Chocolate Cinnamon cookies are chewy, puffy cookies lightly spiced with cinnamon then rolled in white sanding sugar for sparkle. They remind me of Chocolate Snickerdoodles or Mexican Hot Cocoa Cookies without the chile heat.
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Recipe Highlights
- Soft, thick and chewy
- Rich chocolate flavor with warm cinnamon
- Rolled in sanding sugar for a crisp, sparkling finish
- Sturdy enough for cookie trays, bake sales and shipping
- Dough can be made ahead or frozen
The Back Story
I made these for the last cookie exchange I attended and everyone wanted the recipe.
They’re adapted from Food Network Magazine’s Cocoa Snickerdoodles. I originally discovered the recipe through The Bitten Word, the much-missed food blog where Clay and Zach cooked their way through food magazines.
Because I can’t leave a recipe alone, I reduced the cream of tartar and bumped up the cinnamon. The result is a chewy chocolate cookie with just the right amount of cinnamon spice.
Before You Start
- Use room-temperature butter and eggs.
- Don’t skip the cream of tartar. It gives the cookies their slight tang and helps create that snickerdoodle-like crinkled texture.
- Use sanding sugar for the coating. The larger crystals give the cookies that sparkly, slightly crunchy exterior.
- Don’t over bake. Pull the cookies when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly soft. They’ll continue to set as they cool.
Ingredients for Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-processed or natural)
- Ground cinnamon (Grind your own fresh cinnamon)
- Cream of tartar (see note below about suitable substitute)
- Baking soda
- Fine sea salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- White sanding sugar
See recipe card for ingredient amounts
How to Make These Cookies
Make the dough. Cream the butter and sugar, then mix in the eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
Scoop and roll. Portion the dough into balls, then roll each one in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake. Arrange on a lined baking sheet and bake until the edges are set and the centers are still slightly soft.
Cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I use instead of cream of tartar in cookies?
If the recipe contains both cream of tartar and baking soda, baking powder may work as a substitute for both ingredients. For each teaspoon of cream of tartar, use about a teaspoon and a half of baking powder and leave out the baking soda.
Cookie Baking Advice
You may find these baking posts helpful: from How to Avoid Flat Cookies, How to Freeze Cookie Dough, Room Temperature Butter for Baking to Salted or Unsalted Butter for Cookies? to Do I Need A Cookie Scoop?, Cookie Size Chart to What Should a Beginner Bake? to Where Can I Buy Sprinkles?, Why is my sugar cookie dough too sticky? and Cookie Holidays. What is Sanding Sugar and Do I need Parchment Paper? might also be helpful. This Cuisinart 5-speed is my favorite hand mixer. Why do my hand mixer beaters fall out? Cookie dough freezes great as do already baked cookies but find out what other desserts you can freeze.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions
Store cookie dough, covered, in the refrigerator for up to two days or freeze for up to three months.
To freeze, scoop dough into balls. Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper then tuck into a freezer safe container.
Bake the frozen cookie dough balls straight from the freezer, adding a minute or two to the baking time if needed.
Already baked cookies can be frozen for up to three monhts.
Store wrapped cookies (plastic or wax paper) in a freezer safe container and thaw at room temperature before serving.
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Recipe
Chocolate Cinnamon Cookies
Chocolate cinnamon cookies are soft, puffy chocolate cookies, lightly spiced with cinnamon and rolled in sparkling white sugar before baking.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-processed or natural)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided (one teaspoon in dough, one in sanding sugar for rolling)
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 and ¼ sticks, room temperature)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup white sanding sugar
Instructions
- Whisk dry ingredients, flour, cocoa, one teaspoon of cinnamon, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, together in a medium bowl.
- Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until fluffy, about 2 more minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla;
- Reduce speed to low and mix in the flour mixture until just combined.
- Put the sanding sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Use #40 cookie scoop (1.6 tablespoons) to form dough into balls. Roll balls in cinnamon sugar before baking.
- Bake about three inches apart on a baking sheet at 350F° for 12 minutes. Let cool on a rack.
Notes
You can use any variety of cinnamon for this cookie but I am partial to Vietnamese cinnamon because I think it's more flavorful than other varieties.
Take it up a notch by making your own freshly ground cinnamon following these easy steps.
Recommended Products
This post and/or recipe may contain affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase, I'll earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See Disclosure policy.
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Pyrex Prepware 4-Quart Rimmed Mixing Bowl, Clear -
KitchenAid Bamboo Spatula Set, 2-Piece, Aqua Sky
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KitchenAid 5 Ultra Power Speed Hand Mixer, KHM512, White
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Nordic Ware Naturals Half Sheet - USA Made Aluminum Commercial Quality Sheet Pan for Baking or Roasting, Encapsulated Galvanized Steel Rim Prevents Warping, 2-Pack
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HERSHEY'S Natural Unsweetened 100% Hot Cocoa, Baking, 23 Ounce Can
Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1 ServingsAmount Per Serving Calories 158Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 3gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 20mgSodium 60mgCarbohydrates 25gFiber 1gSugar 13gProtein 2g
Nutrition information is an estimate as I am not a registered dietician.
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