Description
These Best Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies are soft, tender, and coated with a sweet cinnamon sugar topping. The blend of cream cheese and butter creates a rich, melt-in-your-mouth texture while the cinnamon sugar gives a delightful spicy-sweet finish. Perfect for cookie lovers who enjoy a creamy twist on classic cinnamon sugar cookies.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Cream Cheese: In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the softened unsalted butter and cream cheese together until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Add Powdered Sugar: Slowly add the powdered sugar to the creamed mixture while continuing to mix until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Incorporate Wet Ingredients and Leavening: Add the egg, baking powder, vanilla bean paste, and pinch of kosher salt to the bowl. Mix well until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Add Flour: Gradually add the all-purpose flour to the bowl, mixing slowly until the dough is fully incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure an even mix.
- Chill Dough: Cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator for one hour to rest and firm up before shaping.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking and reduce spreading.
- Mix Cinnamon Sugar: In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. Set this mixture aside for coating the cookies.
- Form Cookies and Coat: Roll the dough into 1-inch diameter balls (about 2 teaspoons of dough per ball). Roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.
- Arrange Cookies: Place the coated dough balls on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart to allow for slight spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 9 minutes or until they are just set. Avoid overbaking; the cookies will puff up but should not turn golden brown.
- Cool Cookies: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- You can easily double or halve this recipe depending on how many people you are serving.
- These cookies can be frozen; for best results, freeze dough balls before baking and bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to baking time.
- Chilling the dough before baking is essential to prevent spreading and ensure proper texture—do not skip this step.
- Use parchment paper or silicone baking mats on your baking sheets to reduce spreading and sticking during baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 120 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 70 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
