Fall is in the air, pumpkin spice is everywhere, and these cinnamon sugar cookies are just the thing to satisfy that sweet tooth and make your house smell like home!

This recipe is a simple spin off of my Classic Sugar Cookies, dipped in cinnamon glaze. They are perfect served with a cup of tea on a cold day, and like most things home-baked, eating one fresh and warm from the oven is probably going to be the highlight of your day.

How to make perfect cinnamon sugar cookies

Follow the recipe

Like anything else, this recipe will turn out best if you follow the directions carefully. When you measure the flour, loosen it so that it doesn’t pack into your measuring cup too densely, resulting in a very dry dough. Make sure that the dough is well mixed before moving on to the next step.

Refrigerate the dough

This step is not necessary, but it is helpful for making sure that your cookies come out right! Refrigerating the dough allows the flavour to develop more fully, and actually gives your dough more ability to hold its shape while baking.

Freeze before baking

This step is also not necessary, but if you want to make sure your cookies retain the crisp shape of the cookie cutter without spreading, this little tip will help to make sure that happens.

I also love freezing my pre-cut cookies because it means that I don’t have to do the whole process at one time. Also, I can pull cookies from the freezer to be baked fresh whenever I want them!

Let the glaze dry completely

This one may seem obvious, but if you pack away the glazed cookies before they’ve fully dried, they may stick together and become a bit of a mess. Making sure the glaze has fully set will keep your cookies looking fresh and beautiful!

Sugar cookie variations

If you like this recipe, feel free to check out these other variations! They’re all delicious, easy to make, and fantastic to have on hand for whatever your purpose may be.

Is it necessary to refrigerate sugar cookie dough?

No, but I do recommend it! As I mentioned above, this allows time for the gluten to develop in the flour, which creates a better flavour and creates more structure for the baked cookies.

If you don’t have time or just don’t care too much, feel free to roll, cut and bake these cookies immediately after you make the dough. They will still taste delicious!

How long to bake sugar cookies

Bake your cinnamon sugar cookies until golden around the base of the edges, starting with the time recommended by the recipe and baking them longer if needed to achieve the right colour. The longer you bake them, the harder and more toasty they will become; so, if you want them to be perfectly light and still soft in the middle, make sure you don’t over bake them!

If your oven bakes hot, try reducing the temperature by 25 degrees F. If your cookies seem too light after the recommended time, leave them in for a couple more minutes and remove them when the colour seems right.

Should sugar cookies be soft or hard?

A perfect sugar cookie, in my opinion, should have a crispness to it, but still remain soft on the inside. I find this easiest to achieve successfully by cutting my cookies about 1/4 inch thick, ensuring that they don’t dry out completely by the time they are fully baked.

When to serve these cookies

There are a million different ways you can serve these cookies, but among my favourite would be for tea parties, gifts, holidays, or beautifully decorated fancy cookies (like the ones you would see at a wedding or baby shower).

Since these cookies can be made ahead and frozen, they are so great to have on hand for last minute company. The glaze can be omitted if you like them a little bit less sweet, or if you want to decorate them with another type of frosting for a special occasion.

You will need:

Kitchenaid standing mixer (optional)
Mixing bowls
Rolling Pin
Flower Cookie Cutter (or any other cookie cutter of choice)
Measuring cups and spoons
Cookie sheets
Parchment or wax paper (optional)
Cooling rack
Lifter
Pastry brush (optional)

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

This simple cinnamon & sugar cookie recipe is one of the simplest tea cookies you can make and are perfect to serve with a cup of tea. This recipe makes 24 cookies.

Course Dessert, Tea

Cuisine Canadian

Keyword cinnamon, sugar cookies

Servings 24 cookies

Author Naomi

Ingredients

1 cup butter softened (if using unsalted butter, add ¼ tsp. salt)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
2-1/2 cups flour

Glaze:

1 cups icing sugar
2 Tbsp water or milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium-large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla and cinnamon. Beat in the eggs, and then mix/knead in the flour until the mixture comes together into a soft dough.
Cover the dough with plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight, till cold.
Remove the dough from the fridge, knead to soften slightly, and roll out on a surface dusted with flour. Keep the dough from sticking by periodically lifting the dough to dust more flour underneath, and rotating the dough regularly. Roll the dough to about ¼-inch thickness.
Dip the sharp edge of your cookie cutters into the flour, and press into the dough, close together (being careful not to cut into other cookies) so that you get the most number of cookies from the dough that you can.
Lift the cookies onto parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheets. Collect the scraps of dough from between the cookies into a ball. Re-roll the dough and cut the cookie shapes, the same as before, until you have the dough used up.
Tip: When you get down to the last little bit, I usually just roll the rest of the dough into little balls and flatten them with a fork or my fingers, and then bake them like that.
Bake at 350 degrees F (or 170 degrees C) for 8-12 minutes or until just golden around the edges of some of the cookies. Cool on wire racks.

For the glaze:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Dip the cookies, top side down, into the glaze, and gentle scrape away excess against the side of the bowl. Turn the cookies right side up and allow to dry before storing, about 2 hours.
Store in airtight containers or cookie tins.

Recipe Notes

The cookies will spread while they bake, but not a lot; you can put them pretty close together to bake.
If you prefer, you can glaze the cookies by brushing the tops (while they are still warm) with a pastry brush dipped in the glaze.

Other great cookie recipes:

As always, if you make this recipe and enjoy it, let me know in the comments! Also, I love to see what you guys have been making, so if you think of it… tag me in your photos on Instagram @naomicakesofficial. You’ll make my day!

Thanks for stopping in, and happy baking!

Naomi

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Cinnamon Sugar Cookies [Recipe]