Coffee Cake Cookies
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When you take a bite of these soft and chewy coffee cake cookies you will savor each bite that includes a blanket of buttery brown sugar streusel and vanilla icing. Each cookie is filled with this cinnamon-y sweet crumble and you won’t be able to stop at just one bite.
After making these apple pie cookies I knew I had to make another thumbprint style cookie.
You’ll love baking these because the whole house gets filled not only with scents of yummy homemade cookies but the irresistible smells of buttery cinnamon-y coffee cake too. It will make you want to grab a plate of them, a cup of coffee, a good book with a blanket and cozy up to treat yourself! Since I have a 14 month old daughter to chase around the house I don’t have much time for that, so I will have to live vicariously through you! 😉
My childhood memories of my mom’s homemade coffee cake coming out of the oven as I headed downstairs for breakfast inspired me to create these coffee cake cookies.
Just like a great piece of coffee cake, every bite of the coffee cake cookie is crowned with a buttery -sweet cinnamon crumble that is crunchy on top and soft on the bottom. And you can’t forget topping cookies with icing! Oh my gosh the icing is SO GOOD. I feel like they are naked without it! The creamy, buttery, vanilla icing tucks itself around each morsel of the streusel crumble in all of the best ways.
Just writing about them makes me want to eat another one! I mean…look at that crumble!
These cookies are a great grab-and-go quick breakfast treat, mid-day snack, or the perfect pairing with a cup of coffee and I hope you love them!
Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: All Purpose Flour provides a delicious texture and gives the cookies the perfect chewiness you love.
- Cake Flour: Adding in cake flour, which is ground extra fine, balances out the texture for a lighter, looser crumb and fluffy texture.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps keep the cookie from spreading, plus it increases the crumb strength and increases the tender texture of the cookie.
- Cinnamon: I used Ceylon Cinnamon. It is both healthy and delicious and adds a warm accent of flavor to these Coffee Cake Cookies.
- Unsalted Butter: The biggest benefit of unsalted butter lets you control the overall flavor of your cookies, plus you get the pure sweet flavor of butter in the cookies.
- Brown Sugar: I use light brown sugar, but you can easily substitute dark brown sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: granulated sugar adds to the crispiness of the cookie, and makes for a lighter colored cookie.
- Vanilla: Vanilla is a must in cookies, it adds a complex and subtle spice, and I always recommend using real vanilla extract.
- Egg & 1 egg yolk: The protein in eggs adds to a chewy texture, so adding an extra yolk, gives the cookie the extra chewiness that makes these cookies perfect.
- For the streusel you’ll need softened butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- For the icing you’ll need: melted butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Step by Step Directions
This recipe is inspired by the popular thumbprint cookie! It’s like eating coffee cake, but without the hassle of making an entire cake!
- Prepare the streusel filling: combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together. Then work in the butter until small clumps form. Refrigerate.
- Make the cookie dough next. This cookie dough for this recipe is my snickerdoodle cookie base, without the white chocolate chips.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
- Roll cookie dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.
- Make an indent in each cookie, using your thumb or the end of a spoon/spatula or something similar. (I used the end of a wooden juicer).
- Spoon ~1 Tbsp. of the streusel filling in each cookie and bake for ~9-11 minutes.
- Fill the center of each cookie with a little more streusel filling once they’re baked.
- Cool for a few minutes. Make the icing and once cookies are cooled, drizzle icing over the tops.
Expert Tips
- Mix the streusel topping and then place it in the refrigerator until ready to use. This will keep the streusel topping consistency we want. The streusel can also be made up to three days in advance and stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
- You can double the streusel to have extra streusel topping to garnish the cookies with after they bake.
- Make certain that the unsalted butter for the cookie dough is cold and cubed. There is a case to be made when to use cold butter in cookies especially if you are looking for a crisp texture with a tender center.
- Using a mixture of all-purpose flour and cake flour gives the cookies just the right tender, cake-y center.
- Ice the cookies only after they are completely cool.
- For added texture to the streusel add shredded coconut, or finely chopped pecans or walnuts.
FAQ
Cookies will stay fresh for up to 3 days, but make sure they are stored in an air tight container. If refrigerated, they will last up to a week, and up to 3 months in the freezer.
How do I make homemade cake flour?
Substitute ¾ of a cup of all-purpose flour, and remove 2 tablespoons. Then add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the flour. Sift the flour and cornstarch twice so that it aerates the mixture so that it will have the consistency of cake flour.
Can I make these gluten free?
Yes! Replace both the All-Purpose flour and Cake flour with: Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
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Ingredients
For the streusel
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 5 Tbsp. softened butter, unsalted
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cake flour
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 8 Tbsp. cold butter, unsalted, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
Icing
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- 3 Tbsp. heavy cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- pinch salt
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prepare the streusel filling: In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together. Then work in the butter until small clumps form. (I just use my fingers to work it together). Refrigerate.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl: all purpose flour, cake flour, corn starch, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Place the cubed butter and sugars into the bowl of a stand mixer and secure the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on and cream until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and blend until mixed. Use a rubber spatula to knock off mixture if any is sticking to the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Gradually add in the dry ingredients, about 1/4 cup at a time. Mix until incorporated.
- Scoop and roll cookie dough into ~8 large balls, or smaller if preferred. Place on prepared baking sheets.
- Make an indent in each cookie, using your thumb or the end of a spoon/spatula or something similar. (I used the end of a wooden juicer).
- Spoon ~1 Tbsp. of the streusel filling in each cookie and bake for ~9-11 minutes, or until edges appear set and are slightly golden. (They will continue to bake a bit more on the pan after you pull them out so pull them out just before you think they're done so they don't over-bake/become dry.)
- *Optional step to get cookies perfectly circular: Immediatley after the cookies come out of the oven, place a circular cookie cutter or a circular drinking glass around one of the cookies (it should be larger than the cookie so you don’t cut off any edges) and give the cookies a spin. Swirling the cookie should help to smooth out any uneven edges.
- If you have any leftover streusel, top the centers of each cookie with a little more streusel filling, if desired. Let cookies rest on cookie sheet for ~5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the icing and once the cookies are cooled, drizzle icing over the tops and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Make the streusel up to three days in advance and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
- You can also double the streusel so you have extra streusel topping to garnish the cookies with after they bake, if needed.
- Ice the cookies only after they are completely cool.
- For added texture to the streusel add shredded coconut, or finely chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Store cookies in at room temperature in an air tight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
I made these for a work potluck, the theme was “Farmer’s Market” and I wrapped them in individual bags tied with some bakers twine & burlap string with cute little “coffee cake cookie” tag with a link to the recipe at the bottom. I was told they were “heaven in a bag” and “better than Crumbl”. My new favorite cookie!!! I’ll send you a picture on insta 🙂
How cute!!!!! amazing, can’t wait to see thank you sooo much! 🙂 You can also upload photos here in the comments too just so you know ❤️
Hello, would these still turn out if I do not have cake flour? Thanks
yes just use all purpose in its place:)
I made these for a coworkers birthday and they were delicious! I made smaller cookies than instructed. I ended up with 18 total and used a teaspoon to depress in the center then filled the teaspoon with the topping and dumped it in the center. Worked great.
AMAZING! I am so glad 🙂 thank you!!
This recipe is such a keeper! I can’t even believe how good these are. My kids didn’t even think I made them! My oldest is in the Marines and told me I better make them when he comes home after everything his brother told him. They are the perfect about if soft and crispy. Seriously a new go-to recipe!
Awww I am sooo glad!! Thank you!! 🙂 they look gorg!!
Hi! I wanted to add more streusel for appearance sake after baking so its not so melted looking. I saw your option recommended to do that but…dont I need to heat treat the flour since it wont be baked again? I obviously dont want to make anybody sick. Thanks!
Hi Beth! Good point. I heat treat my flours in this post here if you need any guidance! https://krollskorner.com/recipes/desserts/edible-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-recipe/
Wow! Just made these cookies for the first time tonight and I can honestly say they are the best tasting cookie I have ever had!! Soft chewy cookie, loaded with delicious cinnamon streusel topped with vanilla glaze….just heavenly. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. This is a keeper for sure!
Yayyy I am so glad you enjoyed them, thank you!!! 🙂 they look great!!
These are amazing cookies!! Made them for a bake sale fundraiser for my daughter’s nursing class, they were an overwhelming hit, I had to make more the next day! Made them for coffee after church, and was told they were “the perfect cookie”. Making them today, to freeze for our fall fair baking table next weekend. Thank you for the awesome recipe.
I am so glad they were a hit!! Thank you so much 🙂
Made these for the family tonight and everyone loved them! Even my husband who is not a big dessert guy said it was delicious. I made them smaller and the serving was perfect. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you!
They’re gorgeous! So glad you’re hubby loved them too 🙂 thank you!!
I made these cookies a few times now, single batch and a triple batch. Every single person who had one couldn’t stop talking about them! This recipe is absolutely amazing! Thank you for posting! 😊
Wow, that is amazing!! Thank you so so much!
I’ve been recently getting into cooking and made these for my family. My mom said these were the best cookies she’d had! I make these for her when I can, the recipe is straightforward and great! The only thing I’d recommend is a bit less flour in the dough and making more icing than the recipe calls for, though that may be personal taste. Other than that these are perfect!
Aw, what a great compliment! Thanks so much for making them. And I am always team more icing!! 🙂
Wow! This is the 3rd recipe I’ve tried from you and these are just as amazing. Mine don’t look exactly the same because I think I overmixed the streusel part. But man they are DELICIOUS .
Aw I am so so glad! Thanks Erin, so glad you’re enjoying the recipes!