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Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cookies. Swirls of cinnamon and brown sugar layered in a soft gluten-free sugar cookie topped with vanilla glaze.
I Love Cinnamon
I adore all things cinnamon! One of the things I missed the most since going gluten-free was cinnamon rolls (recipe).
Seriously, have you seen my recipes for Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cake, Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Muffins or Gluten-Free Cinnamon Biscuit Balls?!
After I created my biscuits recipe, I knew I wanted to make a gluten-free cinnamon roll cookie next to add to the collection of my favorite cinnamon roll recipes.
These cinnamon rolls cookies look and taste just like cinnamon rolls! (just smaller)
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cookies-Step by Step
The first step is to cream the softened unsalted butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar with a mixer. (photo 1)
Then add the two room temperature eggs and pure vanilla extract and mix until fully combined. (photo 2)
In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, add the gluten-free flour, baking soda, gluten-free baking powder, and salt. Give it a little whisk or a stir to combine the dry ingredients. (photo 3)
Pour the gluten-free flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined. The cookie batter will start to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The cookie batter will be thick like play-doh. (photo 4)
Remove the cookie dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball and place it on a floured sheet of parchment paper. I use about one tablespoon of gluten-free flour and sprinkle it onto the parchment paper. (photo5)
With your hands, form a dough round that is about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. If you make it any larger or flatter, you will end up with cookies that won’t keep their shape. (photo 6)
Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together in a small bowl. (photo 7)
Pour the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture over the cookie dough and pat down lightly. (photo 8)
Using the edge of the parchment paper, fold the edge up. Doing this will help you start your first layer in the rolling of the cookie dough. (photo 9)
Pull the parchment paper down slowly back to the counter. Now you have the start of your roll. (photo 10)
Slowly roll the dough to form a log shape. (photo 11)
Wrap the dough “log” in the parchment paper, and put it in the refrigerator to chill for one hour. I placed my wrapped roll on a small cookie sheet. (photo 12)
After the dough has chilled for at least 1 hour, you can now cut it into slices.
Pre-heat your oven to 375° F.
Using a knife or a pastry scraper, cut the dough into 1/2 inch slices. (photo 13)
Carefully put the cookie slices on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. (photo 14)
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes at 375° F. The cookies will be done when they start to turn golden around the edges. Please watch your cookies because all ovens are different. (15)
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and melted butter and mix it first. Then add the powdered sugar and stir until it starts to thicken up. Finally, add the milk to thin out the glaze. You can add more milk if you want your glaze to be thinner. I like a nice thick glaze. (photo 16)
Drizzle the glaze all over the cookies, just like a cinnamon roll. You can also just spread the glaze over the tops of the cookies too. I’ve done it both ways and they were both delicious! (photo7)
Store in an air-tight container.
Enjoy!
Dairy-Free Baking
I have also included a dairy-free option to the recipe. My husband, myself and youngest son are all dairy-free as well. So, now you too can enjoy gluten-free and dairy-free cinnamon roll cookies. For this recipe, I used Smart Balance butter and almond milk.
These cookies taste so much like cinnamon rolls! Look at the swirled layers of cinnamon and brown sugar and all of that glorious vanilla glaze.
Here, you can find even more delicious and gluten-free cookie recipes!
I have lots of easy Gluten-Free Baking Recipes. Take a look!
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Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cookies {Dairy-Free Option}
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, , softened (dairy-free use Smart Balance or Earth Balance butter)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, , packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, , room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour, I like Pillsbury gluten-free. Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. You may experience different baking results depending on the gluten-free flour blend you choose.
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum, , leave out if your flour already contains it
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, , packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Glaze
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, ,packed
- 3 tablespoons melted butter, Dairy-free use Smart Balance of Earth Balance butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk, Dairy-free use Almond, Cashew or Coconut milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl cream the softened unsalted butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar with a mixer.
- Add the two-room temperature eggs and pure vanilla extract and mix until fully combined.
- In a small bowl or glass measuring cup add the gluten-free flour, baking soda, gluten-free baking powder, and salt. Give it a little whisk or a sir to combine the dry ingredients.
- Pour the gluten-free flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined. The cookie batter will start to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The cookie batter will be thick like play-doh.
- Remove the cookie dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball and place it on a floured sheet of parchment paper. I use about one tablespoon of flour and sprinkle it onto the parchment paper.
- With your hands form a dough round that is about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. If you make it any larger or flatter you will end up with cookies that won’t keep their shape.
- Mix the cinnamon and brown sugar together in a small bowl. Pour the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture over the cookie dough and pat down lightly.
- Using the edge of the parchment paper, fold the edge up. Doing this will help you start your first layer in the rolling of the cookie dough. Pull the parchment paper down slowly back to the counter. Now you have the start of your roll.
- Slowly roll the dough to form a log shape. Wrap the dough “log” in the parchment paper and put it in the refrigerator to chill one hour. I placed my wrapped roll on a small cookie sheet.
- Pre-heat your oven to 375° F.
- After the dough has chilled for at least 1 hour you can now cut it into slices. Using a knife or a pastry scraper cut the dough into 1/2 inch slices.
- Carefully put the cookie slices on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes at 375° F. The cookies will be done when they start to turn golden around the edges. Please watch your cookies because all ovens are different.
Glaze
- In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and melted butter and mix it first. Then add the powdered sugar stir until it starts to thicken up. Finally, add the milk to thin out the glaze. You can add more milk if you want your glaze to be thinner. I like a nice thick glaze.
- Drizzle the glaze all over the cookies, just like a cinnamon roll. You can also just spread the glaze over the tops of the cookies too. I’ve done it both ways and they were both delicious!
- Store in an air-tight container. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Audrey, love your cookbook! Family is G/F dairy egg wheat soy free. Having trouble with Cinnamon Roll Cookies, when trying to roll into log it keeps breaking apart, I use Earth Balance soy Free Butter. Your recipes are amazing! Look forward to hearing from you!
Hi Lynne, what brand of GF flour did you use? Different brands require different levels of hydration, so you may need to add an extra tablespoon of butter!
Hi Sam,
I used King Arthur Flour G/F , cup for cup! I will try adding a bit more butter, thank you! I just made the G/F Cinnamon Roll Cake it is smelling amazing in the oven and looking forward to having some soon!
These were really delicious and I got a lot of compliments on them, thank you so much for your recipe!
Hello! I’m making these now and am wondering, can they be frozen for later? Thanks
Hi Erin! Yes, definitely. I would slice the chilled dough and freeze the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for at least 2 or 3 hours, and then once they’ve completely firmed up, you can place the cookies in a zip-top plastic bag and return them to the freezer. You can either bake them frozen and increase the baking time by a few minutes, or you can let the cookies thaw in the refrigerator until they’ve softened up and then bake them.
Can you freeze the dough?
Hi Jessica! Yes, definitely. I would slice the chilled dough and freeze the cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for at least 2 or 3 hours, and then once they’ve completely firmed up, you can place the cookies in a zip-top plastic bag and return them to the freezer. You can either bake them frozen and increase the baking time by a few minutes, or you can let the cookies thaw in the refrigerator until they’ve softened up and then bake them.
You are my go to whenever I need to make something different for my husband who is GF and Dairy free. His absolute favourite has been the banana bread, I make it weekly for his lunches. Thought I would surprise him with this recipe since before becoming gluten intolerant he loved cinnamon rolls. Well looks like I am going to have to stock up on ingredients because he hasn’t stopped asking when I am making more….its been 3 days since he ate the last one.
These are soooooo good! Some of the best gluten-free cookies I’ve ever had!
Thank you so much Molly for the awesome 5-star recipe review, it really made my night! I am so happy that you enjoyed the cinnamon roll cookies and that they are some of the best gluten-free cookies you’ve ever had. Thanks again!
I made these for xmas and OMG they are so good! Everyone loved them and you can’t even tell they are gf. These are def a repeat make!
Thank you so much Jen for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the cinnamon roll cookies and that you will be making them again. Thaks again!
I totally messed up mixing the batter but they still turned out super yummy! First I didn’t premix the dry ingredients then after mixing I realized I had only put in 1 1/2 cups of flour ? so I added another and finished mixing. I will totally make these again and next time I won’t be so distracted.
Thank you so much Marialena for the wonderful recipe review! I am happy that you enjoyed the cookies. I’ve done that while baking too, it’s easy to get distracted. Thank you again!
Made these this past weekend along with the pumpkin bread cookies and we loved them. A great recipe. I think the next time I make them I’ll do a cream cheese drizzle just to see how well that works. Great recipe!
Thank you so much Susan for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you all loved the cookies. I bet a cream cheese drizzle would be amazing on these cookies. Thank you again!