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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
Tieghan
You are an absolute genius with this twist on snickerdoodles.
They are delicious.
I was wondering how to store them so they stay crispy.
Just the regular air tight container with wax paper in between?
Thanks
Pat
Lol thanks so much Pat, so glad you enjoyed the cookies! Yes, that’s a great way to store these! Happy Holidays! xx
I’ve always loved snickerdoodle for the bit of tart that comes through. I’m looking to make these for an upcoming holiday party I’m hosting. If I added cream of tartar to this recipe would it adversely effect the outcome?
Hi Joseph,
So sorry, I’ve not tested this so I can’t say for sure how it would affect the cookies. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
In the comments section, you said you need molasses but I don’t see molasses listed in the recipe. What are you referring to?
Hi Alison,
No molasses in this recipe, I must have been referring to another cookie. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi Tiegan! Are your baked goods adjusted for your altitude, and if so, what altitude are you at? I am at 6,700 feet and want to try your baked good recipes, but not sure if they will work. Thx!
Hey Sharon,
You can go ahead and follow this recipe as written, no adjustments needed:) I hope you love these cookies! xT
Why is the trick to getting the cookies to spread out and be flat and chewy? Mine are still quite puffy.
What*
Hi Kailey,
Thanks for giving these cookies a try! Did you tap your baking sheet on the counter? That’s usually what works for me! Let me know! xT
They were a hit! Everyone who tried them wanted the recipe.
The cookies did tend to cook differently on a non-stick dark pan as opposed to shiny pan where they splattered out a bit. I would recommend using the dark non-stick.
Hey there,
Happy Tuesday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it turned out well for you!🧑🎄
My husband has been asking for snickerdoodle cookies forever, and I think regular ones are just ok. Then I saw these and knew I had to try them! Absolutely delicious! They turned out beautifully!
Hey Sarah,
Happy Tuesday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it turned out well for you!🧑🎄
INSANELY YUMMY COOKIES!
You guys…I made these the second she posted them and I have to say….they are a new house staple already! They reminded us a little bit of the coffee cake at starbucks, because of the cinnamon and the way this cookie melts in your mouth, but it’s basically perfection. Off to make another batch now! Thank you Tieghan! You are helping me enjoy the holidays that much more with your recipes. Thank you! xoxoxo
Hey Beth,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for your kind message and making these cookies, I love to hear that they were such a hit! xT
These cookies taste amazing, and I love the cinnamon swirl chunks in them! I did have trouble with this frosting though. My frosting never hardened, it just stayed kind of gooey like marshmallow fluff. If I make these again I think I’ll make them without the frosting so they are easier to share with others. Or only make them with the frosting if I’m serving them at home. Or find a different frosting lol.
Hey Liz,
Wonderful!!🎅 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! Sorry to hear about your frosting, was there anything you adjusted? xT
These look amazing! Am I able to freeze cookies after the icing, or should I drizzle the icing on after defrosting? Wanting to make ahead for Christmas Day.
I was going to ask this too LOL
I have the same question! Can the cookies be frozen once baked
You bet! Just wait to add the icing:)
Hey Meaghan,
I would wait to add the frosting until the cookies are thawed:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Would using light brown sugar in the cookie make a difference ? I don’t have dark or molasses.
Hi JJ,
The light brown sugar will be okay for you to use, but you are going to need the molasses:) Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
My new favorite Snickerdoodle cookie!! These were amazing and a big hit!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hey Dawn,
Love it!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Happy Monday!🎄
Made these last night and they are SO GOOD. Wow. My some of my cookies didn’t spread like the picture but no difference in taste. I might tap my pan next time to make them spread. The glaze is a MUST!
Hey JJ,
Thanks so much for trying these cookies! I am so glad to hear they were a hit! xx
I got some great reviews on these! But I thought my batch came out a tad gritty from too much sugar — do you pack your brown sugar??
Hey Heidi,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try! Yes, I do pack the brown sugar, did you pack yours? Was there anything you may have adjusted? Let me know how I can help! xT
I am about to try this cookie, because they look amazing!! The best part though is your recipe!! I LOVE the feature that allows you to change the quantity and it adjusts the ingredients for you!! Amazing!! Thank you!!
Thanks so much Lisa!! Let me know how the cookies turn out, I hope you love them! xx
PHENOMENAL. No notes.
Thanks so much Elizabeth:) So glad you enjoyed these cookies!! xx