These puff pastry cinnamon twists are so incredibly easy to make, and they turn out as good as or better than any flaky, buttery pastries you can buy in a bakery. Soft on the inside with flaky layers of buttery cinnamon-flecked pastry, this bakery classic is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or just with coffee.
Sweet recipes with puff pastry are usually quick and easy because we skip the time consuming pastry making process and opt for pre-made sheets.
Cinnamon puff pastries are a great way to add some sweetness to a Christmas or holiday brunch along with French toast casserole or regular French toast for that matter. But these cinnamon pastries only take about 10 minutes to actually put together and only a further 25 minutes to bake.
Make a simple cinnamon and icing sugar glaze for the perfect alternative to a cinnamon roll!
If you need a savoury version of a puff pastry twist then try these pesto and bacon cheese straws.
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⭐️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These twists are warm, fragrant and flaky like a classic breakfast pastry.
- They are very quick and easy to make using pre-made puff pastry.
- Pairing these sugar twists with a cinnamon glaze takes them to the next level!
- They can be made in advance and reheated before serving. And they are great for freezing too!
- Puff pastry is an incredibly delicious and versatile ingredient so it's always worth having some in the freezer!
🧾 Ingredients
All you need for these twists is four basic ingredients!
- puff pastry- you can make your own, but with the price and convenience of ready-made, it's not really a great use of time.
- caster sugar- granulated sugar works very well here too.
- ground cinnamon
- beaten egg- for egg wash
See recipe card for quantities.
📖 Substitutions & Variations
Because we're only using 4 ingredients for this recipe there isn't too much room for variation, but there may be some.
- Sugar - instead of using caster sugar you can opt for light brown sugar. I tested this recipe with caster, light, and dark brown sugars. I think the caster version turned out the best, but the light brown version was a close second. Dark brown sugar overpowered the cinnamon flavour and aroma.
- Butter - I tested this recipe with melted butter instead of egg wash. While the recipe did still turn out, I found the twists to be a little bit too rich there was some butter residue on my fingertips. Puff pastry is essentially 50% butter anyway. So, the egg wash was a better option.
- Spices - cinnamon is obviously the classic choice, but spices such as nutmeg, mixed spice, or cardamom are all great choices too.
👩🏻🍳 Step By Step
1 & 2
- Start by cutting unrolling the pastry and laying it flat on a work surface. To make the assembly process easy, keep the pastry on the paper on which it comes.
- Cut the pastry in half down the widest side. Brush the bottom half of the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle very generously with the cinnamon sugar. Place the top half of the pastry directly on top of the bottom half and gently press down. Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry into 9 equal strips.
3 & 4
- Once you have your equal strips, line a baking tray with non-stick paper. Pinch each end of the pastry to ensure they stick together and twist them into spirals.
- Lay each strip on the baking tray and gently press each end onto the tray to ensure that they don't unravel during the baking process.
5 & 6
- Once you've twisted each strip of pastry and pressed it down to the tray, brush them with more egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
💡 Chef's top tips
- Leave enough space between each twist to allow for the pastry to puff up and expand. They will roughly triple in size.
- When the pastry is cooked the outside of the twist will be deep golden brown and the outside layers will be so flaky that they shatter when cut. This ensures that the inside layers will be buttery and perfectly cooked rather than soggy and undercooked.
🥚 Using egg wash instead of butter
Many recipes will specify to use butter with puff pastry because it allows for the layers to rise and separate. Whereas the proteins in egg wash bind and make the layers stick together a little bit more.
However, in this recipe, our main objective is to have the cinnamon sugar stick to the pastry. Egg wash is perfect for this purpose. And we're using a small enough amount of egg wash that it doesn't affect the amount of layering, as you can see in these photos.
🍯 Storage
- The day you make them- Allow the pastries to cool then keep them in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Fridge/ freezer- You can keep cinnamon twists at room temperature but I think puff pastry stays fresher in the fridge or freezer. They are best warmed up slightly.
- To reheat- These little pastries are at their very best when they've had a quick 15-second refresh in the microwave. No need to refresh them in the oven.
❓FAQ
Longer thinner strips of pastry will hold their shape better than short thick ones. For that reason, you should aim for a length of about 17cm long and about 2- 2.5cm wide. This makes use of the entire sheet of puff pastry without having any waste.
No. There's no need to let your puff pastry sit out before making these. In fact, it's easier with cold puff pastry. Once it starts to warm up the butter becomes very soft and the pastry becomes sticky and difficult to work with.
Use pastry from the fridge and roll it out gently to make sure that it doesn't crack as you unroll it.
Puff pastry defrosts very quickly. Place the frozen package in the fridge for a couple of hours or if you are in a real hurry, then it can sit at room temperature for about 2 hours. *Do not place in the microwave or oven to defrost. This will result in the butter melting out and you will have a greasy mess.
⭐️ More puff pastry recipe ideas
- Nutella puff pastry parcels
- Puff pastry apple tart
- Steak pie with puff pastry
- Chicken and mushroom pie with puff pastry
THE BEST Easy 4 Ingredient Cinnamon Puff Pastry Twists
Ingredients
- 375 g (⅚ lb) sheet of puff pastry
- 175 g (⅚ cups) caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) ground cinnamon
- 1 (1) egg, beaten
- For the glaze
- 75 g (⅗ cups) icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) ground cinnamon
- 2-3 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190ºC for a fan and 200ºC for conventional and line a baking tray with grease proof parchment paper.
- Beat the egg in a small bowl with a tiny pinch of salt. Mix the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl and set both aside while you cut the pastry.
- Making the twists- Start by cutting unrolling the pastry and laying it flat on a work surface. To make the assembly process easy, keep the pastry on the paper on which it comes.
- Cut the pastry in half down the widest side. Brush the bottom half of the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle very generously with the cinnamon sugar. Place the top half of the pastry directly on top of the bottom half and gently press down. Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry into 9 equal strips.
- Gently pinch the ends of each strip of pastry and twist into spirals. Press the pastry ends down to the baking sheet to ensure that the pastry doesn’t unravel as it bakes. Brush with some more egg wash and sprinkle the strips with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the pastry twists from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before drizzling with the glaze.
- To make the glaze- Mix the icing sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the water a teaspoon at a time until your desired consistency is reached.
Notes
- You may prefer to dip your cinnamon puff pastries into the glaze rather than a drizzle.
- Puff pastry cinnamon twists can be made ahead and frozen after baking. Wrap in foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nicky
These were so easy to make but felt like they were from a bakery! Great easy recipe.
Deborah Rainford
Thanks so much, Nicky! 🙂