OK, I’d never made cinnamon twists before because I thought the level of difficulty in making the puff pastry part would be way past my skill set. (I was pretty sure I could mix granulated sugar and ground cinnamon together successfully, so that part was of no concern.) But I figured the time involved in preparing the puff pastry would drive me crazy. And absolutely, if this puff pastry recipe was true to form, I’d probably still be screaming and running down my driveway to get away from the kitchen. That’s because I was thinking about all the layering of butter, rolling out the dough, then chilling it, then rolling some more, then chilling, etc. etc. I simply don’t have that kind of patience any longer. I want recipes that show me how to get marvelous results with very little time or effort involved. Especially for a pastry as simple as a cinnamon twist. (And yes, that is called being lazy. I confess!)
Now granted, Parisian pastry chefs would undoubtedly scoff at this recipe. But I don’t plan to share even a bite of one of these cinnamon twists with any of them. Even if they begged me to do so. Nope. Ain’t going to happen. I’m just going to share this wonderful recipe with you, so that you too can fly in the face of haute cuisine! Because these cinnamon twists are beyond belief delicious. (And so darned easy to make.) And it’s all because of this recipe that I found on the reneenicoleskitchen.com site. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Renee.
The beauty of this recipe starts with the pastry, which is unbelievably delicious and unbelievably easy to build. I’m going to write that again, because it truly bears repeating.
ROUGH PUFF PASTRY IS STINKIN’ EASY TO MAKE!!!! And, it’s also quick – as in fast and expeditious!
Now I know some of you aren’t going to believe me, and you’re going to continue to pay at a minimum $5.19 for a package of Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets. But store bought puff pastry should cost more than making your own homemade version, because they don’t just include flour, salt, butter, and water. The ingredient list for Pepperidge Farm Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets includes (and this is directly from the label) – Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid), Water, Vegetable Oils (Palm, Soybean, Hydrogenated Cottonseed), Contains 2 Percent Or Less Of: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Mono And Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Malted Barley Flour, Turmeric And Annatto Extracts For Color.
What I find most interesting in that list of ingredients, is not what’s in the product, but what’s not included. Butter. No real butter anywhere to be seen. So really, how dare they call it puff pastry!! Even in this rough version, butter is still the star of the show. (I bet if Parisian pastry chef’s realized what mass production has done to their prized pâte feuilletée, it would frost their gizzards. And I for one would not like to be around to see that happen!)
Anyway, the point of all this rambling rhetoric, is to try and convince you to MAKE YOUR OWN PUFF PASTRY. And of course, make these cinnamon twists. They truly are a work of art.
So I’m excited. I see a whole new world of recipes that have opened up to me because I now have a simple and fool-proof way to make my own puff pastry. I’m thinking dishes like savory mushroom palmiers, Spanakopita, or even just a simple chicken pot pie with a lovely puff pastry top crust. (Thanks Mark for that great idea!) I’m absolutely revved I tell you. Revved!
So even if this puff pastry dough is considered “rough” and doesn’t require a degree from Le Cordon Bleu to prepare it, I could give a flying fig! Who the heck cares? I surely don’t. But then my favorite food is a cheeseburger. Make of that what you will!
As always, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay excited. Excitement leads to inspiration, enthusiasm, motivation, ambition, and creativity. And boy do we all need those positive attributes in our lives, especially now.
Peace and love to all.
1 sheet Rough Puff Pastry (see recipe below)
3 T. unsalted butter
¼ c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
If you haven’t already done so, roll the pastry sheet into a rectangle that is roughly 8 x 10-inches. Carefully transfer the pastry sheet to a piece of wax paper. (Using the wax paper saves a great deal of mess. You will see why as you proceed with the recipe.) Melt the butter in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar.
Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the top side of the pastry sheet with half of the melted butter. Sprinkle on half of the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the butter. Press down lightly to help the cinnamon sugar stick to the butter.
Gently turn the sheet over. Brush on the remaining butter, and sprinkle on the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
To create ten eight-inch wide strips, score the pastry sheet along the long side at one inch intervals. Repeat with the opposite end of the pastry sheet. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to connect the score marks.
Place the strips on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Hold one end of the first strip down and rotate the other end like a cork screw. Repeat with remaining strips.
Chill the twists for at least 1 hour. This is very important. Please do not skip this step.
Bake the chilled strips in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 19 – 21 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Best served the same day as baked.
Rough Puff Pastry:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
10 T. (1¼ sticks) cold unsalted butter
⅓ c. ice cold water
Measure flour and salt into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse twice to combine.
Cut the butter into cubes and place in the food processor. Pulse about 18 times, or until butter is in very small chunks.
Slowly pour in the water while pulsing 8 – 10 times. The dough should just be starting to come together. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press together into a ball.
Roll the dough into a rectangle about ½-inch thick. (It will not be a very large rectangle.) Fold the top ⅓ down towards the middle, then fold the bottom ⅓ up towards the middle. Turn it 90 degrees so that the openings are at the top and bottom.
Roll the dough into another rectangle until again it’s about ½-inch thick. Fold the top ⅓ down towards the middle, then fold the bottom ⅓ up towards the middle. Turn it 90 degrees so that the openings are at the top and bottom. Repeat this process 4 more times.
Note: Work quickly. You don’t want the butter to get so warm that the dough starts to fall apart. Perfection of an exact ½ inch for each roll out is not only unnecessary, it’s not good for the dough.
You are now ready to roll the dough into an 8 x 10-inch rectangle. Proceed with the directions as written at the top of the post.