Love cinnamon rolls? You need to give these cinnamon roll blondies a go! Soft, chewy and finished with cream cheese frosting. Perfect for a mid-morning cosy treat, or topped with pecan ice-cream for a warming dessert.

About these Cinnamon Roll Blondies
- FLAVOUR: warming cinnamon, caramelised brown sugar and cream cheese frosting. Cosy flavours in every bite!
- TEXTURE: soft in the middle, chewy on the outside.
- EASE: no fancy ingredients or equipment needed. These blondies are quick and easy to make.
- PERFECT FOR: a mid-morning treat with a hot cuppa, or try them topped with pecan ice cream for a delicious dessert!

What makes them cinnamon roll blondies?
There are three things that make these blondies cinnamon roll flavoured:
- Cinnamon spice is added to the blondie mixture – giving the blondies that warming, cosy flavour.
- Cinnamon-sugar filling – a mixture of melted butter, light brown sugar and ground cinnamon. The filling is layered between the blondie batter, which once baked has a gooey texture and a caramelised flavour just like the filling of a cinnamon bread roll.
- Cream cheese frosting – cinnamon rolls aren’t cinnamon rolls without the frosting! The blondies are pretty sweet so I chose to just drizzle the frosting on top, but by all means, feel free to spread a layer on top instead.


Let’s talk about the baking time
The baking time is the one thing that will either make or break these blondies. Overbaked = dry and cakey. Underbaked = wet and greasy. After a lot of trial and error, I found that 25 minutes at 180°C (fan) was the sweet spot. But, here’s the tricky part… every oven is different and the type of baking tin you’re using will make a difference to the baking time too. So here’s what to look out for:
- The blondies should be set and golden on top
- Small cracks should be visible around the edges
- The middle of the blondies should jiggle a little
Check on the blondies after 22 minutes (only open the door a little so the hot air doesn’t escape) and if the blondies aren’t ready, continue to bake for 2 minutes at a time.
One more thing… if you’ve found that your oven tends to bake things quickly or on the flip side takes ages to bake, it might be worth purchasing an oven thermometer gadget. It sits inside the oven and will give you an accurate temperature reading. You might find that you’re setting your oven to 180°C (fan) but the actual temperature is much higher or lower.

Quick links to equipment
Follow me on social media
Follow me on social media for recipe videos, baking chat and food photography tips.

Cinnamon Roll Blondies
Ingredients
For the blondie mixture
For the cinnamon sugar mixture
- 50 g Unsalted butter
- 50 g Light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon
For the cream cheese frosting
- 25 g Unsalted butter soft at room temperature
- 50 g Icing sugar
- 25 g Full-fat cream cheese cold from the fridge
Instructions
Start by making the cinnamon sugar mixture
- In a small bowl combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Microwave for 10-20 seconds until the butter melts, then stir everything together. Set aside for now.
Now make the blondie mixture
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) and line an 8inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper. Set aside for now.
- Place the butter in a large bowl and melt in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until it turns to liquid.
- Add both sugars, the eggs and vanilla extract and use a whisk to combine everything together.
- Now add the flour, cinnamon and salt, and use a spatula to fold together until combined.
- Pour half of the blondie mixture into the baking tin and spread to the edges. Dollop spoonfuls of the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top and spread out. Top with the rest of the blondie mixture and spread to the edges.
- Bake for 22-28 minutes*. The blondies should be set and golden on top, with small cracks showing around the edge and the middle should jiggle a little.
- Leave to cool in the baking tin for 30 minutes, then pop in the fridge to set and cool completely for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting
- First cream the butter until really soft, smooth and pale in colour. Sift in the icing sugar and beat again until smooth. Now take the cream cheese out of the fridge, add it to the bowl and gently fold together until combined. Be careful not to overdo it, as the frosting can quickly turn runny.
- Once the blondies are cool, lift them out of the baking tin and drizzle the cream cheese frosting on top.
Notes
More brownies recipes to love
This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase through those links. I only recommend products that I know, trust and use myself.
This recipe looks delicious and a wonderful alternative to cinnamon rolls. The instructions say add “both” sugars. I only see one listed? Does the blondie mixture call for both brown and white sugar?
Good spot! You only need to use light brown sugar 😊
Christmas in my mouth!! Made these twice and everything about them is perfect, the blondies, the cinnamon-filling, and with the yummy frosting on top, plus so easy to make- really checked all the boxes ✅
What a lovely comment Silja 🥰 thank you so much! Really happy to hear that you loved them so much, you baked them twice. Have a lovely Christmas x
Hi there I have always baked cakes, brownies and blondies at 160 for a fan assisted oven. Please can you confirm if this recipe would be ok to be baked at 160 fan? Thanks in advance.
Hi Sadika. I also bake cakes at 160 fan, but tend to bake brownies and blondies at 180. You can bake them at 160 but increase the baking time by 3-5 minutes because the oven won’t be as hot and the blondies won’t cook as quickly. Hope that helps 🙂
[…] that I switch between depending on what I’m trying to capture. The photographs below of my Cinnamon Roll Blondies show the difference between each lens and how I use them to shoot different […]
Please, how size is the baking tray? Thanks
Hi Camila, it’s an 8×8 inch square baking tin.