As if any of us actually needed an excuse to eat two cookies at once, these Chocolate Cinnamon Sandwich Cookies are here to make sure we have a valid reason. Soft and chewy cinnamon cookies are filled with a delicious chocolate buttercream. They’re simple and pretty easy to put together, which just means that you can be enjoying a great cookie sandwich in no time at all. You deserve a mid week sweet treat, and these have your name written all over them.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, softening, 1 cup of the granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
**Note: Using both butter and shortening will create a chewy cookie. So I highly recommend both, but if you’d like you can use all butter and just chill the dough for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.**
Add the egg, vanilla and almond extract and stir until evenly combined.
**Tip: Using a room temperature egg will ensure that it incorporates evenly into the cookie dough. If you forgot to take it out of the fridge before starting, a good trick it to run the egg under warm running water to take the chill off.**
Stir in the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg, orange zest and salt and mix until well-combined.
**Note: I know that seems like a lot of cinnamon but trust me, these are cinnamon cookies after all and it’s not over the top strong in flavor.**
Place the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a small shallow dish. Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scooper, scoop out the cookie dough and roll between your palms to create a smooth ball. Roll around in the sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches of space in between each to allow space for spreading during baking. Bake until lightly golden brown around the edges, about 10 to 15 minutes
**Tip: I only bake six cookies onto each baking sheet at a time so that they have enough space to spread out during baking.**
While the cookies cool, make the buttercream filling. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cocoa powder until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, salt and espresso powder if using, and stir until just combined. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and beat on high until thick and creamy, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Transfer to a large piping bag, fitted with a plain circle tip. Flip over half of the cookies and pipe out some of the buttercream into the center of each. Gently sandwich together with the remaining cookies.
**Note: If you don’t have a piping bag, you can definitely spread the buttercream with an offset spatula or just use a large plastic food storage bag with the end snipped off.**
Allow the cookie sandwiches to set before eating. If you have any leftovers, you can wrap them with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
These would also be delicious with a traditional vanilla buttercream or even a cream cheese frosting. Honestly though, they’d be just as great by themselves as well, frosting or not.
If you’re looking for a simple, yet delicious, sweet treat to bake up on these cold autumn evenings, then please give these a try because they’re to die for. You’ll love them, I know you will. If you do make them, please let me know what you think. I love to hear it. As always, thank you for following along and reading.
Chocolate Cinnamon Sandwich Cookies
Equipment
- Hand or stand mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring spoons and cups
- Baking Sheets
- Piping bag with plain circle tip
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar divided
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, softening, 1 cup of the granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the egg, vanilla and almond extract. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, nutmeg, orange zest and salt and mix until well-combined.
- Place the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a small shallow dish. Using a 1-tablespoon cookie scooper, scoop out the cookie dough and roll between your palms to create a smooth ball. Roll around in the sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches of space in between each to allow space for spreading during baking. I only put six on each baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden brown around the edges, about 10 to 15 minutes
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Continue baking off the remaining dough in the same way.
- While the cookies cool, make the buttercream filling. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cocoa powder until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar, salt and espresso powder if using, and stir until just combined. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and beat on high until thick and creamy, about 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large piping bag, fitted with a plain circle tip.
- Flip over half of the cookies and pipe out some of the buttercream into the center of each. Gently sandwich together with the remaining cookies. Allow to set slightly before eating. Enjoy!
How do you get the tops of the cookies to look like that? They look so good.