The cinnamon sugar starts to smell toasted before the crust looks finished, which makes these easy to overbake if you wait for every part to turn deep brown. I watch the edges instead: once they’re golden, the cookies are ready to come out. These Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crust Cookies turn refrigerated pie crust into crisp, buttery wedges with a sweet cinnamon coating, without mixing or rolling out dough.
Brushing melted butter across the crust gives the cinnamon sugar a surface to cling to, and spreading it over the whole crust keeps each wedge from tasting plain in the middle. I use granulated sugar for a light, even coating and cut each crust into 12 wedges before baking. The edges bake up crisp while the centers stay more tender, and the cinnamon-sugar aroma hangs around as the cookies cool.
Kitchen Note
I smooth out any folds when I unroll the crusts. Cinnamon sugar can collect in a crease, leaving one spot overly sweet and another nearly bare.
Save these Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crust Cookies for a quick bake: golden-edged wedges with a crisp cinnamon-sugar finish.
Why Golden Edges Matter More Than a Brown Top
Pie crust is thin, so the edge can color quickly while the middle still looks pale. If you wait for the entire surface to turn a strong golden brown, the wedges are more likely to come out too dark and dry. I use the edge color as the doneness cue: take a close look as the end of the baking window approaches, and pull the pans when the edges are golden.
The cinnamon-sugar coating adds another reason to pay attention. Sugar browns in the oven, and a heavy-looking patch can darken before the rest of the crust does. An even sprinkle gives you a more consistent finish from wedge to wedge, so take a moment to distribute the mixture across each crust rather than pouring it all in one spot. The cookies continue to firm as they cool on the baking sheets; they don’t need to look hard while they’re still hot.
Two baking sheets let the wedges sit in a single layer, which helps the edges bake evenly. Rotating the pans halfway through gives both sheets time in the hotter and cooler parts of the oven. That small adjustment matters when you’re baking two trays at once, especially with such thin pastry.
What the Pie Crust, Butter, and Cinnamon Sugar Each Bring
- Refrigerated pie crusts — The ready-made crust keeps this a quick pastry bake and provides the tender, layered texture that makes the wedges feel like little pie scraps. Handle the crust gently as you unroll it; a tear can be pressed back together, but a thick overlap may bake differently from the surrounding dough. Different brands can vary slightly in thickness, so use the golden-edge cue rather than expecting every brand to color at precisely the same moment.
- Unsalted butter — Melted butter brushes over the pastry in a thin coating and helps the cinnamon sugar adhere. Unsalted butter keeps the sweetness and cinnamon at the front without adding extra salt. The butter should be melted enough to brush easily; if it’s scorching hot, let it cool briefly so it doesn’t soften the chilled crust more than necessary.
- Granulated sugar — Its fine crystals spread easily over the butter and give the surface a light crunch as the cookies bake. Brown sugar isn’t a like-for-like swap: it brings more moisture and a deeper molasses note, so the coating and browning won’t be the same. Granulated sugar from an everyday pantry jar works well here.
- Ground cinnamon — Cinnamon gives the sugar its warm, recognizable flavor. Fresh, fragrant cinnamon makes a noticeable difference in a recipe with so few ingredients; if yours smells faint when you open the jar, the finished coating will taste muted. Stir it thoroughly into the sugar before sprinkling so the spice doesn’t gather in isolated clumps.
How to Coat and Bake the Wedges Without Overbrowning
Heat the oven and prepare both pans
Heat the oven to 400°F and line two 18×13-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Having the pans ready before you handle the crust means the coated pastry can go straight into the oven. Use parchment to keep the sugar coating from sticking to the baking sheets. Set out a small bowl for the cinnamon-sugar mixture as well.
Butter, season, and cut the crusts
Unroll both crusts on a work surface and brush each one with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Mix the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle half over each crust. Aim for a light, even layer that reaches close to the edges; piles of sugar can brown faster than a thin coating. Cut each crust into 12 wedges, keeping the pieces as similar in size as you can.
Bake until the edges turn golden
Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 8 to 11 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Start checking the color toward the shorter end of that range, since crust thickness and ovens can vary. Look for golden edges rather than waiting for every part of each wedge to become dark. If some pieces are smaller than others, their edges may color first, so use your eyes as well as the timer.
Let the pastry set on the pans
Take the sheets out when the edges are golden and cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before serving. The wedges are delicate while hot, and moving them right away can break their points or bend the centers. After those few minutes, the crust has had time to firm up while the cinnamon sugar stays fragrant. Serve them once they’re cool enough to handle.
Two Easy Ways to Change the Shape, Plus Storage
Make smaller cinnamon-sugar triangles
For more, smaller bites, cut each crust into narrower triangles instead of 12 larger wedges. Keep the cinnamon sugar and butter coating the same, and watch the edges closely as they bake; smaller pieces can color sooner, so rely on the golden-edge cue within the stated baking window.
Cut the crust into pastry strips
For a finger-food shape, cut each coated crust into strips rather than wedges. The ingredients and cinnamon-sugar finish stay the same, but the strips are easy to pick up and dip into a cup of coffee or tea. Keep an eye on their edges while baking, since a thinner strip may brown sooner than a broad wedge.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Refrigeration isn’t needed. Keep completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days; they’ll gradually lose some crispness.
- Freezer: Freeze cooled cookies in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Separate layers with parchment so the sugar coating doesn’t rub against the next layer, then thaw at room temperature.
- Reheating: These are best at room temperature, and reheating isn’t necessary. Microwaving can soften the pastry, so skip it if you want to keep the edges crisp.
Questions That Come Up When Baking Pie Crust Cookies
Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crust Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 400°F and line two 18x13-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Unroll both pie crusts on a work surface.
- Brush each crust with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture over each crust.
- Cut each crust into 12 wedges.
- Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cookies are golden at the edges.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before serving.
