Soft Cinnamon Roll Cookies – My Recipe Reviews (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to making soft and chewy cookies? ›

It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch. That's right, the flavorless thickening agent used for soups, stews, and curries is also the secret weapon for baked goods that boast a silky-smooth mouthfeel.

The very best sugar cookies are soft and tender. → Follow this tip: One of the keys to great sugar cookies is mixing the dry ingredients only until they're just incorporated, and not a second longer. Once the dry ingredients are added, less mixing equals more tender cookies.

While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the rolls until they're brown around the edges and beginning to turn golden brown across the center, about 20 minutes.

Prep Instructions

HEAT oven to 350°F (or 325°F for nonstick cookie sheet). GREASE cookie sheet. PLACE rolls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. BAKE 16 to 20 minutes or until dark golden brown and tops appear dry.

For soft cookies, use: Brown sugar, as it has a high moisture content and retains moisture better than white sugar. Also, when combined with eggs, brown sugar can prevent spreading (taller cookies tend to be softer and fluffier). Shortening instead of butter or in addition to butter.

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

Refrigerating the dough allows the flour to fully hydrate and helps to make the cookie dough firmer. Firm dough prevents the cookies from spreading too much, which is why chilling the dough is a crucial step for cut-out and rolled cookies.

Use Melted Butter

If the goal is a chewy cookie, then you absolutely need to be using melted butter. The technique of creaming softened butter and sugar together is often used for making cakes. And for good reason! The process of creaming incorporates air into the butter which results in a more airy and cakey cookie.

There are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity. But the most common reason cinnamon rolls don't turn out fluffy is because the dough didn't have enough time to rise.

Should you cover cinnamon rolls when baking? ›

Keep the rolls covered tightly with foil so they don't dry out.

PLACE rolls in pan, cinnamon topping up. BAKE 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. SPREAD with icing. FASTER BAKE METHOD: Place rolls 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet.

I recommend baking the cinnamon rolls in these foil half-size aluminum pans (9x13) to easily store them in your freezer. Avoid overbaking. Top the baked cinnamon rolls with the matching foil lid. (You can also bake the cinnamon rolls in a 9x13x2 cake pan and wrap the top tightly in heavy-duty foil.)

ENTIRE PRODUCT MUST BE BAKED ONCE OPENED. DO NOT PREHEAT. Never preheat with parchment paper alone. PLACE cinnamon rolls on parchment paper in air fryer basket.

Use Brown Sugar

Add two tablespoons of light or dark brown sugar to your cookie recipe. Brown sugar can hold extra moisture because of its molecular structure (science!). The glucose and fructose found in it are hygroscopic, which means they suck up and hang onto moisture and moisture = soft, chewy cookies.

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

Double Your Yolks Most cookie recipes call for at least one egg. You can try omitting the white of each egg, which tends to dry out when baked, and replacing it with an additional yolk. Plus, egg yolks have more fat than egg whites, which helps to keep your cookies moist and chewy.