cheater cinnamon rolls

dsc_3119I have a confession to make. Remember how last weekend I was really busy and didn’t have time for you guys? Remember how all I had was puff pastry and I couldn’t find my “try hard” pants, so you got a recipe for pesto-salami rolls? Well, I was holding out on you. I really wanted to talk about my weekend and our trip up to Flagstaff, with lots of nature pictures. So, in an attempt to not overwhelm you with a thousand pictures, I compromised. I gave you my puff pastry roll-up recipe, with pictures of outdoors, when I really had this amazing cheater cinnamon roll recipe that I made that very same day. That’s how easy this puff pastry thing is – 2 recipes, 10 minutes (not including baking time, of course), just spread with ingredients and roll up. SO EASY! And look how cute they were, just LOOK!

As I was trying to think of something to do with my puff pastry – I vaguely remembered watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa where she made cheater “sticky buns” using puff pastry. I didn’t want sticky buns. I know this may be considered sacrilege, but I really abhor nuts in my baked goods. (I know, try not to judge me too hard.)

However, since sticky buns are pretty much just fancy (and messy) cinnamon rolls – I decided that puff pastry would be delicious filled with cinnamon. You have no idea how right I was. The best part? The cinnamon sugar somehow leaked into the bottom of the muffin cup and caramelized on the bottom of the cinnamon roll – giving it this layer of delicious cinnamon-sugary goodness.

Just look at that goodness. Who could possibly say no to that? The only change I would make is to add more cinnamon filling to these, although I’m not completely convinced it wouldn’t just leak to the bottom of the roll. I’m also not completely convinced that leaking to the bottom would be a bad thing. Did I mention how fast and easy these are to make?

They lack the soft, sweet chew usually associated with a nice, fresh cinnamon roll. Instead they have a slight crunch to them (it is, after all, puff pastry). They really don’t keep all that well, either, not that they’d last past day two anyway. They’re so simple to make and come together so quickly, it’s a great alternative to a fussy, million hour cinnamon roll recipe for your next brunch. Just thaw the pastry dough overnight in the fridge, and assemble 30 minutes before your company arrives.

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls

Print Me

  • 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
  • 2 Tbsp butter, softened or melted
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon (more if desired)

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Unfold puff pastry sheet and spread with softened or melted butter.

2. Sprinkle brown sugar over sheet of puff pastry (I just sprinkle enough to cover it evenly, I don’t really measure), then sprinkle with cinnamon, leaving about 1/2 inch along the side farthest from you.

3. Tightly roll pastry from the side closest to you. Press the “clean” edge into the roll to seal. Cut into 6 pieces and place in muffin cups, cut side up.

4. Bake 20 – 30 min @ 375F until golden brown. Cool on wire rack about 10 minutes before eating (just so they don’t burn you as you shovel them into your mouth).

**Your average puff pastry package will come with 2 sheets of pastry dough. Each sheet will give you 6 rolls, so one package will yield 12 rolls.

 

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