These easy Cinnamon Biscuits are soft, buttery and packed with warming cinnamon and ginger. Ready in just over 20 minutes, they're perfect for Christmas baking with kids, decorating with festive icing or giving as homemade gifts.
Getting the Christmas biscuit cutters out is one of our favourite festive activities. The kids love choosing the shapes and, of course, decorating them afterwards! Oh, and eating them!
These are a softer biscuit rather than a crunchy one, with just the right amount of spice. There's no chilling required either, so they're great when you want a quick Christmas bake.
Recipe update: This recipe was originally published on 2 November 2021 and was fully retested in October 2026 to check the cooking time and ingredient quantities. The original recipe still worked well, but I've expanded the instructions, tips and FAQs.
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Why You'll Love Them
- Quick and easy - Made with simple baking ingredients and ready in just over 20 minutes. No chilling required.
- Festive flavours - Cinnamon, ginger and brown sugar give these biscuits a delicious warming flavour that's perfect for Christmas.
- Great for kids - Little hands can help mix, roll, cut out festive shapes and decorate the finished biscuits.
- Perfect for gifting - These Christmas cinnamon biscuits look lovely wrapped in little bags with ribbon, especially with some festive icing.
- Easy to adapt - Adjust the spices, change the biscuit shapes or decorate them with chocolate.
Recipe Overview
- Texture: Soft, buttery cut-out biscuits that firm up as they cool, rather than crunchy, crisp biscuits.
- Flavour: Warming cinnamon with a little ginger, vanilla and brown sugar for a lovely festive flavour.
- Method: A simple dough that can be rolled and cut straight away, with no chilling required.
- Baking: Roll to approximately 5 mm thick and bake for 12-15 minutes. The biscuits will still feel soft when they first come out of the oven.
- Yield: Makes approximately 20 biscuits, depending on the size of your cutters.
Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Plain flour - Also known as all-purpose flour. You can use self-raising flour and leave out the baking powder, although we prefer plain flour for this recipe.
- Baking powder - Gives the biscuits a little lift and helps create their soft texture.
- Cinnamon - The main flavour in these cinnamon biscuits. We use 2 teaspoons for a lovely warming flavour, but you can reduce it if you prefer something more subtle.
- Ground ginger - Adds another layer of festive spice. You can leave it out and add a little extra cinnamon instead.
- Light brown sugar - Gives the biscuits a lovely flavour and helps keep them soft.
- Butter - We use unsalted butter, softened to make it easier to beat together with the sugar.
- Egg - A medium egg works best for the consistency of this tested recipe.
- Vanilla extract - Adds a little extra sweetness and warmth to the flavour.
How to Make Cinnamon Biscuits
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.
- Mix the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix. Sieve in the flour and baking powder, then add the cinnamon and ginger.
- Mix everything together to form a ball of dough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out to approximately 5 mm (¼ inch) thick.
- Use biscuit cutters to cut out your chosen shapes and place them onto a lined baking tray.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking tray before decorating.
Decorating Christmas Cinnamon Biscuits
These cinnamon Christmas biscuits are delicious just as they are, but decorating them is half the fun, especially when you're baking with kids. We love making stars, Christmas trees and little gingerbread people, but you can use any cutters you have.
For a simple finish, dust the cooled biscuits with a little icing sugar. Or try one of these festive ideas:
- Festive sprinkles - Let the kids decorate with colourful Christmas sprinkles while the icing is still wet.
- Orange icing - Mix icing sugar with a little fresh orange juice until you have a consistency you can drizzle over the biscuits. Orange and cinnamon are such a lovely Christmas combination.
- Cinnamon icing - Add a pinch of ground cinnamon to your icing for an extra warming flavour.
- Chocolate dipped - Dip half of each cooled biscuit into melted dark chocolate and leave to set.
Serving Suggestions
These biscuits are perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, but we especially love them with a warming festive drink. For a cosy Christmas afternoon, serve them with our slow cooker hot chocolate or Christmas snowman hot chocolate, which the kids will love.
They also go really well with our mulled apple juice, cinnamon mocha or chai tea latte.
If you're putting together a homemade Christmas food gift, wrap a few cooled biscuits in a clear gift bag with ribbon and pair them with our easy hot chocolate spoons and maybe some slow cooker chocolate fudge.
Storage
Store: Keep the cinnamon biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They're best eaten within the first 2 days, as they will gradually soften. If you've decorated them with icing, allow it to set completely before storing.
Freeze: You can freeze the unbaked biscuit shapes. Arrange them on a lined baking tray and freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container for up to a month. Thaw in the fridge before baking following the usual instructions.
Make ahead: You can prepare the biscuits ahead of a Christmas party and decorate them closer to serving. This is especially useful if the kids want to help with the decorating.
Dannii's Top Tips
- Don't overbake - These biscuits will still feel soft when they come out of the oven and will firm up as they cool. We find around 13 minutes works perfectly in our oven, but baking times can vary.
- Weigh the flour - For the most consistent dough, use kitchen scales rather than measuring cups, and use a medium egg as specified in the recipe.
- Keep the thickness even - Roll the dough to approximately 5 mm thick so the biscuits bake evenly. Thicker biscuits may need slightly longer.
- Make smaller biscuits - Use mini cutters for bite-sized Christmas biscuits. Just keep an eye on them in the oven, as smaller biscuits may cook more quickly.
- Let them cool before decorating - Icing and melted chocolate are much easier to work with once the biscuits have completely cooled.
Troubleshooting Guide
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Dough looks crumbly | Ingredients haven't fully combined, or too much flour has been measured. | Weigh the flour accurately and continue mixing until a ball of dough forms, as shown in the step-by-step photos. |
| Dough is too sticky to roll | The butter or dough has become too warm. | Lightly flour the work surface and rolling pin. If very soft, chill briefly to make handling easier. |
| Biscuits lose their shape | The dough is too warm or the oven isn't fully preheated. | Work quickly when cutting out the shapes and make sure the oven is at the correct temperature before baking. |
| Biscuits bake unevenly | The dough has been rolled to different thicknesses. | Aim for an even 5 mm thickness and bake similarly sized shapes together. |
| Biscuits are hard or dry | They've been rolled too thinly or overbaked. | Check from 12 minutes and remove while still slightly soft. They'll firm up as they cool. |
| Icing runs off the biscuits | The biscuits are still warm or the icing is too thin. | Allow the biscuits to cool completely and add a little more icing sugar to thicken the icing. |
Frequently Asked Questions
These are a soft cinnamon biscuit rather than a crunchy, snappy biscuit. They will feel particularly soft when they first come out of the oven but firm up as they cool. Avoid baking them for too long, as they can become dry.
No, this recipe doesn't require any chilling. Once you've mixed the dough together, you can roll it out, cut into shapes and bake straight away. This makes them ideal for quick Christmas baking.
I haven't tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but you could try a good-quality gluten-free plain flour blend designed for baking as a like-for-like substitute. The texture and handling of the dough may be different, so I can't guarantee identical results.
This recipe makes approximately 20 biscuits, depending on the size of your cutters and how thickly you roll the dough. Smaller cutters are great if you're making mini Christmas biscuits for a party or homemade gifts.
More Biscuit Recipes
If you've tried this cinnamon biscuits recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy and use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Cinnamon Biscuits
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 100 g (½ cup) of Light brown sugar
- 125 g (4 ½ oz) of Butter
- 1 Egg
- ½ teaspoon of Vanilla extract
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) of Plain flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of Ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.
- Mix 100 g of Light brown sugar and 125 g of Butter together in a large mixing bowl until smooth.
- Add 1 Egg and ½ teaspoon of Vanilla extract and mix. Sieve in 300 g of Plain flour and 2 teaspoons Baking powder, then add 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of Ground ginger.
- Mix everything together to form a ball of dough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out to approximately 5 mm (¼ inch) thick.
- Use biscuit cutters to cut out your chosen shapes and place them onto a lined baking tray.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking tray before decorating.
Recipe Notes
- Don't overbake - These biscuits will still feel soft when they come out of the oven and will firm up as they cool. We find around 13 minutes works perfectly in our oven, but baking times can vary.
- Weigh the flour - For the most consistent dough, use kitchen scales rather than measuring cups, and use a medium egg as specified in the recipe.
- Keep the thickness even - Roll the dough to approximately 5 mm thick so the biscuits bake evenly. Thicker biscuits may need slightly longer.
- Add chocolate - Dip half of each cooled biscuit in melted dark chocolate for something a little more indulgent.
- Make smaller biscuits - Use mini cutters for bite-sized Christmas biscuits. Just keep an eye on them in the oven, as smaller biscuits may cook more quickly.
- Let them cool before decorating - Icing and melted chocolate are much easier to work with once the biscuits have completely cooled.
Nutritional Information
Where nutritional information is provided, it is approximate and calculated using online tools. Values can vary depending on the ingredients and brands used, but we endeavour to be as accurate as possible.
All timings are a guide and may vary depending on the ingredients, equipment and, where relevant, the appliance used. Changing the serving size may also affect the time needed.
Liz says
I thought I followed the recipe very carefully and yet the dough was very dry… I even tried to add a little bit more butter, but it didn’t seem to help. It never came together. What am I doing wrong?
HWykes says
These are absolutely delicious! I didn't have any ginger so used a little bit more cinnamon, and topped them with a little drizzle of icing. I can't believe how quick and easy these are to make, will definitely be making again! Thanks for a great recipe!
Dannii Martin says
Extra cinnamon is never a bad thing - thanks for letting us know your adaption. I am glad you enjoyed them.
raquel roberts says
Hi there,
Is there anyway making this gluten free?
I'm not a baker at all- so any advise would be great.
Thanks
Dannii Martin says
I haven't tried it myself, but you should just be able to do a like for like swap with gluten free flour.
Jessica Stroup says
SO good! These may be my kiddos new favorite cookie!
Danielle Wolter says
Just perfect for the holidays! I just love cookies with cinnamon.
Charlotte says
Myself an my 12 year old daughter made these together we added some cinnamon icing sugar. Lovely will make more soon.
sonia says
Cinnamon cookies we always make at Christmas time.
They are really good
Mandy Applegate says
These cinnamon biscuits are SO good, my whole family love them.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
I've been looking for more Christmas baking idea and I love the idea of making the orange icing!
MJ says
These cookies are so easy to make, and so delicious! Can't wait to wrap some up for friends to the holidays!
Jess says
I love that these are just different enough than a regular sugar cookie that we can cut out and enjoy!
Sue says
We're adding this cookie to our holiday collection this year ~ and definitely trying the orange icing!
Keri says
These cinnamon biscuits were so tasty. Thank you for another great recipe.