Easy puff pastry cinnamon swirls (cinnamon rolls) made with a handful of simple ingredients, including time-saving ready-rolled puff pastry!
Buttery, flaky pastry encasing a cinnamon sugar filling makes the perfect sweet treat for breakfast or after-school snack. Best of all they are ready in under 30 minutes!
These easy cinnamon rolls made with puff pastry are much easier and quicker to make than traditional cinnamon rolls which are typically made with yeasted dough.
This really is the EASIEST cinnamon swirl recipe ever...and so delicious!
Go and make them right now, you won't be disappointed!
👩🍳 Don't forget to try my easy mincemeat swirls too!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
Here's why this is the best cinnamon swirl recipe!
- Uses store-bought ready-rolled puff pastry to save time.
- Made and baked in under 30 minutes.
- A delicious snack or breakfast treat.
- Freezer-friendly.
🛒 Ingredient notes
- Puff Pastry - use a ready-rolled puff pastry sheet (jus rol or a supermarket own brand) to save time. Feel free to make your own puff pastry if you like (you'll need to roll the pastry out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 2mm).
- Butter - I like to use slightly salted butter that has been softened.
- Cinnamon - use ground cinnamon and make sure it's fresh and in date!
- Sugar - a combination of light brown sugar and demerara sugar gives the best flavour and texture.
- Egg - 1 small beaten egg for glazing the pastries.
- Icing Sugar (powdered sugar) - mixed with a few drops of warm water to make an easy white drizzle icing.
🔪 How to make cinnamon swirls with puff pastry
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Mix together the softened butter, cinnamon, and sugars in a bowl until you get a paste (it will take a few minutes). Unroll the puff pastry sheet (keeping it on the paper it came wrapped up in) and spread the cinnamon sugar evenly over the top of the pastry, leaving a 1cm gap on the bottom long edge of the pastry sheet. Brush the bottom edge with egg wash.
Two: Using the paper sheet that came with the ready-rolled puff pastry sheet to help you, tightly roll up the pastry on the long edge and press to seal.
Three: Using a sharp knife (or string), cut 2cm slices and place them cut side up on a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper. Glaze the tops with the egg wash and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Four: Leave the swirls to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, before removing them to a wire rack. Mix the icing sugar with a little water to make a runny icing and use a spoon to drizzle it over the swirls.
💡 Top Tip - If the thickness of the icing is too runny, add more icing sugar and if your icing is too thick add more water (add a few drops at a time as the consistency changes quickly!).
💭 Expert tips
- Make sure you seal the edge of the pastry roll before slicing, otherwise, your cinnamon swirls can lose their shape while baking. I gently press the pastry with my thumb, being careful not to misshape the swirl.
- Take the puff pastry out of the fridge 10 minutes before unrolling. This will allow it to soften and not crack.
- Don't be tempted to add more cinnamon sugar to the pastry. The quantities in the recipe card are correct! Over-filling the pastry will mean you'll get a lot of leakage once they are baked.
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature and has been softened before mixing it with the cinnamon and sugars.
- If you prefer a thicker white icing, use a piping bag to pipe it over the cinnamon swirls.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the easy cinnamon swirls for breakfast or brunch with fresh fruit, yogurt, and other pastries such as cheese and bacon turnovers.
They also make a great after-school snack for kids with a glass of milk!
📖 Variations
- Grate orange zest over the cinnamon sugar before rolling up the pastry.
- Make apple and cinnamon puff pastry swirls by adding grated apple on top of the cinnamon sugar. Make sure you squeeze the excess water from the grated apple using a clean tea towel over the sink.
- Add a handful of raisins or dried cranberries.
- Bake in your air fryer for extra crispy cinnamon swirls.
- For extra-large cinnamon swirls, roll up the pastry on the short side. You'll only get about 8 swirls doing it this way though, and you may need to bake them for an extra 5 minutes!
- Serve them on Christmas morning for an easy festive breakfast.
- Make a cream cheese filling by replacing the butter with full-fat cream cheese.
🥡 Storage
Make-Ahead: Mix up the cinnamon sugar the night before to save time in the morning.
Store: Place the baked cinnamon swirls in an airtight container and store them for up to 3 days.
Freeze: You can freeze the swirls unbaked or baked for up to 3 months. If freezing unbaked, there is no need to defrost them first before baking.
Reheat: Place the cinnamon swirls in a hot oven or air fryer for a few minutes to reheat. They can also be eaten at room temperature.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Puff pastry cinnamon swirls can be made and baked in under 30 minutes, which is significantly less time than the traditional cinnamon roll or cinnamon bun made with yeasted dough.
Puff pastry, also known as pâte feuilletée, is a flaky buttery light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough and butter or other solid fat such as lard. The butter is put inside the dough (often it's grated), and is repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking.
😋 More recipes using ready-rolled puff pastry
- Nutella Puff Pastry Swirls
- Apple and Blackberry Turnovers
- Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls
- Puff Pastry Mincemeat Pinwheels
- Savoury Puff Pastry Tarts
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Recipe
Easy Puff Pastry Cinnamon Swirls
Ingredients
- 375 g Puff Pastry Sheet ready rolled
- 60 g Butter softened
- 30 g Light Brown Sugar
- 30 g Demerara Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoon Icing Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°c (160 fan/ Gas 4/ 350F) and line 2 baking trays with non stick baking paper.
- Mix together the softened butter, cinnamon, and sugars in a bowl until you get a paste (it will take a few minutes).60 g Butter, 30 g Light Brown Sugar, 30 g Demerara Sugar, 2 tablespoon Cinnamon
- Unroll the puff pastry sheet (keeping it on the paper it came wrapped up in) and spread the cinnamon sugar evenly over the top of the pastry, leaving a 1cm gap on the bottom long edge of the pastry sheet. Brush the bottom edge with egg wash.375 g Puff Pastry Sheet, 1 Egg
- Using the paper sheet that came with the ready-rolled puff pastry sheet to help you, tightly roll up the pastry on the long edge and press to seal.
- Using a sharp knife (or string), cut 2cm slices and place them cut side up on a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper. Glaze the tops with the egg wash.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- Leave the swirls to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, before removing them to a wire rack. Mix the icing sugar with a little water to make a runny icing and use a spoon to drizzle it over the swirls.2 tablespoon Icing Sugar
Notes
- Make sure you seal the edge of the pastry roll before slicing, otherwise, your cinnamon swirls can lose their shape while baking. I gently press the pastry with my thumb, being careful not to misshape the swirl.
- Take the puff pastry out of the fridge 10 minutes before unrolling. This will allow it to soften and not crack.
- Don't be tempted to add more cinnamon sugar to the pastry. The quantities in the recipe card are correct! Over-filling the pastry will mean you'll get a lot of leakage once they are baked.
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature and has been softened before mixing it with the cinnamon and sugars.
- If you prefer a thicker white icing, use a piping bag to pipe it over the cinnamon swirls.
- Grate orange zest over the cinnamon sugar before rolling up the pastry.
- Make apple and cinnamon puff pastry swirls by adding grated apple on top of the cinnamon sugar. Make sure you squeeze the excess water from the grated apple using a clean tea towel over the sink.
- Add a handful of raisins or dried cranberries.
- Bake in your air fryer for extra crispy cinnamon swirls.
- For extra-large cinnamon swirls, roll up the pastry on the short side. You'll only get about 8 swirls doing it this way though, and you may need to bake them for an extra 5 minutes!
- Serve them on Christmas morning for an easy festive breakfast.
- Make a cream cheese filling by replacing the butter with full-fat cream cheese.
Sara Welch
Enjoyed this for breakfast this morning and started my day off right! So easy, delicious and paired perfectly with my morning cup of coffee!
Ieva
Very easy and very delicious! Perfect treat with a cup of afternoon coffee! 🙂
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
Ready made pastry is such a life saver and this recipe is so delicious too.
Gwynn
I love cinnamon rolls and using a puff pastry sheet makes this recipe so easy to make. My family loved them!
Tayler Ross
I absolutely love working with puff pastry, so I can't wait to make these cinnamon swirls! They look amazing!