cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

Who doesn’t love an effortless shortbread cookie? This cookie levels up shortbread cookies by at least three levels with the inclusion of a brown sugar cinnamon swirl that can actually be anything you like. (Just check out the long list of variations!) This cookie is also not your typical, crumbly shortbread texture, as this cookie has an amazing soft chew with crispy caramelized edges.

This post is also kind of a love letter to The Spice House, because they are absolutely incredible. I received a few of their spices a while back, and I’ve purchased from them myself several times. The packaging is absolutely beautiful, and the quality of the spices is incredible. I’m linking to several good ones from them in this post, so check them out if you haven’t! (They are affiliate links, which give me a small commission that helps support my content.)

why you’ll love cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

• This cookie is egg-less. You need a few egg-less recipes in your recipe box for people with egg allergies or even egg shortages, and this one is so good. You probably wouldn’t guess it to be eggless since the texture is not like typical shortbread.
• The dough for this cookie can made several days (or even months) in advance, making it particularly helpful for when you need to make a lot of cookies for things like cookie boxes.
• The flavor of the filling is customizable, which means that you can make several different variations with one base dough. Like, the possibilities are endless here.
• This cookie is delicious and so easy to make. A win-win!

ingredients in cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

• unsalted butter– Salted butter is fine if it’s all you have. Make sure your butter is room temperature- not melted or cold. If you didn’t take your butter out of the fridge in time, a few short bursts in the microwave should take the chill out without softening it too much.
• granulated sugar- For sweetness and texture. There is more sugar in this recipe than usual shortbread cookies to give a softer-chewier texture. Granulated sugar will also give a nice crisp, caramelized edge to the cookies.
• brown sugar- Brown sugar adds flavor and provides additional chewiness to the cookies. You’ll also need brown sugar for the filling if you’re making the classic brown sugar-cinnamon swirl variation.
• salt- I like Diamond Crystal kosher salt because it is just the best for baking and cooking (according to professional chefs). If you don’t have Diamond Crystal, use half the amount the recipe calls for of regular table salt or fine sea salt. You could also weigh whatever salt you have according to the recipe. (Weight is accurate for salt across the board.)
• vanilla- Feel free to use vanilla extract, but vanilla bean paste is supreme if you have it.
• all purpose flour- I use King Arthur all purpose flour. (Please weigh your flour.🙃)
• cinnamon- Whatever cinnamon is your usual cinnamon will work in this recipe. My favorite kinds are Kirkland Saigon cinnamon and Korintje Ground Cassia Cinnamon from The Spice House.

supplies needed to make cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

• scale- This one is adorable and comes in green.
• mixing bowl and hand mixer OR stand mixer
• spatula
• parchment paper
• plastic wrap– This is my favorite!
• bench scraper– this helps with shaping the log
• baking sheets
• chef’s knife– Check out these gorgeous Nakano knives!

how to make cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

These cookies are made up of two parts: the soft-chewy shortbread dough and the spiced sugar mixture. The dough remains the same no matter what variation you make, so you could easily double or triple the recipe, divide it up, and swirl each part with a different filling. Choose your filling using the recipe, one of my variations, or come up with one of your own!

make the spiced sugar filling

The beauty of this filling is that it can be anything. This cookie is wildly customizable since the dough remains the same no matter what you use for your filling. (See the section on variations at the end of this post.) Of course there’s the classic brown sugar + cinnamon filling, which is what the recipe in this post will make. However, here I’ll show you a variation that uses a jar of The Spice House sugar, like this Coffee Cake Sugar with Intelligentsia Coffee. Using the full jar is a little more than you’ll need to swirl the dough, so there is a lot of fallout when rolling the dough into a log. However, it turns out that it’s the perfect way to coat the log in sugar without needing to make a separate mixture. As you roll the dough into a log, it automatically gets coated in all that sugary fallout.

The filling is a simple mixture of sugar and a flavoring such as spices. The classic brown sugar + cinnamon variation is 55g (¼ cup) of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. To shake it up, I decided to use this jar of Coffee Cake Sugar from The Spice House as the sugar in my filling. It is made of brown sugar, coffee, vanilla, and cinnamon, so it is all you would need for the filling since it is both sugar and flavoring all in one. I did boost it with a little more cinnamon, however. I paired it with Saigon cinnamon.

There are infinite possibilities for the filling- check out the list below under ‘variations’.

Once you have your filling sorted, set it aside and make the dough.

make the dough

The dough comes together so quickly and has only a few ingredients. Start by beating room temperature butter until it is smooth and lump-free. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla and mix until it is smooth and a little fluffy.

Add the flour to the dough and mix on low speed until the flour is fully hydrated (no more dry spots) and the dough looks pebbly and is easily squished into a dough between your fingers.

Sprinkle about ⅓ of the sugar filling mixture over the surface of the dough. Use your hands or a spatula to press the sugar into the dough. “Fold” the dough in half by picking up one side of the dough and pressing it into the other half. It’s okay if it’s messy and imperfect. Sprinkle the new surface of the dough with another ⅓ of the sugar filling and press it in. Fold it over again, exposing a new side of dough. Sprinkle the rest of the sugar filling, press it in, and fold it again.

Drop the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and use your hands to press it together and form it into a log. It will resist in some places and not want to stick together, but keep working on it. It will eventually come together. Some sugar will fall out of the dough, and it will eventually cover the surface of the dough log. Make sure to really compress the log with your hands so that it won’t fall apart later. The log should be 10″ to 12″ long.

Wrap the log really well in the sheet of parchment paper before wrapping fully in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the log of dough for at least two hours or up to three days.

Once your dough has been properly chilled, it is time to slice and bake. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line your pans with parchment paper. Using a large chef’s knife, slice the log into cookies that are ¼″ to ½″ thick. I like to cut mine slightly between the two.

Bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes if they are cut on the thinner side and 15-18 minutes if they are on the thicker side. Keep an eye on them and pull them from the oven when the tops are no longer shiny. If you like a very caramelized cookie bottom, bake them a little longer.

Let them cool on the sheet for a couple minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

different variations with pictures

This is what the classic brown sugar-cinnamon flavor looks like:

And here is what the Cocoa Coffee Sugar variation looks like:

variations on cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

This cookie is a customizable queen. She can really do anything and be anything simply by changing the filling. The ratio for the filling is roughly 55g (¼ cup) of sugar with 1-2 tablespoon of dry flavoring. Here are some ideas:

• pumpkin spice: Use 55g of brown sugar with 1 tablespoon of a pumpkin spice blend. Or use this blend of pumpkin spice sugar that has vanilla.
• vanilla spice sugar: This sugar has cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla.
• vanilla sugar: You could take out the spices entirely and use this sugar blended with Madagascar vanilla. If you want to make your own vanilla sugar, add a sliced vanilla bean to a small jar of sugar and shake it up. Leave it alone for about a week.
• maple sugar: Try an entirely different sugar, like maple sugar, which is just boiled maple syrup. Add cinnamon to it, or use this maple sugar that already has some cinnamon added in.
• cocoa coffee: This is the cocoa coffee blend I used that has cocoa, vanilla, and cinnamon.
• coffee cake: This is the coffee cake variation I used that has brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and coffee in it. I want to repurchase this one and use it on oatmeal! If you don’t have this, you could use the classic recipe and add a little espresso powder and vanilla powder to it.
• vanilla lavender sugar: I’m not a lavender girlie myself, but this is so pretty and would be a great option if you are a lavender girlie.
• nutmeg-cinnamon: I like to add a little (¼ tsp) ground nutmeg to my classic brown sugar-cinnamon recipe sometimes.
• chai: Add some chai spices to the classic brown sugar-cinnamon recipe. This one is great because it is also vanilla-infused.
• gingerbread: add 1 teaspoon of ginger and ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg to the classic brown sugar-cinnamon recipe. You could also add a little allspice and cloves, but I usually leave those out.

success tips for making cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

• Don’t over mix the dough! It shouldn’t come together as a big dough ball like sugar cookie dough. Just mix it until the dough is no longer floury and looks like pebbly gravel. A test to see if it is done is to squish a bit between your fingers. If it can be squished into a dough, it’s perfect.
• Chill your dough log for at least two hours or up to a few days. It can also be frozen for a few months if you’d like to make them ahead. This cookie is amazing for cookie boxes since the dough can be made in advance.
• Remember to soften your butter! It shouldn’t be cold right out of the fridge for this recipe. If you’re in a pinch and don’t have a few hours to let your butter naturally come to room temperature, microwave the butter for 2-3 seconds, rotate it, and microwave it for another 2-3 seconds. Keep doing this until it is a nice pliable and slightly soft texture without making it squishy or liquid-y. If you accidentally go too far, put it in the freezer while you prep the ingredients. It’s a fine balance.
• Mise en place’ is a French phrase with the idea of putting everything in its place before beginning to make a recipe. It helps everything to go smoothly and eliminates so much possible stress. Getting all of your supplies and ingredients together beforeever starting the recipe will help tremendously.
• Weigh your ingredients, particularly the flour. It is the most important measurement in this recipe to weigh. Flour can be off in volume measurements by up to 30g, which is a quarter cup! Having incorrect flour measurements can cause your cookies to spread too much or, alternatively, be dry and crumbly. Weighing your ingredients makes everything so much easier, as you don’t have to wash all the measuring cups at the end. However, I do not use the scale to weigh out teaspoon or tablespoon measurements for things like baking powder, salt, vanilla, or cornstarch, for example.

watch how to make cinnamon swirl shortbread cookies

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