A quick and easy to roll sugar cookie dough with a cinnamon sugar swirl baked inside. The whole batch of cookies is rolled up into a log and stored in the freezer. When you’re ready, slice and bake as many of these Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookies as needed.
Did you think baking season had come to a close? Not here.
Cinnamon pinwheel cookies
And not without these chewy, cinnamon pinwheels. Made with a sugar cookie base and a cinnamon sugar swirl baked inside.
Get ready to restock the dessert section of your freezer with a batch of these cookies.
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What are freezer cookies?
They’re cookies that you make straight from the freezer.
The cookie dough is prepared in advance and stored in the freezer until you’re ready to bake. They can be portioned into individual cookies or, like these cinnamon pinwheel cookies, rolled up and frozen in a long log shape.
When you’re ready for a freshly baked cookie, simply remove the log from the freezer. Slice and bake as many cookies as you need.
No need to thaw, they can go from freezer to the oven (then to the table) in a matter of minutes. Now, that’s a pretty convenient cookie option, if you ask me.
Watch how to make these cinnamon pinwheel cookies
Ingredients
- flour – both all-purpose & white whole wheat
- baking powder
- salt – fine, I used a sea salt
- butter– softened at room temperature
- sugar – gets mixed into the dough & combined with cinnamon to create the swirl
- egg – large
- vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
How to make cinnamon pinwheel cookies
Start by preparing the cookie dough.
It’s a pretty standard cookie making process: whisk the dry ingredients, cream the sugar and butter, mix the wet ingredients. Then combine the dry ingredients into the wet until it’s a cookie dough consistency. Best part, you can do it all by hand.
Simple hack for rolling dough
You can chill and roll the dough into a rectangle, but there’s an easier way. One that doesn’t require a rolling pin (or a substitution).
Line a small sheet pan with a long piece of plastic wrap. Leave enough overhang to double wrap the pan.
Place spoonfuls of the cookie dough into the pan. Loosely cover with the extra plastic.
Using your hands and/or a bench scraper, press the dough out into an even layer, filling up the entire pan.
Rewrap the dough in plastic and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Refrigerate (or freeze) until firm or up to overnight.
Once the dough is firm, remove from the freezer. Uncover and remove the dough from the pan. Leave the dough on the pieces of plastic wrap.
In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle it over the entire dough. Use the back of a spoon to even it out. Making sure the cinnamon sugar reaches the edges of both shorter sides and one of the longer ones (unlike in the picture above). You’ll get the most cookies that way!
Roll into a log
Starting from one of the longer sides, roll the dough up into a log. Use the plastic wrap to lift and roll the dough tight.
Slice and bake sugar cookies
Rewrap and freeze 15-20 minutes until firm. Then slice and bake as many cookies as you want. (Return any remaining log to the freezer for your next batch of cookies.)
This batch was cut into 1 cm (or between ¼ and ½ inch) thick pieces. You could cut them into larger pieces to make pinwheel cinnamon rolls inspired cookies.
Bake in a preheated 350°F oven on parchment paper lined sheet pans. Remove once edges begin to turn brown (12-14 minutes). Slide the parchment paper off the sheet pan and allow the cookies to cool (they’ll firm up more too).
FAQS & TIPS
If some of the cinnamon sugar mixture falls out, when placing onto the sheet pan, try to brush it around or underneath the cookie.
Roll dough into a 8.5×11 inch rectangle
More Freezer Friendly Cookie Recipes
- Swap out the cinnamon in these pinwheels for chocolate and vanilla swirl cookies instead
- Soft and chewy Spiced Vegan Gingersnap Cookies, made with 3 kinds of ginger.
- Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies – No mixer or chill time required for these.
Cinnamon pinwheel cookies recipe
Cinnamon Pinwheels
A quick and easy to roll sugar cookie dough with a cinnamon sugar swirl baked inside. The whole batch of cookies is rolled up into a log. Store it in the freezer. Then slice and bake these Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookies as needed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (60 grams) white whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 ounces butter, softened
- ½ cup (112 grams) sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (6 grams) cinnamon
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. In another (larger) bowl, cream together the butter with 6 tablespoons (84 grams) sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined into cookie dough consistency.
- Line a quarter sheet pan with a long piece of plastic wrap with enough overhang to double wrap the pan. Place the cookie dough into the pan. Loosely cover with the extra plastic. Press the dough to fill the entire pan with an even layer. Wrap dough in the plastic and cover the pan with aluminum foil. Refrigerate until firm or up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 large sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons (28 grams) sugar.
- Uncover and remove the dough from the pan. Leave the dough on the pieces of plastic wrap. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough. Use the back of a spoon to even it out. Make sure the cinnamon sugar reaches the edge of both shorter sides and one of the longer ones. Starting from one of the longer sides, roll the dough into a log. Rewrap and freeze 15-20 minutes until firm.
- Remove the cookie dough from the freezer. Unwrap and slice (as many cookies as you want to bake) into 1 cm (between ¼ and ½ inch) thick pieces. (Store unused dough back in the freezer.) Arrange cookies on the prepared sheet pans and bake 12-14 minutes. Remove once edges begin to turn brown. Slide the parchment paper off the sheet pan and allow the cookies to cool (they'll firm up more too).
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 32 Serving Size: 1 cookieAmount Per Serving: Calories: 51Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 49mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g
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