These Cinnamon Polar Bears are festive and fun holiday cookies. Dusted with powdered sugar, the soft and fluffy bears have adorable faces complete with cinnamon candy noses and chocolate chip eyes. They’re irresistible Christmas cookies and add cheery fun to cookie platters.
Love polar bears? Check out my other Polar Bear Cookies recipe!
Why I Love This Cinnamon Bear Cookies Recipe
- They feature my favorite spice – cinnamon!
- Cinnamon Christmas cookies make a great addition to holiday cookie tins and platters.
- Kids (and adults!) love them. (They’d be fun at a birthday party too.)
- They’re fun to make!
- Each cinnamon polar bear cookie looks unique—they have personality!
Key Ingredients
- Cinnamon candies (also called red hots or cinnamon imperials) – These can be found in the baking aisle and/or in the candy section.
- Mini chocolate chips are the perfect size for the cinnamon polar bears’ eyes.
- Butter – I always use unsalted for baking.
- Powdered sugar
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Egg
- Cinnamon
How to Make Cinnamon Polar Bears
Step 1: In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Mix in flour and cinnamon.
Step 2: Chill dough AT LEAST 2 hours or overnight. Please don’t skip this step. Look in the expert tips section for details.
Step 3: For each cookie: Shape dough into 1-inch ball and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Flatten slightly. Form 3 (1/4-inch) balls. Place two above the bigger ball for ears and one on top for the nose. Flatten slightly. Leave about 2 inches between cookies.
Step 4: Chill prepared cookies on the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before baking. Bake 12-14 minutes or until firm to the touch. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to a wire rack.
Step 5: Dust cinnamon polar bears with powdered sugar. (You can lightly dust them or go heavier; it’s up to you!) Gently press in a cinnamon candy nose and two mini chocolate chip eyes. Let cool completely.
Expert Tips
- Chilling the dough is an ABSOLUTE MUST for these cookies or they will spread and flatten too much. Yes, they’ll still taste good, but we want them to be puffy and fluffy, not flat. This dough warms up quickly so once you’ve assembled the bears, you will want to chill them on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes before baking.
- Use a quality baking pan (this is precisely what I use) and line it with parchment paper. I don’t recommend non-stick pans for these cookies.
- Bake one tray at a time so that you can decorate the cinnamon bear cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
- A mini strainer is perfect for sprinkling powdered sugar over the cookies.
- After dusting with powdered sugar, quickly add the cinnamon candy noses first so that they’ll easily push into the freshly baked cookies.
- Don’t worry about perfection when decorating. Every polar bear cookie will have its own personality. It’s part of the charm.
Cinnamon Polar Bears
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar (This is approximate. You may use more or less.)
- 96 mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 48 red cinnamon candies
Instructions
- In electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Mix in flour and cinnamon. Cover dough with plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- For each cookie: Shape dough into a 1-inch ball and place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Flatten slightly. Form 3 (1/4-inch) balls. Place two above the larger ball for ears and one on top for the nose. Flatten slightly. Space cookies about 2 inches apart. Chill prepared cookies on the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before baking.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until firm to the touch. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Gently press in a cinnamon candy nose and two mini chocolate chip eyes. Let cool completely.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Chilling the dough is an ABSOLUTE MUST for these cookies or they will spread and flatten too much. Yes, they’ll still taste good, but we want them to be puffy and fluffy, not flat. This dough warms up quickly so once you’ve assembled the bears, you will want to chill them (again) on the cookie sheet for at least 15 minutes before baking.
- Use a quality baking pan (this is precisely what I use) and line it with parchment paper. I don’t recommend non-stick pans for these cookies.
- Bake one tray at a time so that you can decorate the cinnamon bear cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
- A mini strainer is perfect for sprinkling powdered sugar over the cookies.
- After dusting with powdered sugar, quickly add the cinnamon candy noses first so that they’ll easily push into the freshly baked cookies.
- Don’t worry about perfection when decorating. Every polar bear cookie will have its own personality. It’s part of the charm!
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