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These sourdough cinnamon roll cookies are thick, chewy, and loaded with cinnamon flavor. Made with brown butter for a rich, nutty base, they come together easily without a mixer, then get swirled with cinnamon sugar and finished with a classic cream cheese icing.
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These cookies bring everything you love about sourdough cinnamon rolls and bakery-style sourdough cookies together in one delicious treat. And if sourdough snickerdoodles are a favorite, this recipe builds on that classic cinnamon vibe with a swirled filling and a rich cream cheese icing for an extra-indulgent twist.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Brown butter. Similar to my Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies, this recipe calls for brown butter, giving the cookies a rich, nutty flavor.
- No mixer needed. This recipe can be made simply by mixing the dough with a spatula so you don’t need beaters or a stand mixer.
- Easy filling. Instead of fussing with rolling cinnamon sugar into little balls, you’ll just spread the mixture onto parchment paper and freeze it, which makes this step way easier and faster.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Sourdough Discard – You can use sourdough discard or active sourdough starter in this recipe, whichever you have on hand.
- Flour – I recommend using unbleached all-purpose flour for this recipe but you could swap in whole grains or use bread flour.
- Cinnamon – The cinnamon adds warmth to the cookies and makes them taste like a cinnamon roll. And if you like cinnamon cookies, you’ll have to try my Cookie Butter Sourdough Cookies as well.
- Cream cheese – The tang of the cream cheese in the icing complements the sweetness of the cookies, but if you don’t like cream cheese, you can make a simple icing with just powdered sugar and milk, like in my Sourdough Monkey Bread.
Instructions to make Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Step 1: Begin by making the the cinnamon sugar filling. Do this by mixing the softened butter with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Step 2: Spread a thin layer of the filling out on a piece of parchment paper. I find short and quick strokes work best when spreading it as the mixture likes to stick to the spatula.
Place the mixture in the freezer while making the cookie dough.
Step 3: Brown the butter by cutting it into cubes. Add it to a light-colored pan, if you have one, so that you can easily see when the butter has browned. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent the butter from burning. Heat for about 5-8 minutes or until the milk solids have turned a golden brown color and you can smell the nutty aroma.
Remove from the pan and let it cool for a few minutes.
Step 4: Once the brown butter has cooled somewhat, mix the brown butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Step 5: Stir in the egg, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract.
Step 6: Add the baking soda, salt and all-purpose flour until it is just incorporated.
Step 7: Remove the cinnamon sugar filling from the freezer and bring the sides of the parchment paper together to start breaking it up into different sized pieces. If the mixture is not firm yet, return it to the freezer until it is and can be easily removed from the parchment paper.
Step 8: Dump the cinnamon sugar pieces into the bowl and fold them into the dough until it’s just incorporated; don’t overmix.
Step 9: Use a 4-tablespoon cookie scoop or, if using a 2-tablespoon scoop, portion two scoops (about 60 grams total) and stack them on top of each other. Quickly roll the dough between your palms to form a tall cylinder, then place it on a lined baking sheet. You should end up with 16 cookies.
Cover the pan and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
Step 10: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF and put 8 cookies on a lined baking sheet. Bake for about 14 minutes or until the edges are lightly browning and the tops have lost their sheen. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
If you’re baking 2 cookie sheets at once, rotate the pans on the racks halfway through baking.
Step 11: Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Step 12: In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese icing.
Step 13: Drizzle the icing over the cookies and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- For perfectly round cookies every time, immediately after removing them from the oven, place a large round mason jar ring around each cookie and gently rotate it in a circular motion until it reaches your desired shape.
- To get tall, thick cookies, shape the dough into a taller cylinder. This helps the cookies hold their height as they bake instead of spreading too much.
- Don’t over-bake! Cookies continue to bake as they cool, so don’t over-bake these. Once they start to brown on the sides and lose the sheen on top, pull them out.
- To get visible swirls of cinnamon sugar, avoid overmixing once the cinnamon sugar shards are added. Mix just until they’re evenly distributed.
Storage Instructions for Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Cookies
After the cookies have cooled completely, add them to an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to one week or if they don’t have a cream cheese icing on them they can be kept at room temperature.
If you want to freeze the baked cookies, let them cool completely, then place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe bag or container and store for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, let them thaw at room temperature or warm them in the microwave for a few seconds.
You can use this same method to freeze unbaked dough balls. Bake directly from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time.
Recipe FAQ
Yes, instead of browning the butter, you can cream softened butter with the brown sugar. Keep in mind the cookies may spread more, since browning the butter reduces moisture. To help counteract this, try adding an extra 15–25 grams of flour.
Shaping the cookie dough into tall cylinders helps the cookies bake up thicker instead of spreading. If your cookies are spreading too much, chilling the dough in the refrigerator, ideally overnight, will help solidify the fats and improve the final texture. If you’re already doing all of this and still having issues, increase the amount of flour by 25 grams to help.
Yes, each dough ball is about 60 grams, which creates a large, bakery-style cookie. If you prefer smaller cookies, use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop and reduce the baking time slightly.
More sourdough cookies
Sourdough Discard Recipes
The Best Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Cookie Recipes
Sourdough Peanut Butter Cookies
Sourdough Cookie Recipes
Sourdough Snickerdoodles
Sourdough Cookie Recipes
Cookie Butter Sourdough Cookies
Tried these Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Cookies or another recipe from the site? I’d love to hear about it! Drop a star rating and share your thoughts in the comments. Can’t wait to see what you’re baking!
Sourdough Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 227 grams salted butter, 1 cup
- 250 grams brown sugar, 1¼ cup, packed
- 1 large egg
- 75 grams sourdough discard, ⅓ cup
- 13 grams vanilla extract, 1 Tablespoon
- 5 grams baking soda, 1 teaspoon
- 3 grams salt, ½ teaspoon
- 350 grams all-purpose flour, 2½ cups
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 57 grams salted butter, softened, 4 Tablespoons
- 100 grams brown sugar, ½ cup
- 8 grams cinnamon, 1 Tablespoon
Cream Cheese Icing
- 28 grams cream cheese, softened, 2 Tablespoons
- 120 grams powdered sugar, 1 cup
- 5 grams vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
- 30-45 grams milk, 2-3 Tablespoons
Instructions
- Begin by making the the cinnamon sugar filling. Do this by mixing the softened butter with brown sugar and cinnamon. 57 grams salted butter, softened, 100 grams brown sugar, 8 grams cinnamon
- Spread a thin layer of the filling out on a piece of parchment paper. I find short and quick strokes work best when spreading it as the mixture likes to stick to the spatula.
- Place the mixture in the freezer while making the cookie dough.
- Brown the butter by cutting it into cubes. Add it to a light-colored pan, if you have one, so that you can easily see when the butter has browned. Heat over medium heat, stirring consistently to prevent the butter from burning. Heat for about 5-8 minutes or until the milk solids have turned a golden brown color and you can smell the nutty aroma. Remove from the pan and let it cool for a few minutes.227 grams salted butter
- Once the brown butter has cooled somewhat, mix the brown butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl.250 grams brown sugar
- Stir in the egg, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract. 1 large egg, 75 grams sourdough discard, 13 grams vanilla extract
- Add the baking soda, salt and all-purpose flour until it is just incorporated. 5 grams baking soda, 3 grams salt, 350 grams all-purpose flour
- Remove the cinnamon sugar filling from the freezer and bring the sides of the parchment paper together to start breaking it up into different sized pieces. If the mixture is not firm yet, return it to the freezer until it is firm and can be easily removed from the parchment paper.
- Dump the cinnamon sugar pieces into the bowl and fold them into the dough until it's just incorporated; don’t overmix.
- Use a 4-tablespoon cookie scoop or, if using a 2-tablespoon scoop, portion two scoops (about 60 grams total), and stack them on top of each other. Quickly roll the dough between your palms to form a tall cylinder, then place it on a lined baking sheet. You should end up with 16 cookies.
- Cover the pan and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF and put 8 cookies on a lined baking sheet. Bake for about 14 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the tops have lost their sheen. Repeat with the remaining cookies.If you’re baking 2 cookie sheets at once, rotate the pans on the racks halfway through baking.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese icing and drizzle it over the cookies.28 grams cream cheese, softened, 120 grams powdered sugar, 5 grams vanilla extract, 30-45 grams milk
Notes
- For perfectly round cookies every time, immediately after removing them from the oven, place a large round mason jar ring around each cookie and gently rotate it in a circular motion until it reaches your desired shape.
- To get tall, thick cookies, shape the dough into a taller cylinder. This helps the cookies hold their height as they bake instead of spreading too much.
- Don’t over-bake! Cookies continue to bake as they cool, so don’t over-bake these. Once they start to brown on the sides and lose the sheen on top, pull them out.
- To get visible swirls of cinnamon sugar, avoid overmixing once the cinnamon sugar shards are added. Mix just until they’re evenly distributed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are one of my new favorite cookies! They are soft and chewy, and the brown butter really takes these to the next level.