Puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels. What a sweet and simple snack ready to be served in minutes!
These sugar babies are a reason why keeping a sheet of premade puff pastry dough in the fridge can make miracles when you need a quick snack. And there’s nothing like that winter magic smell of cinnamon coming from the kitchen!
Mhm, can you hear those Santa’s deer just passing by? ☺️
Why you’ll love these puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels
They are sooooo easy to make.
You need only 3 ingredients to make them. These pinwheels will be your best $3 spent.
Five minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of watching them while baking in the oven will bring you the sweetest and the most godly-smelling crunchy snack on the table.
They are perfect for afternoon tea or coffee. And even the fanciest guests will absolutely adore these puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels.
Ingredients you need for this recipe
🧈 PREMADE PUFF PASTRY SHEETS – you’ll find premade puff pastry sheets in any supermarket. Puff pastry is made of several layers of sheets and it contains a lot of butter. When baking, the butter in the puff pastry will make the dough rise and become puffy and crispy.
When making puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels it’s crucial that the sheets you are using are cold. The recipe works best if you take them out of the fridge right before baking.
🍮 CINNAMON POWDER – cinnamon is one of the oldest spices, its usage was evidenced in China even 3ooo years BC, Cinnamon powder is made from two species of cinnamon trees, and in western kitchens, it’s usually used as a spice when preparing sweets. It’s the main ingredient of these pinwheels and you will easily find it in every food store.
🍭 SUGAR – in this recipe, we used brown sugar, but you can use any sugar you have at hand. If you have a food processor, you can grind it to get powdered sugar to sprinkle it on the pinwheels when baked, but it’s not necessary to do that.
🥛 MILK – for this recipe you will need only two tablespoons of milk
🥚 ONE EGG – the last thing on the list is the yolk of one egg. Yolk eggwash mixed with milk will give your cinnamon pinwheels a golden shine and they will become even more crispy.
Equipment you need
How to make puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels?
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 200 C/392 F. Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2: Warm the butter to room temperature. In a small bowl whisk together the butter, cinnamon powder and sugar.
STEP 3: Unroll the puff pastry sheet and coat it with the mixture using a knife.
STEP 4: Roll up the pastry from along the long side.
STEP 5: With a knife slice the pastry roll into 1 cm thick pieces and place them on parchment paper.
STEP 6: Mix the egg yolk with two tablespoons of milk. Brush the puff pastry rolls with the milky eggwash using a brush.
STEP 7: Bake at 200 C/392 F for about 20 minutes, depending on the oven, till your puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels get a golden color.
STEP 8: Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy.
Recipe notes and tips
🍥 Roll the pastry sheet up as tight as possible after coating it with the cinnamon butter mixture.
🍥 Puff pastry needs to be cold before you bake it. If you are making the pinwheels for too long and notice that the pastry is not cold and solid anymore it’s best to put the whole sheet with already-made rolls back to the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to ensure that it’s cold enough.
🍥 Puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels taste best when served hot, right from the oven.
🍥 The longer you keep premade puff pastry sheets in the refrigerator the better they get. Still, be mindful of the expiry date.
Storing and reheating puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels
Storage in the refrigerator
You can store your pinwheels for up to three days in the fridge in an airtight container or a covered bowl. At room temperature, these rolls will last up to two days, but they taste and smell best when served hot and fresh, coming right out of the oven.
Freezing baked pinwheels
If you wish to store the leftover of your baked cinnamon rolls in the freezer, place them on a baking sheet and put the sheet in the freezer. When frozen and solid, reload them into an airtight container or a bag. They will last up to two months in the freezer.
You don’t need to thaw already baked rolls, you can simply place them on a baking sheet and warm them in the preheated oven at 200 C/392F.
Freezing unbaked puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels
If you want to prepare your pinwheels in advance, you can freeze the rolled-up puff pastry before baking. Again, put the whole sheet of pinwheels in the freezer. When frozen and solid you can pack them in a container or a bag.
When you want to use the premade puff pastry pinwheels, it’s best to thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then bake them in the preheated oven at 200 C/392F for 20 minutes until golden.
Recipes you might like
Simple fruit tarts with puff pastry
Ham and cottage cheese crescent rolls
FAQ
Puff pastry is usually made of several layers of dough containing flour, a small amount of water and a lot of butter. If the package is not specifically marked as vegan, then the answer is no, puff pastry is not vegan. Premade puff pastry sheets contain the same amount of butter and flour.
When the butter in the puff pastry melts, it will separate the layers of the dough made of flour and water. When water evaporates, it will push up the layers to grow about three to four times higher.
If the butter in the pastry is not cold enough before baking or when the temperature in the oven is not high enough, the layers of puff pastry will not separate and will not be able to puff.
If you skip the eggwash, puff pastry will still rise and puff, but it will not have that golden, crumbly crust. It will still be tasty, but a little bit softer.
Because puff pastry sheets need to be cold before baking, it’s best if you thaw premade puff pastry dough or puff pastry sheets in the refrigerator overnight.
If you want it to thaw faster, you can leave it on the counter, but not at higher than room temperature. When it’s thawed, put it in the fridge for 15 minutes so that the butter in the pastry solidifies before baking.
Puff pastry cinnamon pinwheels
INGREDIENTS
- 1 package premade puff pastry sheet
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 200 C/392F. Cover the baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl mix together the butter, sugar and cinnamon powder. The butter should be at room temperature.
- Take the puff pastry sheet, unroll it and coat it with the mixture using a long knife.
- Roll up the sheet along the long side as tighly as possible.
- With a sharp knife cut the roll into 1 cm thick pieces. Place them on the parchment paper with at least 3 cm distance in between.
- Mix the egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of milk and brush the pinwheels using a pastry brush (or any ordinary brush).
- Bake at 200 C/392 F for about 20 minutes, untill the pinwheels look golden and crunchy
- If you like your pinwheels even sweeter, sprinkle them with powdered sugar using a small strainer
Need is the mother of creation to be sure! I was unable to find puff baked good cinnamon pinwheels anyplace on new year’s eve to make hamburger wellington the following day (lack of common sense, I know… or was it?). Much obliged to you for this recipe! It’s so natural and a lot more delicious than locally acquired! You truly made all the difference!