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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
You should really delete the mean comments Tieghan. Allowing people calling themselves “EmmaChokesOnDix” and name calling and bashing other food bloggers isn’t a good look.
You seem to have this all wrong in terms of what’s not a good look. She should actually delete the comments targeting her and other genuine posters, and bashing her and HBH. Nobody is bashing other food bloggers. Not even a little. Nice try, but not happening. Comparing two cookie recipes and preferring one over the other is not bashing. Accusing someone of “stealing a recipe” despite 175,000,000 other people creating similar recipes IS bashing however. Posting a link to another food blog here, and trying to sway traffic over there instead is not only bashing, it’s ethically reprehensible. That should absolutely be deleted.
Those pointing out the poor behavior of trolls and disrupters who are personally attacking Tieghan are fully justified. Read where it all started.
Deleting “Marie’s” original comment, and banning her account immediately would have done the trick and prevented a lot of much deserved backlash. If people didn’t target this blog relentlessly for orchestrated abuse and slander, the completely warranted responses wouldn’t follow.
Pre-approving all comments would be ideal. But don’t trouble yourself worrying about what Emma chokes on. That’s a troll account and not even his or her real name. But to be fair, that person brought it on themselves. 100%. Read “Emma’s” comment and ask yourself why it was not well received. 😉
What’s not a good look is the sad individuals who have no life other than attacking HBH. I agree those individuals should be promptly deleted and banned.
“EmmaChokesOnDix” is brilliantly hilarious though. 😂 Anyone taking time out of their busy day to roast these fools has my full support. 👏👏👏
Made these despite some trepidation after reading comments on ‘swirl leakage’. I chilled the swirl mixture for over an hour and folded in each cookie, and the cookies are absolutely amazing! I mean, anyone I’ve shared the cookie with wants the recipe! Going in for surgery on Wednesday and plan to take a batch to the nurses and staff – no shame in buying a little extra TLC and these cookies are just the ticket.
Brenda, trepidation – awesome word. Keep it up.
Jamie
Hey Brenda,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for giving these cookies a try and sharing what worked well for you! I am so glad they were enjoyed:) xT
I made these yesterday and they were a total hit! Surprisingly easy and the browned butter added a really nice touch. Way easier than normal snickerdoodles in my opinion 🙂
Hey Cailin,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Happy Tuesday! 🎄
I made these yesterday and mine never flattened! Still very good flavor and we ate them! A little doughy and the cinnamon sugar bits leaked out of some. I have this problem with a lot of my cookies, that they never flatten! What did I do wrong ?
I am also wondering how to get them to flatten properly. I made them this morning and they turned out very well, they just didn’t flatten hardly at all. I even flattened the dough for the second batch before going in the oven and it didn’t seem to help.
Looking for some tips. Thanks!
Hey Amy,
Thanks for trying the recipe! Did you try tapping your baking sheet on the counter? That usually helps to get a flatter cookie! xx
Hey there,
Thanks so much for making these cookies! So glad they were enjoyed:) Have you tried tapping your baking sheet on the counter for a flatter cookie? xT
Cream cheese icing isn’t a favourite around here. Do you have a suggestion for an alternative icing recipe I could use that doesn’t have cream cheese?
Hey Kristy,
You can just skip the cream cheese and then you’ll just want to reduce some of the milk and slowly add that as needed! I hope this helps! xx
I made these for a weekend potluck and they were a huge hit. So deliciously decadent! 😍
Thanks so much for making these cookies Jill! So glad to hear they were enjoyed! xT
So absolutely amazing. <3 Rich, delicious, and the perfect texture. I made these for a holiday party and they disappeared in about 2 minutes, everyone was raving about them. Will absolutely make again. And again. And again. Thank you so much for sharing this gem!
Hey Michelle,
Happy Monday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for your comment! xT
Absolutely inedible. They are far from chewy and yummy. They are dense and muffin like
Hi Kait,
So sorry to hear you did not enjoy this recipe. Was there something that I can help with? Anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Let me know! xx
How long before baking should I thaw out my frozen cookie dough balls?
Hey Kay,
It will probably take a few hours to thaw. I hope you love these cookies, please let me know if you give them a try! xT
More like a few minutes. It does not take hours to thaw frozen calls of cookie dough.
WTF is a “frozen call”? You’re just babbling nonsense.
These sounded so sooooo delicious. We love Snickerdoodles. We love cinnamon buns. And anything with browned butter! But these were a disaster. The first batch came out of the oven in one melted blob, butter leaking all over the place. For the second batch, I scooped the dough into balls and put them in the fridge for about 15 minutes before baking and it was still a mess. They all went in the trash. Sorry. We really really wanted to love them. 🙁
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear they were not enjoyed! Next time, I would add 1 tablespoon of flour to the cinnamon mix and make sure you’re only adding 1 teaspoon to each cookie! I hope this helps! xx
Seriously the most perfect cookies ever. I thought I could never love any other cookie more than chocolate chip. ❤️🍪❤️
But this one has won me over. 😍 Thanks so much for this amazing twist on a relatively played out classic. Next level!
Hey Joanne,
Thanks so much for your kind message and giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear they were enjoyed! xx
The BEST cookies. I mean to the point I regret making them because I can’t stop eating them. Lol The browned butter really makes this cookie pop. The little chunks of brown sugar and cinnamon are the best part.
Hey Nicolette,
Happy Monday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for your comment! xT
These cookies were simple and great cinnamon flavour however the first time I made them the cinnamon leaked out and half the cookies could not be salvaged. I made them a second time but put the frozen cinnamon in the middle and rolled the dough around it. They tasted great but didn’t look as snickerdoodley.
I wish I’d read the comments, the frozen sugar/butter chips melt while baking and create a bit of a misshapen mess. The other issue is how gooey and sticky the dough is. I had to keep stopping to wash batter off my hands to make the balls – this is not the consistency to be rolled into a ball – it was not a fun part of the process. On the upside, while not as attractive as the sample photo (by any stretch) they taste yummy…. Just not something youd bring to a party to show off 🙈
My experience exactly. I have just put them in the oven and am almost afraid to see the the results.
Could it be that there is not enough flour?
Helen
Hi Suzanne,
So sorry you had some issues with the recipe! Sounds like your dough just needed to be popped in the fridge for a bit and then for the cinnamon mix try adding 1 tablespoon of flour and make sure you are only adding 1 teaspoon per cookie. I hope this helps! xx
Can you freeze after baking?
Hi Sarah,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Hey Sarah,
Happy Monday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for your comment and sharing what worked well for you! xT
Does it have to be dark brown sugar? I want to make these today, but don’t have dark!
Hey Gina,
Light brown sugar will also work just fine for you:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope it’s delish! xx
Dangerous. That is how I would describe these amazingly delicious cookies! Do NOT skimp out… brown.the.butter. I made these to add to my cookie plates for my neighbors this year… after tasting them I’m not entirely sure I want to share. SO GOOD! 🤤
Lol thanks so much Jessica!! So glad you enjoyed these cookies and thanks for making them! xT