Sweetest Cinnamon Sugar Croissant Buns

Lately, I’ve been noticing something. My fridge and freezer are packed. How are they this full for two people!? It’s because I buy ingredients, use some of them, and then keep the rest forever – buying new groceries each week, so that week upon week of ingredients pile up like some architectural site I need to excavate to find anything. It’s unacceptable on so many levels.

No more! I woke up last Sunday ready to take action – and to make something sweet and sticky and Sunday-ish, rather than running out to buy bagels. I had spotted a sheet of puff pastry in the freezer, leftover from a spinach and feta potpie I made months ago, and I knew I had sugar and cinnamon. So I went to work making an abridged version of these: a simple cinnamon sugar croissant roll that takes five minutes to make, 20 minutes to bake, and 10 seconds to eat.

I love the pared back honesty of these sugar-and-spice pinwheels. The pastry is flaky, crusty, and chewy – like a croissant. The inside is sweet but also warm and homey. The apartment smelled amazing. Mr. English was suitably impressed. We ate them warm from the oven with a bowl of clementines nestled in the covers.

And best of all, I used up the last of my puff pastry and sugar. Consider this this year’s spring cleaning for me. When you spring forward tomorrow morning, make yourself a batch to take the edge off. Bon app.

Sweetest Cinnamon Sugar Croissant Buns

makes 6 little buns

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• Pinch of flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed in the fridge overnight

METHOD Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle a bit of this mixture on the counter to keep the pastry dough from sticking to the surface. Lay out the thawed but cold puff pastry sheet. Dump the rest of the sugar mixture on top, and spread it evenly over the surface. Use a rolling pin to press the sugar into the pastry (it won’t all get stuck; some will fall off, which is no big deal). Roll the pastry up like a jellyroll, with the cinnamon sugar inside. Cut into 6 buns, and play cut-side-up in a muffin tin. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until puffed and golden and amazing smelling. Let cool for a couple of minutes in the tin, then scoop them out with a knife or offset spatula, and get eating.print this recipe