Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookies Made with Leftover Pie Crust
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Today, I’m sharing my family’s favorite recipe for using up leftover pie crust: Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheel Cookies. These cookies taste amazing—just like a little cinnamon bun wrapped up in a flaky pie crust.
Everyone will love these cookies!
Why Make These Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookies
Making Memories in the Kitchen
Some of my best memories growing up were the times our Grandmother would visit, and she always let us help her make a big batch of her famous Homemade Banana Pudding.
I want to make sure my kids will have fond memories of us baking and having fun in the kitchen, too. These Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookies are a perfect recipe to make with the kids. Rolling out the dough, mixing the cinnamon and sugar, and mixing the glaze ingredients is the perfect job for little hands.
What to do With Leftover Pie Crusts
I’ve never been a from-scratch baker (although I will if the recipe or occasion calls for it). I definitely prefer to use store-bought pie crusts, biscuits, and cake mixes. To me, it’s all about choosing my battles and saving time on mundane tasks. I have several great shortcut dessert recipes, but my favorite might be this shortcut tres leches poke cake.
You know where I am going with this, right?
This cinnamon pinwheel cookie recipe is completely made with leftover premade pie crusts! I always seem to have leftover pie crust in the fridge after a marathon baking session, and it’s a family tradition to make these Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheels with the leftover crust.
Let me just say—these Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookies taste even better than they look!! They’re like little cinnamon buns wrapped up in a flaky pie crust. The butter and sugar will crystalize a bit on the baking sheet, so you get these tiny little delicious crunchy bits of buttery cinnamon sugar that melt in your mouth.
Don’t the cinnamon pinwheel cookies look amazing? And they are so easy to make! For this recipe, all you need are four basic ingredients.
Ingredients in Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheel Cookies made with pie crust
(Ingredients at a glance, get the full printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- Pie crust | Homemade or pre-made (If using premade frozen, let the crust rest on the counter for 10 to 20 minutes to thaw.)
- Butter | I like salted butter, but unsalted is ok too. Just sprinkle a pinch of salt over the buttered pie crust.
- Cinnamon | Powdered, make sure it is fresh. (No 10-year old expired cinnamon, please.)
- Brown Sugar | Light brown sugar. In a pinch, equal amounts of white sugar will work fine as a brown sugar replacement.
- Optional | Ingredients for a glaze: confectioners sugar, vanilla extract, milk
How to Make Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookies
1 Prep: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set it aside.
2 Roll out the pie crust: Sprinkle a bit of flour on the countertop and then roll the pie crust into an oblong shape, flattening it just a bit. Coat the pie crust with melted butter and generously sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the buttered pie crust.
3 Shape the cookies: Starting at one end, roll the leftover pie crust into a log. For best results, place the cinnamon sugar pinwheel log in the freezer for about ten minutes. After it has chilled, slice the rolled cinnamon-sugared pie crust into 1/2-inch slices. Gently roll the cookies flat.
4 Bake: Gently transfer the pinwheel to a baking sheet and bake for 8 to 12 minutes. (Or until crust is golden brown and cooked through.) Let cookies cool on the pan for a minute or two then transfer to a cooling rack.
5 To make optional icing: Mix the powdered sugar with vanilla and the milk, starting with one tablespoon of milk and adding more as needed. You want the drizzle to be thick, but still pourable. (I recommend erring on the thick side – I thought mine turned out a bit thin.) If you think yours is too thin, just add a bit more powdered sugar.
Once the cookies are cool, drizzle with the icing.
Yum!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t Skip the Chilling of the dough. It helps the cookies keep their round shape when cutting.
- Use lots of flour when slicing the cookies to help keep them from sticking to the counter.
- Make sure your oven rack is in the middle-height position. The cinnamon sugar on the bottom of the cookies can quickly go from caramelized to burnt.
- Rolling the pinwheels flat before cooking is not 100% necessary. I found that rolling the cookies made for a crispier cookie and helped the pinwheel “stay together.”
- I definitely recommended the icing- it puts the Cinnamon Pinwheels over the top! The icing makes the cookies taste like little cinnamon rolls in a cookie form.
- This recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
Pinwheel Cookie Variations
- Add pecan pieces or other nuts.
- A fun twist on these cookies would be to swap out the brown sugar for colored sanding sugar. How fun would these be in red or green at Christmas, pretty pastels at easter, or bright red and blue for the 4th of July!
- Use white sugar and cocoa powder for a chocolate swirl pinwheel cookie.
Storage Suggestions
Store cinnamon pinwheel cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up a week.
FAQ’s
Can These Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookies Be Made Ahead Of Time?
Yes! If using homemade pie crusts, the crusts can be made a few days ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
You can also store the unbaked cinnamon pinwheel cookies in the log form. Wrap tightly and store in the fridge for 2 to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Can this recipe be doubled?
The pinwheel cookie recipe, as written, is for one pie crust, but it can definitely be doubled if you have two.
Can I use Homemade pie crust for these cookies?
yes, if you have homemade, feel free to use it,
Pin this Cinnamon Pinwheel Cookie recipe for later.
More Cookie and sweet Treats
- Santa’s Whiskers Cookies
- Soft Lofthouse Style Christmas Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Sugar Cookies
- St Patrick’s Day Cookies
- Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
- Saltine Cracker Toffee
Tried this recipe?
Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. If you share an image on Instagram or Facebook, be sure to tag me and use #scatteredmomrecipes!
Easy Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheel Cookies
Print
Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheel Cookies
- Prep Time: 25 minutes (includes chilling time)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 16 to 18 cookies per pie crust 1x
- Category: desserts
- Method: oven
Description
Cinnamon Sugar Pinwheel Cookies: the best recipe for using up leftover pie crust & they taste like a delicious cinnamon bun wrapped up in a flaky pie crust.
Ingredients
Cookies
- One refrigerated Pillsbury Pie Crust
- 1/8 cup melted butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- flour for dusting
Optional Icing Drizzle:
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 –2 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Roll out pie crust into an oblong shape, flattening it just a bit.
- Coat pie crust with butter.
- Generously sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over buttered crust.
- Starting at one end, roll up pie crust.
- Slice rolled cinnamon sugared pie crust into 1/2 inch slices with a serrated knife.
- On a well-floured surface, with a rolling pin, gently roll each pinwheel flat. If you find that the “tail ” of the crust is sticking out, just tuck it under while rolling. Be sure to flour the rolling pin to keep the pinwheels from sticking.
- Gently transfer the pinwheel to a baking sheet and bake for 8 to 12 minutes. (Or until crust is golden brown and cooked through.)
- Let cookies cool on the pan for a minute or two then transfer to a cooling rack.
- To make optional icing (Cookies are great as is, but I definitely recommended the icing- it puts them over the top!) Mix the powdered sugar with vanilla and the milk, starting with one tablespoon of milk and adding more as needed. You want the drizzle to be thick, but still pourable. (I recommend erring on the thick side – I thought mine turned out a bit thin.) If you think yours is too thin, just add a bit more powdered sugar.
- Once the cookies are cool, drizzle with the icing.
Notes
nutrition calculated without icing
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 72
- Fat: 4
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Protein: 0
Now it’s your turn! I would love to know your favorite way to use up leftover pie crust. Let us know in the comment section below.
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