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Cream Cheese Cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar are the soft, melt-in-your-mouth holiday cookie that disappears off the platter every single time Maddie spots them on the counter. Butter creamed with cream cheese, sweetened with powdered sugar, scooped into 1-inch balls, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and baked at 375°F for just 8-9 minutes produces snickerdoodle-cousins with a richer, softer crumb. If you love our other cream cheese desserts, these cookies are your next holiday cookie tray staple.
Six pantry ingredients, one hour fridge rest, and 9 minutes in the oven separate you from a tray of these soft holiday-favorite cookies.
Cream Cheese Cookies Quick Look
- 🕐 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🍴 Chill + Cook Time: 1 hour 9 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 24 minutes
- 🍽 Serving: 24 cookies
- ⚡ Calories: 110kcal per cookie
- 🌶 Flavor Profile: Buttery soft cream cheese cookie tossed in warm cinnamon sugar, somewhere between a snickerdoodle and a pillowy sugar cookie (cinnamon cream cheese cookies, holiday cookie tray classic).
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our other crowd-pleasing dessert recipes.
Quick Answer
Cream cheese cookies are a soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookie made by creaming butter and cream cheese together, sweetened with powdered sugar, and lifted with baking powder. The cream cheese gives them a richer, tangier flavor and a pillowy texture compared to a standard sugar cookie. This cinnamon-sugar version is rolled into 1-inch balls and coated in cinnamon sugar before baking, producing a holiday-tray cookie that lands between a snickerdoodle and a pillowy sugar cookie.
Jump to:
- Cream Cheese Cookies Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Cream Cheese Cookies
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Cream Cheese Cookies FAQs
- Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
- Easy Cream Cheese Cookies Recipe (Cinnamon Sugar)
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Cream cheese replaces some butter and the egg richness. 4 oz cream cheese creamed with the butter delivers a softer, tangier cookie than a standard sugar cookie, and it stays soft for days.
- Powdered sugar over granulated. Powdered sugar dissolves into the dough cleanly and produces a pillowy, melt-in-your-mouth crumb. Granulated would give a crisper, sandier texture.
- 1-hour fridge chill is non-negotiable. Cold dough holds its shape during scooping and rolling; warm dough spreads flat into pancakes.
- 375°F for 8-9 minutes nails the soft center. Hot enough to set the edges, short enough to keep the middle pillowy. 10+ minutes turns them into hockey pucks.
- Cinnamon sugar coating after scooping (not after baking). Rolling the raw balls in cinnamon sugar bakes the coating onto the cookie. Dusting after bake would slide off.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Soft and pillowy. Cream cheese in the dough keeps these soft for 4+ days at room temperature, the cookie that stays fresh on the cookie tray.
- Holiday cookie classic. The cinnamon sugar coating is Christmas in cookie form. Goes great alongside snickerdoodles, gingerbread, and shortbread on a tray.
- 24 cookies per batch. Big enough for a holiday party, small enough to make on a Sunday afternoon.
- Pantry-friendly. Butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, flour, egg, baking powder, cinnamon, all easily on hand.
- Make-ahead friendly. Dough can chill up to 48 hours; baked cookies hold 4-5 days in a sealed tin.
Key Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: 1/2 cup softened to room temperature. The base of the dough, softened means easy creaming with the cream cheese.
- Cream cheese: 4 oz softened. Full-fat Philadelphia (or store brand) delivers the signature pillowy texture and slight tang. Don’t skip, this is the recipe.
- Powdered sugar: 1 1/2 cups. Dissolves into the dough for that melt-in-your-mouth crumb. Granulated would give a sandier texture.
- Egg + vanilla bean paste: 1 egg + 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract). The egg binds; the vanilla rounds out the cream cheese.
- Baking powder + kosher salt: 1/2 teaspoon + pinch. The lift and the floor that lets the cream cheese flavor come through.
- All-purpose flour: 1 3/4 cups. Standard pantry flour. Bleached or unbleached, both work fine here.
- Cinnamon sugar coating: 1/4 cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon mixed together. The holiday-cookie finish.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and the full ingredient list.
Variations and Substitutions
One base recipe, six ways to switch the coating or filling.
- Classic powdered sugar: swap the cinnamon sugar coating for plain powdered sugar dusting AFTER baking for a “snowball” cookie look.
- Pumpkin spice: swap the cinnamon for 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice. Perfect for fall cookie trays.
- Lemon glaze: skip the cinnamon sugar entirely. Drizzle baked cookies with a powdered sugar + lemon juice glaze.
- Chocolate chip: stir 1 cup mini chocolate chips into the dough. Skip the cinnamon sugar.
- Sprinkles for birthdays: roll the balls in rainbow nonpareils or jimmies instead of cinnamon sugar.
- Maple cinnamon: swap vanilla for maple extract; mix maple sugar instead of granulated for an extra layer.
How to Make Cream Cheese Cookies
- Cream Butter and Cream Cheese. In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy.
- Add Powdered Sugar. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until combined.
- Mix in Egg + Vanilla. Add the egg, baking powder, vanilla bean paste, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add Flour Slowly. Add the flour in batches until fully incorporated, scraping the sides as needed.
- Chill 1 Hour. Cover the dough and place in the fridge for one hour to rest. This is non-negotiable.
- Preheat to 375°F. Preheat the oven and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix Cinnamon Sugar. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.
- Scoop Dough Balls. Roll dough into 1-inch balls (about 2 teaspoons each).
- Roll in Cinnamon Sugar. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar until well coated.
- Arrange on Sheet. Place on the prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake 8-9 Minutes. Bake until just set. Do not overbake; the centers should still look slightly underdone.
- Cool and Serve. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Five small moves that separate perfect soft Cream Cheese Cookies from flat or dry ones.
- Both butter and cream cheese must be SOFT. Cold = lumpy dough that never creams smooth. 30 minutes on the counter minimum, longer in a cold kitchen.
- Do not skip the fridge chill. Warm dough = flat hockey-puck cookies. Cold dough = pillowy mounds.
- Underbake on purpose. Pull at 8 minutes if your oven runs hot. The carryover heat finishes the centers as they cool. Set tops with soft middles = ideal.
- Don’t skimp on the cinnamon sugar coating. Roll each ball generously, the coating is half the cookie.
- Store in a sealed tin with a slice of bread. The bread keeps the cookies soft for 4+ days. Old baker trick.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Serve on a holiday cookie tray alongside snickerdoodles, gingerbread, and shortbread for variety.
- Pair with a tall glass of cold milk or a hot mug of coffee, hot chocolate, or chai.
- Package in cellophane bags tied with festive ribbon for homemade hostess gifts or neighbor cookie deliveries.
- Serve alongside our Stabilized Whipped Cream and hot apple cider for a winter dessert spread.
- Crumble over vanilla ice cream for an instant cookie sundae topping.
Make these Easy Cream Cheese Cookies (Cinnamon Sugar) for your next holiday cookie tray, 24 pillowy melt-in-your-mouth cookies in under 90 minutes. Tag us on Instagram @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen when you do; we love seeing your cookie trays.
Cream Cheese Cookies FAQs
Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days. Add a slice of plain white bread to the container, the bread keeps the cookies soft. Refrigeration is not recommended; it dries them out.
Yes, two ways. (1) Freeze the rolled-and-cinnamon-sugar-coated dough balls on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake from frozen at 375F for 11-12 minutes. (2) Freeze fully baked cookies in a sealed container up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Three culprits: butter too soft (almost melted), skipping the 1-hour fridge chill, or oven too hot. Make sure butter is soft-but-cool (cool to the touch), chill the dough fully, and use an oven thermometer to verify 375F.
Yes, the dough can be made up to 48 hours ahead and stored covered in the fridge. Let it sit on the counter 15-20 minutes before scooping if it gets too firm. Scooped-and-coated dough balls also freeze well for baking later.
Snickerdoodles use cream of tartar for that classic tangy flavor and crackly top. These cream cheese cookies use actual cream cheese for a softer, tangier crumb with a pillowy texture. Both rolled in cinnamon sugar, cousin cookies, different vibes.
Stick with full-fat block-style cream cheese. Low-fat versions have more water and produce a wetter dough that spreads flat. The 4-oz full-fat block is the right call.
Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
If you made these Easy Cream Cheese Cookies (Cinnamon Sugar), leave a star rating and a comment below. We love hearing how your cookie tray turned out. Tag us on Instagram @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen so we can see your cookies.
Need a classic cookie for the tray? Try our Soft Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Old Fashioned), 30 chewy brown sugar cookies with rolled oats and plump raisins in 40 minutes.
If you want a classic cookie that still hits the fork-mark cafeteria vibe, our crispy peanut butter cookies the lunch lady way use eight pantry ingredients and a 13 minute bake for that golden-edge snap.
Easy Cream Cheese Cookies Recipe (Cinnamon Sugar)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Cream the butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth in a large bowl.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar until combined.
- Add the egg, baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Mix to combine.
- Add the flour slowly until fully incorporated, scraping the sides as needed.
- Cover and place in the fridge for one hour to rest.
- Preheat oven to 375°F—line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.
- Roll dough into 1-inch-sized balls, which is about 2 teaspoons of dough.
- Roll in the bowl with the cinnamon sugar until well coated.
- Place on a prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes, until just set. Do not overbake, it is hard to tell when these cookies are ready, they will puff up but won’t get golden brown.
- Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Video
Notes
- You can easily double or halve this recipe depending on how many people you are serving.
- These cookies can be frozen, see my tips above.
- These need to chill before baking, make sure that you do not skip this step.
- These should be baked on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet to reduce spreading.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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I would recommend a new batch.
I completely forgot the dough for 2 nights in the fridge. Do you think is ok to bake it still ?
Thank you for the feedback! We are so grateful you are enjoying the recipe!
Love this recipe. Must follow it as instructed. The cookies come out light and fluffy, not too sweet. Our guests love these. On several occasions I just added the cinnamon into the recipe and then added a drop of fruit preserves on top of the cookie after they cooled completely and then drizzled with white chocolate. Defiantly a crowd favorite and good presentation.
They are easy to make and delicious!
of course!
Could I also roll these in sugar sprinkles for some festive colors?
Definitely
Can the dough rest in the fridge over night and still come out the same? I usually make them same day but I’m wanting to prep for a holiday party! Thanks!
Yes
Can I leave the dough in the fridge overnight?
The BEST Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies Recipe to say the least. Easy and delicious along with low calories per bite. This recipe is a keeper!
That would be a great experiment, I have never tried those additions so I can’t say for sure if it will work.
Can I add pistachios and crushed up cannoli shells to the cookie dough.
My go-to cookie recipe! Not only that- it’s everyone’s favorite!!!