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Low-Calorie Cinnamon Roll Cookies (Protein-Packed)

What if I told you that you can enjoy all the flavors you love from a cinnamon roll in a tasty cookie?

Now, what if I told you that cookie is also low-calorie, low-carb, gluten-free, and high-protein?

If you’re in disbelief, I don’t blame ya. But I’d like to introduce you to your new favorite breakfast cookie…

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

No matter what your dietary preferences are, these cinnamon roll cookies deliver!

Plus, how fun do they look? If you want a cookie recipe to impress your guests with, this is definitely it.

Cinnamon Roll Protein Cookies

The cookies are a cross between a soft sugar cookie and a delicate shortbread cookie. I didn’t want the cookie itself to be overly sweet, since we’re rolling it up with cinnamon sugar in the middle, and I believe I’ve found the perfect balance.

This recipe makes 15 cookies, and each one has just 75 calories, 4 grams of net carbs, and 4 grams of protein.

You can enjoy three of these cinnamon roll cookies for just over 200 calories and 12 grams of protein… not bad!

 

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Cookies

The main ingredients for this cinnamon roll cookie dough are oat flour, almond flour, and protein powder.

I prefer to use oat flour in most of my cookie recipes because I love the flavor, and it just so happens to work well for anyone trying to eat gluten-free. Oat flour also helps to give these cookies structure, which is extremely important for this one.

Since we’re going to be rolling the dough, we don’t want the cookie dough to be too soft. If we were to use only almond flour, the dough would be very soft and difficult to work with.

If you have specific substitution questions, feel free to leave me a comment below and I’ll do my best to help.

In any case, making the dough is as simple as mixing everything together in a large bowl. Once you have your cookie dough, you’ll add it to a sheet of parchment paper and press it down into a rectangle.

Cinnamon roll cookie dough

We’re going to melt one tablespoon of butter in the microwave to brush over the top of the dough, then sprinkle cinnamon & brown sugar over the top.

This should look very similar to the process for making my Protein Cinnamon Rolls.

Cinnamon roll cookie dough with filling

Now, just like with regular cinnamon rolls, we’re going to roll the dough up so the two smaller sides come together.

Slowly and carefully roll the dough and repair any cracks along the way. It’s okay if the dough is not perfectly smooth (don’t expect it to be) but you’ll want to repair any major breaks.

Don’t worry, since the cookie dough is soft, it’ll be easy to pinch it back together.

Rolled up cinnamon roll cookie dough

Once the cookie dough is completely rolled up, refrigerate the dough for one hour.

This chilling time is necessary to allow the cookie dough to firm up so we can slice it into cookies. It will also help the cookies to keep their shape as they bake since chilled dough does not spread quite as much.

Once the cookie dough has chilled, slice it up into 15 cookies.

Broken cinnamon roll cookies

If any of the cookies fall apart on you, don’t worry! You can easily pinch them back together on your baking sheet and nobody would ever know the difference.

Cinnamon roll cookies on baking sheet

As you can see, they’re not all perfect, but they’re good enough!

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes.

Remove the cinnamon roll cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes to fully firm up.

Cinnamon roll protein cookie

I love these cinnamon roll cookies as is, but if you want to take them over the top, you can add some icing over the top as well!

You can use pre-made frosting or icing for these, but I like to make a very quick & easy icing by mixing together some powdered sugar and milk to drizzle over the top.

I don’t measure the amounts I use, I simply mix them together until I have the perfect consistency to spoon over the top.

Cinnamon roll cookies with icing

The extra icing helps to create that authentic cinnamon roll look, but you certainly do not need it! Without the icing, these cookies still have that cinnamon roll flavor we’re after.

Bite of cinnamon roll cookie

These cinnamon roll cookies will remain nice and soft, even as leftovers! Keep your leftover cookies stored in an airtight container and enjoy them throughout the week.

That is if you can resist finishing them all fresh out of the oven.

 

More Cinnamon Sugar Recipes to Explore

If you try these cinnamon roll cookies and find yourself craving even more cinnamon sugar, I’ve got a ton of amazing healthy recipes for you to explore.

These aren’t all of them, but here are some of my favorites:

 

Cinnamon roll protein cookie

Low-Calorie Cinnamon Roll Cookies (Protein-Packed)

Yield: Cookies15
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Inactive Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes

Not only are these cinnamon roll cookies extremely fun, but they're only 75 calories each, low-carb, gluten-free, and packed with protein!

Ingredients

Ingredients for Cookies

Ingredients for Filling

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients for your sugar cookies.
  2. Add the butter and vanilla extract, then mix everything together until cookie dough forms.
  3. Add the cookie dough to a sheet of parchment paper, then flatten the cookie dough into a rectangle. You can use a rolling pin, but I like to press it down with my hands.
  4. Melt one tablespoon of butter in the microwave, then brush the top of the cookie dough sheet with the melted butter.
  5. Combine the brown sugar substitute and cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle that over the butter to cover the entire cookie dough sheet.
  6. Carefully roll the cookie dough toward you starting from the long side of the rectangle directly across from you (in other words, we want the two shorter sides of the rectangle to roll towards each other). Note: It's perfectly okay for the cookie dough to crack while rolling it up. You can use your hands to easily repair any major breaks, but small cracks in the dough are totally fine.
  7. Place the rolled cookie dough in the fridge for one hour to allow it to firm up.
  8. Once the dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  9. Slice your cookie dough log into 15 cookies and place them on a baking sheet. If the cookies break while cutting, you can press them back together before baking.
  10. Bake your cinnamon roll cookies at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes.
  11. Remove the cookies and allow them to fully cool. Enjoy as is, or make a simple icing by combining powdered sugar and milk to drizzle over the top.

Notes

  • These cookies keep very well as leftovers in an airtight container to enjoy throughout the week.
  • I have not tested this cookie recipe with any other type of protein powder, so I cannot guarantee results with a different type.
  • You can use regular butter in place of light butter- if anything, it may even work better, but obviously, it will kick the calorie & fat content way up. If you do use regular butter, you may not need to use quite as much.
  • Since the ingredients in these cookies are all safe to eat raw, feel free to taste the dough and adjust the sweetness if needed. These cookies are purposely not overly sweet since we are adding filling, but you can adjust for your tastes.

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Nutrition Information
Yield 15 Serving Size 1 Cookie
Amount Per Serving Calories 75Total Fat 4gCarbohydrates 6gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 4g

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Share The Love

Jana

Sunday 11th of June 2023

These are amazing! Can I freeze leftovers?

Matt

Monday 19th of June 2023

I don't see why not! Giving them a quick thaw in the microwave should work great

LC

Thursday 1st of June 2023

I really like your site and I want to make your recipes but it's hard and very time consuming because of the grams measurements.Could you please include U.S. measurements in your recipes? Thank you.

Matt

Thursday 1st of June 2023

I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but for me and my recipes, using grams is significantly easier. High-protein recipes require precise measurements, so I use a food scale to measure grams for my recipes and there isn't always going to be a perfect conversion to cups or spoons unfortunately.

Brett Johnson

Wednesday 31st of May 2023

Any substitute for the almond flour? Having a nut allergy sucks😵😵

Matt

Thursday 1st of June 2023

Ah man, I'm sorry! You can use more oat flour instead. All the almond flour does is to help make the cookies a bit softer since it's a higher fat flour, but it won't affect the cookies themselves. Without it, the cookies may be a bit more dry, but it shouldnt be detrimental

Jamie Fasino

Thursday 25th of March 2021

LOVE these.. have made them twice and they come out great. Don't taste like a protein treat at all. I actually swapped half of the butter for nonfat Greek yogurt and they still came out great! Will make again for sure.

Matt

Tuesday 20th of October 2020

Favorite dessert you ever made?! I like that!

About Matt Rosenman

With over 15 years of experience in health and fitness, Matt Rosenman is the expert voice behind Cheatdaydesign.com. Matt’s philosophy is simple: no foods are off-limits, and a healthy lifestyle shouldn't be complicated or restrictive. As a former certified personal trainer with a bachelor’s degree in Health Behavioral Sciences, Matt brings well-rounded expertise to his blog. From revamping classic recipes with a nutritious twist to breaking down fast food menus, his goal is make healthy living less confusing for everyone. Featured in major publications and with a strong following on social media, Matt is committed to making “healthy” uncomplicated—no matter where you are in your health journey. Join Matt on his mission to simplify health without sacrificing flavor. Learn More

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