Cinnamon Logs
Of all my grandma’s cookies recipes, I think cinnamon logs was her favorite. Probably because she created this recipe with her mother. Yes, this is a Grandma Bess original cookie recipe! My great grandmother would bake these cookies when my grandma was a little girl. When Bess was baking cookies for her own children (my father and aunts and uncles), she perfected the recipe to make it just how she liked it. Once you try these little gems, I think you will agree that the recipe is perfect! A cinnamon log that just about melts in your mouth!
Another thing that is special about this recipe is that it is also a favorite of my mother (Toby). She loves making this recipe and bringing it to family events. She had made them for bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings, birthday celebrations, holiday meals, and just about every other occasion. I think she likes these cookies because she loves cinnamon and sugar. When I was growing up, we had “cinnamon toast” just about every morning (toast with butter, sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar)! It was simple and quick to make and helped start our days off with the sweet love of our mom ?
The recipe is very simple with just five ingredients. I love that the instructions simply say, “mix together ingredients in the order listed.” How much simpler can you get!?! Once you have all the ingredients mixed together, you’ll notice that the dough is pretty dry. Not surprising since the only liquid is the teaspoon of almond extract. Don’t worry about the dough consistency, it will come together nicely as you begin to roll out and shape your logs.
To form your logs, take a small handful of the dough and mash it together with your hands until the dough is smooth. Form the dough into a cylinder and place it on a flat surface. Roll out the cylinder into a long log about ½ inch thick. You don’t have to be precise on this part as the cookies will bake the same if you have a thin or thick log. I would suggest deciding the thickness you want and then being consistent on the size of the rest of the batch.
Once you have the long log rolled out, take a knife and cut the long log into smaller logs about 1 – 1 ½ inch long. Then shape the end of each small log and place them onto the ungreased cookie sheet and repeat the process. You can place the logs close together on the cookie sheets as they will not expand much during baking. They should bake for at least 25 minutes. To determine if they are done, touch one of the cookies. If they are a bit firm to the touch, they are done.
Once out of the oven, let the cookies cool for a few minutes. Then roll each cookie in sugar before placing on a cooling rack. The cooling is really just so that you don’t burn your fingers when taking the cookies from the pan to the sugar. If you can stand it, you can roll the cookies in sugar right away. Depending on the thickness and length of your logs, you should get about 5 dozen cookies from this recipe.
These cookies are outstanding while still warm, so make sure to sample one before they cool down. They are easy to store and keep in a cookie jar. They also freeze really well!
Cinnamon logs are a fun cookie to make and will definitely please your family and friends! They are great with coffee, ice cream, or by themselves. A great all occasion cookie!
Thank you, Grandma and Mom, for making sure this cookie is part of our baking traditions!
XXOO!
Janet
Cinnamon Logs
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 tsp almond extract
1 Tbs cinnamon
3 Tbs sugar (plus sugar for rolling)
2 cups flour
Instructions
Mix together ingredients in order listed. Shape dough into rolls (logs) about ½ inch in diameter. Cut in little logs about 1 ½ inch long. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 300 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Roll in sugar.
Recipe Yield
makes about 5 dozen 1x
Cookie Category: Molded or Shaped
Cookie Difficulty Rating
Hey…. I am JANET’S dad (Rich).. and have eaten enough of those CINNAMON LOGS, over the years, to make a CINNAMON LOG HOUSE !!!!!!! ALL my mom’s cookies were my favorite, BUT… BUT… this one holds a special place on the list !!!!! THANX, JANET… for featuring this one in the blog…………….
★★★★★
Thank you Dad!! I think this Cinnamon Log recipe will go down in history as a favorite for everyone! Yummy! XXOO, Janet
Hey, this is so great! I love your concept and will certainly try these on my grandchildren. A big hi to Toby and Rich from me, Lynn (in Israel)
Hi Lynn, great to hear from you and thank you for checking out our website and blog! I’m sure your grandchildren will love these cookies, you will too 🙂 XXOO, Janet
So nicely presented. Love the picture of both of you. Are you selling the newly updated book.? Would like to buy some for my girls. I would buy seven. Am so proud of you.
Aunt Toby
Hi Aunt Toby, so glad you like the blog! It’s been really fun figuring out and putting together! We aren’t selling the books at this point, trying to gauge interest through the blog…maybe in the future…thank you for checking us out, stay tuned for the next blog entry! XXOO, Janet
So wonderful to learn that the cookie baking goes all the way back to your great grandma! I love these cinnamon logs… super yum ?!!
I loved these when Grandma Bess made them, ,and I loved them when my mom made them, and I even loved them when I made them. Too bad they aren’t on my diet these days!
Hi Bob, these are the best! And Grandma’s own recipe…melt in your mouth sugary good!
Did you roll these in cinnamon sugar, granulated, or powdered sugar? I’m making them soon and trying to figure out which is best. Thanks!
Hello, just roll them in granulated sugar…no cinnamon needed, it’s already in the cookie dough…let me know how they turn out and how you like them!
Love these cookies! I got the exact recipe over 25 years ago from a dear friend who has long since passed away when she was in her 80’s. My family requests them every year! I was excited to see your story!
Thank you for visiting Cookies by Bess! Please come back again…also, I’d love to know your favorite cookie recipe!
I’ve been making these for over 40 years. Was this published someplace else that long ago?
Hi Katherine, Cookies by Bess Cinnamon Logs recipe was first published in 1960. The recipe published and posted here was perfected by my Grandma Bess…it’s a wonderful cookie that is certainly a crowd pleaser!