Gluten-free Cinnamon Roll Cookies

These were my pride and joy of 2024. After weeks of recipe testing and putting lots of money into ingredients, I am so happy with these cookies. They are truly unlike other cinnamon roll cookies, in that they do not have a cake-like texture, the icing is not cream-cheese based, and the swirl is baked into the cookie.

These are a great cookie if you have a fun night at home planned or want an activity to do with friends or children. The way these come together feels like a magical labor of love to me.

Cinnamon Roll Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

1 egg, 1 egg yolk

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

2 ¾ cups gf 1 to 1 flour (bob’s red mill and king Arthur both work here)

For the cinnamon swirl:

3 tbsp salted butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup cinnamon

Nutmeg if desired

CRITICAL TOOLS:

Electric mixer (paid link) This one ROCKS and I use it daily... and it's on sale?!

Rolling pin

Parchment paper

Plastic wrap

With an electric mixer on low/medium, cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg + egg yolk and vanilla and combine again. Add dry ingredients straight in and mix until a dough forms. The dough should be slightly more solid than a classic sugar cookie, but not as solid as a cut-out cookie. Start on the conservative side with flour and add in extra as needed. You should be able to mold the dough into a ball without it collapsing but still get your hands sticky in the process. Cover the dough and chill for 1 hour until firm.

While it chills, combine the brown sugar, soft butter, and cinnamon with a whisk or fork. Leave to the side.

Put the dough on parchment paper and roll out into a sheet about ½ inch thick (depends on how thick you want the cookies!). Spread the cinnamon sugar filling on the dough evenly. Here’s the tricky part: rolling! Carefully roll the dough into a log as tight as possible. Gaps in the log will just result in messier looking cookies, not inedible cookies! Wrap the log in plastic and freeze for 4-6 hours or refrigerate overnight.

When you’re ready to bake, take out the dough and preheat your oven to 350. Cut the messy end off the dough log and reveal the beautiful spiral inside! Cut into evenly thick slices. Put some parchment on a large cookie sheet and place 6 cookies evenly on the tray. If you froze the dough earlier, you could let the cookies thaw for about 10 minutes, but refrigerated dough does not need to thaw. Right into the oven for 12 minutes! 

Once they’ve cooled, you can ice them with a mixture of powdered sugar and milk or eat them plain! Enjoy.