Okay, so here's the story behind these cookies…

Years ago, I tried to impress my old neighbor with a batch of "fancy cream cheese cookies" that ended up more like sad little pancakes (seriously, what a mess). But you know what? That disastrous attempt led me to experiment, tweak, occasionally curse under my breath, and—eventually—arrive at these soft cinnamon cream cheese cookies that honestly taste like a hug in biscuit form. There's always that one person (in my case, it's my brother), who turns up hoping I've made a fresh batch. Funny thing is, most folks assume something this soft takes hours, but honestly, you can knock these out on a weekday if the mood strikes (and sometimes it just does).

Why You'll Love This Recipe (or at least I do!)

I break these out when I've had a week where everything feels a bit sideways. They're gentle, pillowy, never dry. My family goes a bit wild for them—especially if I toss in extra cinnamon (which I do when it's a rainy Saturday and it feels like the right thing to do). Sneaky tip: nobody ever guesses there's cream cheese giving them that dreamy texture. And I used to have trouble with cookies spreading like puddles…but using the right combo finally fixed that. So, if you've had some cookie flops yourself, take heart!

Here's what you'll need (but don’t stress substitutions)

½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, room temp (when I'm out, salted works in a pinch—just skip the extra salt)
3oz (85g) cream cheese, softened (full fat is best, but I've used the lower fat version when that's all I had; not quite as rich, but totally acceptable)
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (I sometimes sneak in half brown sugar if that's all that's left—adds a little depth)
1 large egg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract (honestly, the cheap stuff works fine—I mean, who's judging?)
2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour (I've swapped in about ⅓ whole wheat before; it changes the texture a smidge, but they're still great—just more "wholesome")
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (I pile it high, but that's just me)
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt (leave this out if you used salted butter)
extra cinnamon and sugar for rolling (my grandma insisted on a big bowl of this mixture for coating—nostalgia, I suppose!)

The How-To (Don’t Fret If It Gets Messy)

Cream the butter & cream cheese together until light and fluffy. I use an electric mixer if I'm impatient, but a good old wooden spoon works if you want a little workout. Don't worry if it looks a bit streaky up top—it always seems to come together after adding sugar.
Add the sugar and keep beating till it's just kind of mousse-y. (This is where I usually sneak a taste. Who's judging?)
Beat in the egg and vanilla. Sometimes it looks a bit separated—just keep mixing. It works out, I promise.
Stir in flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt (I dump it all in at once—I'm not here to fuss with separate bowls, but if you're feeling fancy, whisk dry stuff first in a bowl). Mix just until you don’t see big flour patches. The dough is going to be soft—chill it for 30 minutes if you’re worried about stickiness, but often I skip this unless it's roasting outside.
Scoop or roll tablespoon-sized blobs of dough into balls (ish) and roll them in cinnamon sugar. Line 'em up on a parchment-lined tray (honestly, sometimes I just spray the sheet and cross my fingers).
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 9–12 minutes. They're done when the edges are just coloring; the centers will still look a tad soft—trust me, they'll set up as they cool. I once left them in "just a minute more," and they lost their magical softness. Don't do that.
Cool 'em on the tray for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack. Or don't—sometimes impatience wins and you eat the first one hot, dropping crumbs everywhere.

Stuff I’ve Learned the Hard Way

If you overbeat the dough, they'll come out dense. Gentle folding is your friend—even when you're in a rush. (Learned that after a few, well, hockey puck incidents.)
The dough is realllly soft. If it’s just too much to handle, pop it in the fridge for half an hour. Or if you're me, go have a cuppa and forget about it for a bit, come back and bake.

Fun with Mix-Ins & Failures

Once I added mini chocolate chips... result: surprisingly delicious.
Tried throwing in raisins—my kids rebelled (so, not my best idea, honestly).
You can swap the cinnamon for pumpkin spice when fall hits. Did that at Thanksgiving and got requests for the recipe (score!).

What If You Don't Have All the Gear?

Bare minimum: a bowl, a spoon, and a baking tray (yep, I once made these at a friend's house with nothing but a salad fork and a pizza pan). But a mixer is handy if you don't want sore wrists. Parchment paper or a silicone mat helps, but don't panic if you're out—just grease your sheet well and cross your fingers, worked for me plenty of times.

Storing 'Em (If You Can Resist Eating Them All)

These hold up for 3 days in an airtight tin, probably longer, but honestly, in my house it never lasts more than a day! You can freeze them too—wrap in foil then bag 'em in the freezer. Oh, and microwaving for 10 seconds makes them taste like fresh-baked (give or take—maybe my microwave runs hot).

Serving—Our Little Rituals

I love these dunked in coffee (my secret midnight snack). My sister smashes vanilla ice cream between two of them—absolute chaos, but totally worth it. When friends pop by, sometimes I just toss them onto a plate with a few apple slices. Grown-up but not fussy, if you know what I mean.

What I'd Tell My Younger Self (aka Cookie Pro Tips)

Don't skip the soft butter/cream cheese step. I once tried nuking frozen butter. Bad idea. Lumpy dough. Sad cookies.
If you try to make the dough balls too big, the insides are gooey but outsides are overdone—go for small and evenish. Seriously, bigger is not always better here.
Clean-up hint: soaking the bowl with a bit of hot water and a squirt of dish soap means way less scrubbing (learned after one too many sticky disasters).

FAQ: Real Questions from Friends & Curious Cookie-Makers

Can I double the batch? Absolutely, just use a huge bowl—or split the dough between two.
Do I need to soften the butter? Yes, yes, yes. Hard butter fights you. Soft gets that fluffy texture (I’m a bit of a broken record, but it makes a difference).
Could I use self-raising flour? Oddly, I did once by accident; they puff up a bit much but still taste fine. Maybe leave out the extra baking powder if you do.
Could I make these gluten-free? I haven’t tried myself (yet), but I hear Cup4Cup or King Arthur’s Measure-for-Measure flours do the trick; King Arthur’s site has tips.
Any cream cheese hacks if I forget to soften? Actually, grating it on a box grater kind of works (sounds strange, but saves you if you’re forgetful—like me most days!).

If you want more ideas, there's this surprisingly good writeup on cream cheese cookies over at Sally’s Baking Addiction that helped me ages ago. Also, Bigger Bolder Baking for cinnamon cookie inspiration.

Alright friend, that's my rambling cookie guide—give 'em a whirl and let me know (preferably with mouth full of cookie) how they turn out. Or if you find an even better variation, promise me you’ll spill the beans, yeah?

Soft Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cookies