What are coffee cake cookies?
Coffee cake cookies are soft cinnamon brown sugar cookies topped with buttery streusel and sweet glaze. They have all the cozy flavor of classic coffee cake in an easy handheld cookie form-perfect for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or a little something with afternoon coffee.
Quick look at the recipe
Ready In: 37 Minutes | Makes: 14 Cookies | Difficulty: Easy | Make-Ahead Friendly: Yes
I recently retested and lightly refined this recipe to make the dough easier to handle and the cookies even softer and more dependable.
If coffee cake and a bakery cookie had a delicious little baby, this would be it.
Jump to:
- What are coffee cake cookies?
- Quick look at the recipe
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- A little about this recipe
- Ingredient notes
- Recipe variations
- How to make Coffee Cake Cookies
- Serving suggestions
- Why did my coffee cake cookie dough feel crumbly?
- Storage and freezing tips
- Recipe FAQs
- Tips to ensure this recipe turns out perfectly
- More delicious cookie recipes you’ll love
- Join the Conversation
- Recipe:
Why you’ll love this recipe
- All the flavor of classic coffee cake in cookie form
- Soft centers with buttery cinnamon streusel on top
- Easier and faster than baking a full coffee cake
- Great for brunch trays, holidays, and cookie swaps
- Freezer-friendly and make-ahead friendly
- Wonderful with coffee, tea, or a cold glass of milk
A little about this recipe
Some days you want coffee cake. Some days you want cookies. And some days you don't feel like making decisions.
That's where these coffee cake cookies come in.
They have soft cinnamon cookie bases, crumbly streusel topping, and a drizzle of sweet glaze that ties everything together. They're cozy, simple, and just fancy enough to make people think you worked harder than you did.
My husband happily considers these dessert. I've been known to call them breakfast. We both sleep just fine at night.
Ingredient notes
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
For the cookies
- Butter: Use room-temperature butter, soft but not melted.
- Brown Sugar: Adds moisture, flavor, and chewiness.
- Egg: Helps bind everything together and keeps the cookies tender.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the flavor beautifully.
- All-Purpose Flour: Spoon and level for best results.
- Cornstarch: Helps create a softer cookie texture.
- Baking Powder: Gives a little lift.
- Cinnamon: The cozy heart of the recipe.
- Salt: Balances sweetness.
- Milk: Optional, if the dough needs a little help coming together.
For the streusel
- Flour
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Cold butter
For the glaze
- Powdered sugar
- Whole milk
If you love coffee cake flavors, don't miss my Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake, too.
Recipe variations
- Skip the glaze for a less sweet version
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts to the streusel
- Add a pinch of nutmeg or cloves
- Sandwich two baked cookies with sweetened cream cheese filling
- Add mini white chocolate chips for a bakery-style twist
How to make Coffee Cake Cookies
This is a summary of the steps; the complete directions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures just until incorporated. If dough seems dry or crumbly, add 1 tablespoon milk.
- Scoop dough into 2-tablespoon portions and place 2 inches apart on prepared pan.
- Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass or measuring cup. Press a shallow well in the center.
- Make the streusel by combining flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in cold butter until crumbly.
- Top each cookie with streusel, concentrating most in the center.
- Bake 12-14 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are still soft.
- Cool slightly while mixing the glaze.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.
- Serve and enjoy!
Serving suggestions
These cookies are perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast. Or they would be delicious served at a casual brunch alongside other handheld treats such as blueberry turnovers, oatmeal apple bars, or apple pastries.
They can also be served with a glass of cold milk or a hot cup of tea for an afternoon pick-me-up or after-school snack.
For a decadent dessert, try serving these cookies warm with a scoop of my husband’s favorite, bourbon ice cream or gingerbread ice cream on top.
Why did my coffee cake cookie dough feel crumbly?
The dough should be soft and easy to scoop.
If it feels crumbly, common causes include:
- Too much flour
- Accidentally skipping the egg
- Dough not mixed long enough to fully come together
- Dry measuring cups packed with flour
Easy fix:
Add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of milk and mix gently until the dough softens.
Storage and freezing tips
- Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze baked cookies or unbaked dough balls up to 3 months.
- To Serve: Thaw at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
Usually, too much flour was added. Spoon flour into measuring cups and level it off, rather than scooping directly from the bag.
Yes. Refrigerate dough up to 24 hours before baking, or freeze shaped dough balls for later.
The dough may have been too cold or had too much flour added.
Yes. Freeze baked cookies or raw dough for up to 3 months.
I firmly believe the answer is yes!
Tips to ensure this recipe turns out perfectly
- Use room-temperature butter, not melted butter.
- Measure flour carefully.
- Don't overmix after adding dry ingredients.
- Slightly underbake for soft centers.
- Let the glaze set before stacking cookies.
- If dough feels dry, add a splash of milk.
More delicious cookie recipes you’ll love
If you are looking for more delicious cookie recipes like these, you can find them in my dessert index.
Join the Conversation
If you make these coffee cake cookies, I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment and star rating below, it helps more readers find the recipe and always makes my day.
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Coffee Cake Cookies
Equipment
- 2-tablespoon cookie scoop
- rimmed baking sheets
- parchment paper
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 large or x-large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon whole milk (optional, if your dough is too dry or crumbly.
Streusel
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ⅓ cup butter cold
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract, and combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter and brown sugar mixture and mix until combined. The dough will be thick, like sugar cookie dough.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, drop the dough balls onto your prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart (you may need two pans or to bake your cookies in batches).
- Using the bottom of a flat measuring cup, a glass cup, or your hand, press the dough balls down. Then, use the back of a round tablespoon or your thumb and press down into the center of the dough to make a depression for the streusel.
- Make the streusel by whisking together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon and then cutting in the butter with a knife or pastry cutter. Continue cutting in the butter until there are no more lumps of butter or dry ingredients. It should be very crumbly.
- Top each cookie with about a tablespoon of streusel, with most of it in the center of the cookie.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are still soft. The cookies will firm up as they cool, so it's better to underbake slightly than overbake.
- Let the cookies cool while you make the icing by stirring together the powdered sugar and milk.
- Drizzle the icing on the cookies and enjoy!
Linnie
Can’t wait to try these cookies! What a great idea, and thank you for sharing!
Deanna
The dough was to dry and crumbly is one stick of butter correct ?
Sharon Rigsby
Hi, Deanna. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused; I left out a crucial ingredient, one egg, in the list of ingredients. I just corrected it, and I am so sorry. I know how frustrating it is not to have a recipe turn out as you had hoped. I do hope you will try again.
Sharon
Kim
I wish I had seen your comment about the omission of an egg before I made eight batches of this cookie. The dough was very crumbly and difficult to work with. It was hard to flatten the balls and add a well in the center to hold enough streusel. The cookies would’ve come out much softer if I had included an egg.
Sharon Rigsby
Hi there, I’m so sorry you had trouble with these cookies! The dough should be soft and easy to work with, so it sounds like something may have gone wrong during mixing. An egg is included in the ingredient list and directions, and it is key for binding and softness—without it, the dough will be quite crumbly. Measuring flour carefully can also make a difference. I really appreciate you giving the recipe a try, and I hope you’ll give it another go! If you did add the egg and still think it is too crumbly, try adding 1 tablespoon of milk to your dough.
All the best,
Sharon