These Cinnamon Swirls are super easy to make and require just four ingredients. Puff pastry makes the flakiest, crispiest cinnamon rolls around!
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Why Make This Recipe
- Easy to make: These cinnamon swirls are so easy to make. Just layer butter, sugar, and cinnamon onto puff pastry, then roll up and slice. No yeast required!
- Festive: These little rolls are so cute, and are perfect for a holiday breakfast or even a cookie plate. Or, just make them to brighten up any day!
- Make-Ahead: These cinnamon rolls need to chill in the freezer before baking, and you can keep them there for a couple of months if you like. Perfect if you like to do your baking in advance.
This recipe is my go-to for easy and quick, but should you want to get slightly more involved with your cinnamon rolls, I encourage you to check out my Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls with Apples. This recipe adds a delicious apple filling and tops them off with a sugary glaze!
🥗 Ingredients
- Puff Pastry: Look for all-butter puff pastry dough—it is slightly more delicate to work with than vegetable oil-based puff pastry dough, but so much more delicious! If you’d like to try your hand at making your own puff pastry dough, I highly recommend Cathy Barrow’s Quick Puff Pastry recipe from her book When Pies Fly.
- Butter: Both unsalted and salted butter will work for this recipe. I actually prefer to use salted butter though, for a tiny bit of savory-sweet deliciousness.
- Sugar: Feel free to use sugar substitutes in this dish if you prefer.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Flour a large cutting board or your countertop. Then roll out one sheet of puff pastry dough to 12 x 9.5 inches. Turn the dough so the wider side is horizontal.
Cut in half in the middle of the long side to make two rectangles, each 6 x 9.5 inches.
Combine ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Spread 1 tablespoon of softened or melted butter over each puff pastry rectangle, leaving ½ inch border on the top (wide) side. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the butter. Whisk egg in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to paint the border of the puff pastry sheet that you left clear.
Then, starting from the other end, roll up lengthwise as tightly and gently as possible. Press gently but firmly along the edge with the egg wash to seal. Place on a cutting board or plate and put in the freezer for 30 minutes. Remove rolls from the freezer when they are firm, and slice into ⅓-inch slices.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange sliced cinnamon rolls onto sheet pans leaving at least an inch of space around each pinwheel.
Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned on both top and bottom. Let cool slightly before serving.
🧐 Recipe FAQs
Yes! After you have rolled up the swirls, wrap the cylinders in parchment paper and twist each edge to seal. Store in the freezer for up to two months. Defrost in the refrigerator before slicing and baking (do not defrost at room temperature since you need the cylinders to be quite cold to slice cleanly).
Honestly these cinnamon rolls are best eaten on the day they are baked. The texture of baked puff pastry definitely degrades over time. But they will last 2-3 days at room temperature, stored in an airtight container.
These Cinnamon Swirls are not vegan, as there is a TON of butter in puff pastry dough, not to mention the butter you use to slather on top. That said, you could use a non-dairy butter alternative and vegan puff pastry dough with this recipe for a vegan version. You can find a few brands of vegan puff pastry dough in stores, but you can also use a vegan puff pastry dough recipe to make from scratch.
Puff pastry needs to be cooked at a high enough temperature to cause the butter in it to melt, which causes the puff pastry to expand and creates its famous layers. But baking at too high a temperature will result in the pastry browning before totally cooking through. Baking at 400 degrees Fahrenheit will give you the best rise on your pastry without burning it.
👩🍳 Expert Tips for Cinnamon Swirls
The key to these Cinnamon Swirls is working with your puff pastry dough at the right temperature. If your dough came in a sheet that is folded in thirds, make sure you wait until the dough is defrosted (but not too soft) to unfold it. Unfolding the dough when it is still quite cold can cause it to break or tear. Then, don’t wait too long to begin working with your defrosted dough.
If it is out too long at room temperature and becomes too soft to work with, just put your dough into the refrigerator to firm it back up. For example, if it is too difficult to roll up your dough with the filling in it because the dough is too soft, just place the unrolled pinwheels into the refrigerator (or freezer) for a few minutes. (This is where it is useful if you rolled your dough out on a cutting board rather than the counter!)
Similarly, if you find that your knife is really crushing the roll as you slice it, and you are not getting circular pinwheels, put the roll back in the freezer or refrigerator until it is firm. Chilling the puff pastry rolls before slicing and baking also gives you the most attractive circular pinwheels. In a pinch, you could slice and bake them before they are fully chilled, but just be aware they may not be quite as pretty as when you have fully chilled the dough.
Sealing the edge of the rolls with egg wash helps them not unroll when they bake. If your swirls do unroll a bit, they’ll still taste great, but next time you may want to make sure that seal is a little firmer. Try pressing down harder as you seal it, without crushing the roll.
If you need to defrost your puff pastry dough in a hurry, you can leave it out at room temperature on a floured surface. That said, be very careful not to forget about it. Turn it over at least once during the defrosting process and check it every 5-10 minutes.
Love cinnamon? Same here. Go check out my favorite Snickerdoodles recipe after enjoying these puff pastry cinnamon swirls!
Other Easy Puff Pastry Recipes
Looking for more puff pastry ideas? Here are some of my favorites!
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me. And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Cinnamon Swirls
Ingredients
- 1 rectangular puff pastry sheet (8.8 ounces)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Flour a large cutting board or your countertop, and roll out puff pastry dough to 12 x 9.5 inches.
- Turn the dough so the wider side is horizontal. Then cut in half in the middle of the long side to make two tall rectangles, each 6 x 9.5 inches.
- Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Spread softened butter over each puff pastry rectangle, leaving a ½ inch border on the top (wide) side.
- Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the butter.
- Whisk egg in a small bowl. Use a pastry brush to paint the border of the puff pastry sheet that you left clear.
- Then, starting from the other end, roll up lengthwise as tightly and gently as possible. Press gently but firmly along the edge with the egg wash to seal.
- Place on a cutting board or plate and put in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- While the puff pastry roll is in the freezer, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove rolls from the freezer when they are firm, and slice into ⅓-inch slices.
- Arrange onto sheet pans leaving at least an inch of space around each pinwheel.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned on both top and bottom. Let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Cinnamon Swirls recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Ellen M. says
Just made these on the fly to bring to a last minute dinner invitation. Yummy!
Chef Molly says
So glad to hear it! Hope they were a hit!
Jeff the Chef says
Bravo for making your own puff pastry! These cinnamon treats must be amazing.
Chef Molly says
Well, I didn't make my own puff pastry for this recipe, but I have before and it is well worth it if you have the time! For a quick treat though, you can't beat store-bought!