Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies are soft, chewy, and irresistible! The cream cheese inside them gives them a thick and fluffy texture and a sweet flavor like you have never tasted. The slightly crispy cinnamon sugar topping is the perfect touch. Tender and bursting with incredible flavors, these cookies are similar to snickerdoodles with a smooth creaminess you would not expect to find in a cookie.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies make for a great treat on Christmas mornings. The snickerdoodle cookies are covered in cinnamon powder and smell amazing, but not overpowering. Tender and sweet, the texture is to die for! They are slightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. As when you chew on them, they melt in your mouth with deliciousness!

These cookies are so much more than what you expect at first glance. The recipe is so simple. You just need baking staples like flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, along with some cream cheese, and you have some really incredibly rich and creamy cookies. Then, they are coated in cinnamon sugar before they are baked, so they are crispy and sweet when you bite into them.

Many consider these a holiday cookie and like to serve them at Christmas. I love them all year long. They taste great no matter what time of year it is. What is so great is how easy they are. Mix it, roll the dough balls through the cinnamon sugar, and bake. That’s all you have to do. No special ingredients or frosting.

They only take eight to nine minutes to bake. After baking, they cool quickly, so you can eat them in no time. Grab a glass of milk or a cup of coffee. Or grab a handful of cookies and chow down. They are so creamy and soft; you do not need anything to wash them down with.

Why you will love this recipe 

• They are easy: Just a few easy steps that anyone can follow.
• Simple ingredients: You probably already have what you need.
• Change as needed: Change the color or flavor for any occasion.
• Won’t break the bank: These are very inexpensive to make.

What you’ll need to make cinnamon cream cheese cookies

Special items:

• Stand mixer – This is the best way to mix these cookies.
• Medium mixing bowl – This is used to mix the cinnamon and sugar.
• Cookie sheet – To bake the cookies.
• Wire rack – For cooling the cookies.

Ingredients:

• Butter – I recommend unsalted butter. Make sure it is softened to room temperature.
• Cream cheese – Full-fat cream cheese, also softened to room temperature.
• Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar.
• Egg – One large egg, should also be warmed to room temperature.
• Baking powder – To increase the volume and lighten the texture of your baked goods. 
• Vanilla – Use 100% pure vanilla extract for the best taste.
• Salt – Kosher salt has a fresh salt flavor with no bitter aftertaste.
• Flour – I prefer all-purpose flour, but you can use what you like.
• Sugar – You must use granulated white sugar for the texture and taste.
• Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon is the only thing that will work here.

How to make Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies:

• Make the dough: Using a mixer, combine the fat and cream cheese for about 30 seconds. Do this until it turns fluffy and smooth. Add some of the sugar then, mix. Do this a little bit at a time. Scrape off the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mix in the egg, baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Add the flour a little bit at a time.
• Allow to rest: Cover the bowl with plastic and put it in the fridge to rest. This can take an hour.
• Prepare the sugar mixture: In a shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon powder.
• Shape into balls: Scoop out a ball from the dough using a small scooper. Roll the ball in between your palms and then, coat it with the sugar mixture. Then, place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Do this until you can fill in a whole tray. You may need to bake several batches depending on the size of the dough balls. Remember to keep about 2 inches of space all around each piece.
• Put in the oven: Bake these for about 8 minutes or so, until they set. Once done, allow them to cool on the baking sheet for some time. Then, transfer to the rack to completely cool.

Expert tip

Butter or shortening

I prefer to use butter in anything I bake because I do not like the taste of shortening. However, I know that shortening does have its uses. For example, cookies made with shortening are taller and more tender. They are supposed to be flakier and melt in your mouth. Butter makes them crispier and flatter but richer. The milk solids in the butter brown in the oven and give the cookies their flavor.

Butter can also create dense, fudgier cookies that shortening cannot produce. You cannot get a gooey center from shortening like you will with butter. Because shortening is made with oil instead of water, it spreads less and rises more. But butter is truly more flavorful. You will see in most of my recipes (and in most recipes online) that room-temperature butter is the number one choice between oil, shortening, and butter for making cookies.

In fact, butter is almost always the most popular choice in any recipe that includes fat. However, shortening does have its advantages in frying. It has a higher melting point, does not create steam during baking, reduces gluten production, and is dairy-free. However, it has no flavor and more trans fats than butter. It is just a matter of personal and professional choice.

• If you want taller and softer cookies, use shortening. Butter melts faster than shortening and in baking, this translates to flatter cookies as the fat melts first before the cookies could rise. On the other hand, shortening melts
• If you want crispy ones, then, use butter. It melts fast so the water in it becomes steam which makes the gluten in the flour set faster. As the cookies are flatter, they tend to be crispier.
• If you want a rich flavor, use butter. Shortening does not impart flavor as much as butter does.

Recipe variations and add-ins:

• Snickerdoodles: Turn these into snickerdoodles by adding a half teaspoon of tartar cream to the cookie dough.
• Intense cinnamon: Make the cinnamon flavor really intense. Drop a teaspoon of cinnamon extract into the batter.
• Make them festive: To decorate these fun cookies, use colored sugar in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Crunchy cookies: Top your cookies with chopped nuts for crunchier cookies.
• Chocolate chips: Add a cup of chocolate chips for those chocolate lovers. You could even try white chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch.
• Stuff with cream cheese: Make a mixture of 1/4 cup cream cheese and 4 teaspoons of sugar. Divide each cookie dough ball into two, press them to make two separate disks, then, scoop a tablespoon of the mixture. and put it in between and seal the sides before baking.

Serving suggestions:

These cream cheese cookies are the perfect snack or dessert. Here are some fun serving ideas.

• If that is not enough cream cheese, top them with my rich and delicious cream cheese frosting.
• Whether you serve these as an after-school snack or a dessert after dinner, they are great with milk.
• You could also serve them with ice cream—vanilla, chocolate, or butter pecan!
• These would taste amazing dunked in a mug of my homemade hot chocolate.

Frequently asked questions

What does adding cream cheese to cookies do?

Not only does it help soften your cookies by adding more fat, but it also sweetens them. I have tried replacing half of the butter in my other cookie recipes with cream cheese to see if it made a difference, and I loved it. They were so much creamier and moister with a richness like you would not believe. And that is what it does to these cookies. If you were to use butter without the cream cheese in this recipe, it would be good but not as creamy and rich as it is with the cream cheese. And the thickness it adds is another bonus.

Why are my cookies still doughy in the middle?

The most common reason for this is that they need more time in the oven. Although I baked mine for eight to nine minutes, some ovens do not cook at the same temperatures as others. That is why it is good to have an oven thermometer. Get one to see if yours is cooking at the correct temperature. In the meantime, put those cookies back in for a few more minutes and see if they improve. If not, it may be that they did not have enough flour.

What is the difference between these and snickerdoodles?

The main difference between these cookies and snickerdoodles is that my cookies have cream cheese. And that is a big difference. It gives these cookies their creamy and rich taste and extra softness. That said, snickerdoodles have cream of tartar in them, giving them their signature tangy flavor. Also, I use baking powder instead of baking soda.

Why are my cookies lumpy?

Did you ensure all ingredients were warmed to room temperature before you began? If any of your ingredients were cold, especially the cream cheese or butter, it would be difficult to cream them without getting lumps. Even if you beat them with a stand mixer, you may have lumps if your ingredients are cold. It is best to ensure that all ingredients are warmed to room temperature first to get a smooth and creamy batter.

How to store:

• Refrigerate: Keep your leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the fridge for two weeks. Place a piece of bread inside the container to keep the cookies soft.
• Freezing: To freeze, place them in a freezer-safe container for up to six months.   
• Defrost: Thaw overnight in your refrigerator for the best flavor.

More cookies to try:

Recipe tips:

• Put a piece of bread in the container when you store these to keep them from drying out.
• Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature to avoid lumps.
• Using a mixer is recommended to make extra fluffy cookies. It needs the extra air when beating.
• If your cookies are still doughy in the middle, try baking them a little longer. If that doesn’t work, they could need more flour.
• For extra fluffy and airy cookies, whip them longer. The more you whip them, the fluffier they will be.