
Hi Hannah,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear the texture was off. Was the browned butter cooled? That should help! xT
These are some of the best snickerdoodles I have ever tried!! A must:)
Hey Lily,
Thanks so much! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it! xT
Oh so good!!!! Just like all your recipes!!
Hey Jill,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making these cookies and your feedback, so glad they were delish! xT
I made the dough per the directions and then let it sit in my fridge for a few hours. I just did a batch in the oven and it just oozed out the cinnamon “chips” or it was a big ball still, it just was really odd. I rolled up the rest of the dough and froze the rest. I plan on seeing if the freezing will help with the “chips” from completely melting and oozing out.
Hi Sabrina! Oh no, I’m so sorry about that! Let me know if the freezing helps! xT
These cookies are absolutely delicious! My family can’t get enough of them. They are definitely far superior to your typical Snickerdoodles. They are permanently on our holiday cookie list. Thank you so much for sharing these gems 🙂
Hi Rachelle! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing New Year! 🙂 xT
I made these for the second year in a row after not quite getting it right last year. This year they were perfect perfect and the difference for me was not adding any milk in the icing. It didn’t need it and it allowed the icing to fully set, last year it never set. Love love loveeeee these cookies!
Hi! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
These were excellent! A bit time consuming but they turned out very good. Mine loked nothing like the ones in the picture. Mine did not spread out or flatten as much, but also made quite a bit more than 20 so maybe I should have made the balls a bit larger, or do you flatten them before baking?
Hi there! If you’re wanting them to flatten out I would flatten them a bit before baking! xT