Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
These simple, classic sugar cookies have a lovely cinnamon flavor – think of them as a cross between a crisp buttery cutout cookie and a snickerdoodle. They are wonderful served plain (or dunked into hot chocolate). However, they are also incredible for decorating since they hold their shape like a dream.
They have my favorite sugar cookie texture – crispy on the outside and a little soft on the inside.
Ingredients
The ingredients for these cinnamon sugar cookies are all pantry staples – butter, sugar, an egg, vanilla, salt, flour, and cinnamon.
You might wonder why there is no baking powder or baking soda. We don’t want these cookies to rise and spread so there is no need to add any leavening agents.
How to Make Sugar and Cinnamon Cookies
- Start by mixing the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. This takes about three minutes at high speed with an electric mixer.
- Mix in the egg and vanilla.
- Whisk the flour, salt, and cinnamon together and add to the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until just combined.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.
- Roll out to 1/4″ thick and cut with your favorite cookie cutters. A 2″ diameter circle cutter will yield about 33 cookies. You could also use a cookie scoop and flatten out the dough to the proper thickness.
- Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 13-15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them, and transfer to a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
Expert Tips and FAQs
How to Roll Out Dough
I recommend rolling the chilled dough in-between silicone or parchment paper – that way you won’t have to use any flour. I use the DoughEZ rolling system for this; it also comes with guard rails you can put down on the mat before rolling that ensure the dough is evenly rolled.
FAQs
Yes! However, you will want to place them in the fridge for a few minutes before rerolling so they remain nice and cool. Warm dough is more likely to stick.
You can make these a little softer by under-baking them slightly. However, this may not be the recipe for you. This is not a super soft cookie.
Roll the dough to 1/8u0022 thick. You’ll also need to reduce the baking time to 8-10 minutes.
It’s really hard to tell when these are done since they don’t rise, don’t have anything that melts, and don’t really brown. I suggest you bake a test cookie for 13 minutes, remove it from the oven, and let it cool completely. If it’s the crispness you like, just bake all of the others that same amount. If you want it slightly more well done, bake the next batch 3-5 minutes longer.
Store in an airtight container for up to one week. They also freeze really well and are perfect for sending in the mail to loved ones since they don’t easily break.
Sure! You can use any spices you like or leave the cinnamon off entirely for a more basic sugar cookie.
You can decorate these just like any other cut-out cookies. Use your favorite cookie cutters! Frost them with cinnamon frosting or royal icing or sprinkle the tops with cinnamon and sugar just before baking. You could also press each cookie into a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Add brown sugar to the sugar mixture for even more complex sweetness.
Related Cookie Recipes
- Simple speculoos cookies (copycat Biscoff)
- Coffee cookies
- Vanilla cookies
- Zimtsterne (German cinnamon star cookies)
- Easy snickerdoodle bars
More Cinnamon Recipes
Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes with an electric mixer on high speed..
- Mix in the egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cinnamon.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little bit at a time until just combined.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours. (It's fine to refrigerate it overnight.)
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Roll out the cold dough on a lightly floured counter or between two pieces of parchment or silicone mats to 1/4" thick.
- Cut with 2" round cookie cutters or whatever size and shape you prefer. (It's fine to reroll the dough scraps. Refrigerate them for a few minutes before rerolling so they remain nice and cool – warm dough is more likely to stick.)
- Transfer cookies to cookie sheets. They don't spread at all so it is fine to tightly pack them.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, depending on how crispy you want the cookies. (It’s really hard to tell when these are done since they don’t rise, don’t have anything that melts, and don’t really brown. I suggest you bake a test cookie for 13 minutes, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely. If it’s the crispness you like, bake all of the others that same amount. If you want it slightly more well done, bake the next batch 3-5 minutes longer.)
- Place cookies on a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
Video
Notes
- If you like your cookies super crispy, roll the dough to 1/8″ thick. You’ll also need to reduce the baking time to 8-10 minutes.
- Store cinnamon cookies in an airtight container for up to one week. They also freeze really well and are perfect for sending in the mail to loved ones since they don’t easily break.
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