Puff pastry cinnamon twists are a super simple treat made with only three ingredients. Great for baking with kids, or serving at an afternoon gathering with coffee.

The easiest, most delicious quick bake – puff pastry cinnamon twists! These are made with store bought puff for a super speedy dessert that can be made in no time.
Yes, we are a baking blog, and yes we have a great tutorial and recipe for how to make homemade rough puff pastry, but we’re just going to come out and say it. Frozen puff pastry works just as well as homemade! (And maybe even better, because let’s get real, who has time to make puff pastry from scratch during the holiday season?!)
While these are great for the holidays – think emergency treats for unexpected visitors – they’re also a perfect simple dessert year round. And while the recipe is very simple, there’s no flavour missing here, and that crisp texture from the puff is perfect.
💖Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ It takes minutes to make. Simply fill, twist, and bake.
✔️ Kids love helping with this recipe and can do most of it themselves.
✔️ They make a great gift for coworkers or friends.
📋Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Puff pastry: this will have to be thawed according to package directions, so be sure to prepare that in advance.
- Sugar: plain white sugar is best, but coarse cane sugar works too.
- Cinnamon: if cinnamon sugar isn’t your thing, you could try DIY pumpkin pie spice, or this homemade chai spice as alternatives.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳Method
STEP 1: Make the cinnamon sugar in a small bowl.
STEP 2: Roll out the thawed puff pastry.
STEP 3: Top with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
STEP 4: Fold into thirds.
STEP 5: Use a sharp knife to cut pieces out for the twists.
STEP 6: Use your hands to twist the pastry.
STEP 7: Place the twists onto a prepared baking sheet.
STEP 8: Bake for about 18 minutes, until golden.
💡Top Tips
1. Make sure your pastry is chilled. Even if it says to thaw at room temperature, chill before rolling out to ensure the best layers when baking.
2. Don’t skip the glaze. While these are great without, the glaze makes eating way more fun. Try cream cheese frosting for a dippable alternative.
3. Change up the spices. You don’t need to use only cinnamon. Add cardamom, or apple pie spice, or whatever you’d like.
📝Recipe Notes
- To easily make these twists vegan, use vegan puff pastry. Many puff pastry brands are already vegan, you just have to check the ingredients. The twists pictured are all made with vegan puff pastry.
- If using fresh or homemade puff pastry, skip step 1 of thawing the pastry.
🧒 Bake with Kids
Baking cookies is probably the most common choice to get kids in the kitchen, but puff pastry cinnamon twists are another great option! Children of all ages can get hands on and:
- Help roll the puff pastry with a rolling pin.
- Measure and mix the cinnamon and sugar.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar. Kids love to sprinkle!
- Help fold the puff pastry.
- Place the twists on the baking sheet.
❓Recipe FAQ
We don’t recommend storing these for more than a day. If refrigerated, the twists lose their crisp exterior and get a bit soggy.
Pastry typically refers to shortcrust, which is made without layering butter. Puff pastry consists of several layers of pastry and fat, which gives it the typical puffy texture during baking.
No, and phyllo can’t be substituted here. It doesn’t contain nearly as much fat, which means it doesn’t puff up during baking, but rather flakes – which is perfect for some baking, but not for this.
🥐 More Puff Pastry Recipes
Puff Pastry Turkey Pot Pie
Peach Turnovers
Raspberry-Rose & Honey Labneh Turnovers
Roasted Vegetable Pie With Puff Pastry
Recipe
Puff Pastry Cinnamon Twists
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Parchment paper
- baking sheet
- Rolling Pin
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen puff pastry*
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.
- Preheat the oven to 375Fº (190Cº). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Take the pastry out of the package and roll it between two sheets of parchment paper to about 0.2 inches (0.5 cm) thickness.
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl and sprinkle in an even layer onto the rolled out pastry.
- Take one third of the pastry and bring it toward the centre to create a fold. Fold the other edge over this to create three layers.
- Cut the pastry into strips from the short end, about 3 cm wide, so that there are about 12 pieces.
- Roll each strip to expose some of the layers and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 17-18 minutes, or until golden and puffed. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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