Soft, Chewy Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookies: The Ultimate Spiced Treat Recipe
Indulge in the irresistible warmth of our Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookies – a delightful recipe that promises soft, chewy perfection in every bite. These cookies are not just a dessert; they are a cozy embrace, bursting with the sweet, aromatic flavor of cinnamon, beautifully complemented by a luscious vanilla icing. Perfect for any season or celebration, these frosted cinnamon cookies are guaranteed to become a new family favorite. Imagine biting into a tender cookie, where melty cinnamon chips create pockets of spiced sweetness, all topped with a creamy, smooth vanilla frosting. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting, this easy cinnamon chip cookie recipe is designed for success, delivering bakery-quality results right in your own kitchen.
While we appreciate the timeless appeal of a classic cookie, this particular recipe for cinnamon chip cookies truly elevates the experience. The addition of a homemade vanilla buttercream frosting transforms each cookie into a rich, satisfying confection that feels both comforting and luxurious. The distinctive cinnamon chips are the secret ingredient, melting delicately throughout the dough to infuse every mouthful with a concentrated burst of warm spice. If your quest has been to find the best cinnamon chip cookies or an exceptional frosted cinnamon cookie, look no further – this recipe delivers on all fronts, promising a treat that’s ideal for sharing, gifting, or simply savoring as a personal indulgence.
Why You’ll Adore This Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookie Recipe
There are countless reasons why these Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookies are destined to become a staple in your baking repertoire. Beyond their incredible flavor and texture, they offer a delightful baking experience and are versatile for various occasions.
- Unforgettable Flavor Profile: The harmonious blend of warm cinnamon from the chips and a hint of vanilla in the dough, perfectly balanced by the creamy, sweet vanilla icing, creates a flavor that’s both nostalgic and exciting. It’s a comforting spice that truly shines.
- Perfectly Balanced Texture: These cookies strike an ideal balance – soft and tender on the inside with just the right amount of chewiness, and slightly crisp edges. The frosting adds another layer of creaminess that makes each bite a dream.
- Effortless to Make: Despite their gourmet appeal, this recipe is incredibly straightforward. With clear, easy-to-follow steps, even novice bakers can achieve impressive results. No chilling required means less waiting and more enjoying!
- Visually Appealing: The smooth, white vanilla frosting provides a beautiful contrast to the golden-brown cookie, making them visually stunning and perfect for gifting or displaying at a dessert table. They truly have that professional bakery look.
- Crowd-Pleasing Potential: Cinnamon is a universally loved spice, and these cookies are a surefire hit at potlucks, parties, holidays, or as a thoughtful homemade gift. They disappear quickly wherever they are served!
Recipe Highlights
- Soft & Chewy Cinnamon Cookie Base: The foundation of these incredible cookies begins with expertly creamed butter and sugars, which create an exceptionally tender and soft crumb. This method ensures a rich, flavorful dough that serves as the perfect canvas for the star ingredient. The generous inclusion of cinnamon chips guarantees delightful bursts of spiced sweetness throughout the cookie, adding both flavor and a pleasant textural contrast. These cookies are crafted to be thick, satisfyingly tender, and infused with just the right amount of comforting warmth in every single bite, making them utterly irresistible.
- Ideal for Any Occasion: These cinnamon cookies, beautifully finished with a simple yet elegant frosting, are remarkably versatile and suitable for a wide array of events. Their straightforward preparation makes them a go-to for casual baking sessions, while their cozy, inviting flavor ensures they are a welcome addition to any gathering. Whether you’re sharing them with cherished friends and family, bringing them to a potluck, or simply craving a comforting homemade treat, these cookies fit the bill perfectly, embodying warmth and hospitality.
- Simple, Bakery-Style Vanilla Icing: The creamy vanilla icing is what truly elevates these cookies from great to extraordinary. Crafted from a quick homemade blend of softened butter, shortening, and pure vanilla extract, this frosting delivers a smooth, decadent finish reminiscent of a professional bakery. It provides a delightful creamy contrast to the inherent warmth of the cinnamon-infused cookies, enhancing their overall flavor profile. Moreover, this robust frosting sets beautifully upon cooling, making these cookies easy to stack, transport, and package without worry, preserving their pristine appearance and delicious taste.
INGREDIENTS IN ICED CINNAMON CHIP COOKIES
- Butter: This essential ingredient brings unparalleled richness, depth of flavor, and crucial moisture to the cookie dough. It’s the key to achieving that tender, melt-in-your-mouth soft cookie base. For optimal results and ease of creaming, ensure your butter is fully softened to room temperature before you begin.
- Sugars: A combination of both brown and granulated sugar is used to achieve the perfect sweetness and texture. Granulated sugar contributes to spread and crispness, while brown sugar adds moisture, chewiness, and a subtle caramel note that beautifully complements the cinnamon flavor.
- Eggs: Eggs are vital binders in this recipe, holding all the ingredients together to form a cohesive dough. They also provide crucial lift, contributing to the soft and chewy texture that makes these cookies so appealing.
- Vanilla Extract: A touch of high-quality vanilla extract is a flavor enhancer, adding a subtle yet warm and aromatic note that beautifully rounds out the flavors of both the cookie dough and the creamy frosting. Don’t skip it!
- Flour: All-purpose flour provides the necessary structure and body for these cookies, ensuring they hold their shape while remaining wonderfully thick and soft. If you require a gluten-free option, a good quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend can be used as a substitute.
- Baking Soda: This leavening agent is critical for creating a tender crumb and allowing the cookies to spread just the right amount during baking, resulting in a perfectly soft and slightly risen cookie.
- Salt: A pinch of salt is essential for balancing the sweetness of the sugars and cinnamon, enhancing all the other flavors in the cookie, and preventing them from tasting flat or overly sweet.
- Cinnamon Chips: The true star of these cookies! These delightful chips introduce an intense, spiced burst of cinnamon flavor in every bite. As they melt during baking, they create luscious, warm pockets that make the cookies taste extra cozy, festive, and utterly unique. They are typically found in the baking aisle alongside chocolate chips.
ICING INGREDIENTS
- Butter: Just like in the cookies, butter forms the rich, flavorful base of the icing. When melted and combined with other ingredients, it contributes to a silky smooth and luxurious texture.
- Shortening: Adding shortening to the frosting is a baker’s secret for achieving superior stability and a wonderfully fluffy, pipeable consistency. It helps the icing hold its shape beautifully without melting too quickly, even at room temperature.
- Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioners’ sugar, this finely milled sugar is key to sweetening the icing while giving it its signature smooth, lump-free, and perfectly spreadable consistency.
- Milk: Milk is used to adjust the icing to your desired texture. You can add more for a thinner, drizzly glaze or less for a thicker, more pipeable buttercream, depending on your decorating preference.
- Vanilla Extract: A generous splash of vanilla extract ties all the icing flavors together, adding a warm, aromatic note that harmonizes perfectly with the bold cinnamon flavor of the cookies.
Expert Tips for Baking Perfect Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookies
Achieving perfectly soft, chewy, and beautifully iced cinnamon chip cookies is easier than you think with these helpful tips. While the full instructions are detailed in the recipe card below, these pointers will ensure your baking experience is smooth and successful, leading to truly delicious results every time.
- Avoid Overbaking for Ultimate Softness—This is perhaps the most crucial tip for chewy cookies! When you remove the cookies from the oven, they should still appear slightly underdone or set in the very center. The edges should be lightly golden, but the middle might look a little soft. Don’t worry, they will continue to bake and firm up as they cool on the hot baking sheet, resulting in that wonderfully soft, tender, and perfectly chewy texture we all love.
- Thorough Cooling is Key Before Icing so your beautiful frosting doesn’t melt into a sticky mess. Patience is a virtue here! Ensure the cookies are completely cool, ideally at room temperature, before you even think about applying the frosting. Even a slightly warm cookie can cause the icing to slide right off, or worse, soak into the cookie, ruining the aesthetic and texture.
- Cinnamon Chip Substitutions: If you’re having trouble finding cinnamon chips at your local grocery store, don’t despair! A fantastic substitute is white chocolate chips combined with an additional teaspoon of ground cinnamon mixed directly into the cookie dough. This will still give you a lovely spiced flavor and sweet pockets. You can also simply add an extra teaspoon or two of ground cinnamon to the dough if you want to boost the spice flavor without the chips, though the texture will be different.
- Utilize a Cookie Scoop for Uniformity: For consistently sized cookies that bake evenly and look professionally uniform, a cookie scoop is your best friend. This ensures that each cookie dough ball is roughly the same size, preventing some cookies from burning while others are underbaked. Plus, it makes portioning much faster and less messy!
- Prep Your Baking Sheets: Always line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This simple step prevents the cookies from sticking, ensures even baking, and makes cleanup incredibly easy. No more scrubbing stubbornly stuck cookie bottoms!
- Prepare the Icing in Advance: To save time on baking day, you can easily make the vanilla icing ahead of time. Simply store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. When you’re ready to frost, let it sit at room temperature for about 15-30 minutes, then give it a good stir or a quick beat with an electric mixer to restore its creamy, smooth consistency before spreading.
- Don’t Rush the Creaming Process: The initial step of creaming butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy is crucial for the cookie’s texture. This process incorporates air into the mixture, which contributes to a softer, more tender cookie. Take your time, usually 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is pale and airy.
- Measure Flour Correctly: For the best results, spoon your flour into the measuring cup and then level it off with a straight edge (like the back of a knife). Scooping directly from the bag can compact the flour, leading to too much flour, which can result in dry, crumbly cookies.
Storing Cinnamon Chip Cookies
To maintain the delightful freshness and tender texture of these iced cinnamon chip cookies, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They will remain wonderfully delicious for up to 4 days. For longer storage, especially if you’re planning ahead, it is highly recommended to freeze the unfrosted baked cookies. Arrange them in a single layer in a freezer-safe bag or container, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. They can be frozen for up to 2 months. For the best flavor and presentation, thaw the cookies completely at room temperature before applying the fresh vanilla frosting.
ICED CINNAMON CHIP COOKIES
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Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pkg. cinnamon chips 10 oz
ICING:
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¼ cup shortening
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 2–3 minutes until the mixture is visibly lightened in color and takes on a fluffy, airy texture. Incorporate the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then stir in the vanilla extract, beating for another 2–3 minutes until fully combined and smooth.
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In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the wet mixture in the large bowl, mixing on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to tough cookies. Finally, gently fold in the cinnamon chips until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
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Using a 1.5-2 tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the cookie dough onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Leave about 2 inches between each cookie to allow for proper spreading. Bake in the preheated oven for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges are beautifully golden brown and the centers appear slightly underbaked (this ensures a chewy interior!).
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Allow the freshly baked cookies to cool on the baking sheet for approximately 5 minutes. This crucial step helps them set without breaking. After 5 minutes, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. It is essential for the cookies to be entirely at room temperature before proceeding with the frosting step.
To Make the Icing
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In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, shortening, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is wonderfully smooth, creamy, and free of lumps. Adjust the consistency by adding a tiny bit more milk for a thinner icing or more powdered sugar for a thicker one.
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Once the cookies are completely cooled, generously spread the prepared vanilla icing over each one using an offset spatula or a knife. This simple yet elegant vanilla frosting for cinnamon cookies provides a perfect complement to the spiced flavor and adds that signature bakery-style finish. Allow the icing to set slightly before serving or stacking.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookies
Here are some common questions and answers to help you master this delicious Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookie recipe and troubleshoot any potential issues:
Can I use margarine instead of butter in this recipe?
While margarine can be used in a pinch, for the absolute best flavor, richness, and ideal cookie texture, real unsalted butter is always highly recommended. Butter contributes significantly to the overall deliciousness that margarine simply cannot replicate.
Do I need to chill the cookie dough before baking?
One of the best features of this recipe is that no chilling of the dough is required! This makes it a fantastic option for when you need a quick batch of homemade cookies without the extra waiting time, perfect for spontaneous baking sessions.
What if I don’t have shortening for the icing?
If you don’t have shortening on hand, you can certainly substitute it with an equal amount of additional butter in the frosting. However, be aware that the resulting icing may have a slightly softer consistency and might not hold its shape quite as well as a frosting made with shortening.
Can I freeze these cookies once they are frosted?
For optimal results, it’s generally best to freeze these delicious cinnamon chip cookies unfrosted. You can bake the cookies, let them cool completely, and then freeze them in a single layer in an airtight, freezer-safe container or bag for up to 2 months. Once you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw the cookies at room temperature and then apply the fresh icing.
What exactly are cinnamon chips and where can I find them?
Cinnamon chips are small, sweet morsels specifically designed to deliver a concentrated burst of warm cinnamon flavor. They are typically found in the baking aisle of most well-stocked grocery stores, often located near the chocolate chips, or you can easily purchase them online from various baking supply retailers.
Is it possible to adjust the consistency of the icing (thinner or thicker)?
Absolutely! The icing is very adaptable. To achieve a thinner, more drizzly icing, simply add a small amount (about half a teaspoon at a time) of milk until you reach your desired consistency. For a thicker, more pipeable, or spreadable frosting, gradually mix in more powdered sugar until it’s perfect.
Can I prepare these cookies ahead of time for an event?
Yes, these cookies are excellent for making in advance! You can bake the cookies a day or two before you plan to serve them. Store them unfrosted in an airtight container at room temperature, then apply the fresh frosting on the day of your event. They taste just as delicious, if not better, the next day, making them perfect for entertaining.
What’s the best way to ensure the cinnamon chips don’t sink to the bottom of the cookies?
A helpful trick to prevent cinnamon chips (or any mix-ins) from sinking is to lightly toss them with a tablespoon of flour from your measured flour amount before folding them into the dough. This creates a thin coating that helps them suspend evenly throughout the cookies as they bake.
MORE DELICIOUS CINNAMON COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY:
- Snickerdoodles are arguably the most classic and beloved cinnamon cookies. Explore our delightful variations like Cream Cheese Snickerdoodle Cookies for an extra tender crumb, and quick-and-easy Cake Mix Snickerdoodles for a baking shortcut.
- The combination of apples and cinnamon is truly a match made in heaven. Dive into our comforting Chunky Apple Cinnamon Cookies and the unique Apple Cinnamon Scookies, both featuring delicious diced apples for a burst of fruity sweetness.
- Cinnamon and oatmeal also create a wonderfully harmonious pairing. Our Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies are famously soft and chewy, and their aroma as they bake is absolutely incredible, filling your home with comforting scents.
Whether you’re meticulously preparing for a festive cookie exchange, thoughtfully gifting a sweet homemade treat to a loved one, or simply looking to cozy up at home with a warm beverage, these Iced Cinnamon Chip Cookies are the perfect spiced indulgence. Their inviting aroma, tender texture, and harmonious blend of cinnamon and vanilla make them truly special. So, be sure to save this delightful frosted cinnamon cookie recipe and bake a batch to share with those you cherish—or, if they’re too good to part with, feel free to keep them all to yourself! Happy baking!