These Copycat Crumbl Cinnamon Squares Are Just As Good As The Real Thing

If you’ve ever been on Tik Tok, you’re probably familiar with Crumbl (formerly Crumbl Cookies). The gigantic (and yes, occasionally mini) cookies are absolutely everywhere, from foodie and influencer accounts to partnerships with celebrity brands. 

One of the things that keeps folks hooked is their constantly rotating grab-it-while you can menu. Some flavors go by so quickly, you don’t even get a chance to try them, for instance the controversial Cinnamon Square. 

Not exactly a cookie so much as a cake, this delightful creation featured a fluffy cake base, similar to a coffee cake base, with a delicious brown sugar cinnamon ribbon throughout, and a vanilla cream cheese frosting. 

Do I know this because I got to try it? No! But thankfully for me, this flavor has become a legend amongst superfans, and has inspired countless articles, reddit threads, instagram posts, and of course, lots of lively debate. What follows is my closest approximation to the gone-but-not-forgotten Crumbl Cinnamon Square. 

Ingredients for Crumbl Cinnamon Square

Ingredients for Cake:

• 1 ½ cups AP Flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup salted butter, melted and allowed to cool slightly

Ingredients for Cinnamon filling: 

• ⅓ cup salted butter, softened 
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 tbsp AP flour
• ½ tbsp cinnamon

Ingredients for Cinnamon Frosting:

• 4 oz (½ package) cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla 

Preparation time:
Total Time (including cake, filling, and frosting): 30 minutes
Baking time: 18 minutes 
Cooling time: at least 30 minutes

How To Make Filling:

Add softened butter, brown sugar, AP flour, and cinnamon to a bowl. 

Mix until combined.

How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting:

Add cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla to a bowl.

Mix on low setting (if using electric mixer) until combined. 

If frosting is too thin, add more sugar. If it’s too thick, add a ½ teaspoon of milk at a time until desired consistency is reached. 

How To Make Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Add AP flour, sugar, baking powder, egg, vanilla, and milk to a bowl.

Mix until combined, batter will be similar in thickness to pancake batter.

Add melted butter and mix until combined. Batter will be more like a cake batter.

Grease the inside of 4 4-square-inch baking molds. 

Divide batter between the four molds.

Drop small blobs of the cinnamon filling to the tops of the filled cake molds. 

Use a knife to swirl the filling through the cake. It doesn’t have to be pretty, as we’re frosting them anyway.

Place baking mold on a sheet pan for stability.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until edges begin to brown and a pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cool completely.

Add cream cheese frosting and serve. 

Tips and Tricks

• One way to get your cooled melted butter faster is to only melt the butter ¾ of the way. The hot butter will melt it the rest of the way, and the unmelted butter will cool the whole thing down faster.
• Sifting your flour and powdered sugar will result in a lighter cake and smoother frosting. 
• The cinnamon filling is easier to stir into the batter if it’s a little above room temperature, but we’re frosting the top of the cake, so it’s ok if you have to be a little heavy-handed to mix it in. 
• When adding the frosting, it’s easiest to place a large dollop in the center and then use a knife or spatula to smooth it over the surface of the cake.
• Although you can store this in an airtight container for up to 5 days, they’re really best eaten within 24 hours, as the fridge will dry out the cake, but is necessary to preserve the cream cheese frosting. 

Variations and substitutions: 

• This recipe is based on one 1 egg for easy multiplying. A 2-egg version will make the equivalent to a 9×13 cake pan. 
• Although everything indicates this was a big, thick cake, you can also spread the batter across 6 4×4 pans for perfectly lovely, slightly shorter cakes. You’ll want to reduce the baking time by 2 or 3 minutes.
• You can make these in bigger or smaller cake pans, depending on your preference. If baking as a cake, increase baking time to 25-30 minutes. If baking as muffins or smaller cakes, bake for 12-15 minutes. 
• If you’re not much of a frosting person, you can always use less, or cut it altogether and add extra cinnamon filling.
• Any spice can replace the cinnamon for a fun twist, such as cardamom, nutmeg, or gingerbread spice blend.