Easy Kanelsnegle

We have our fair share of good bakeries in the Twin Cities. One of them, Patisserie 46, was recently called one of the best patisseries in the world! But none of the ones we've tried have the Austrian-style pastries we had gotten just a little addicted to in Denmark. In particular, I find myself craving a kanelsnegle around 4:00 in the afternoon.

(Kanelsnegle at a Copenhagen bakery.)

So, it was time to make my own. Kanelsnegle is a cinnamon roll, but unlike the bready rolls we tend to see here in the states, these are flaky, like a danish. Now, I could make my own butter laminated bread like I did for the Daring Bakers Danish Braid Challenge, but I wanted something that I could make quickly in the morning for fika in the afternoon. This called for that time saver, frozen puff pastry.

What an easy way to whip up a fresh batch of light, flaky cinnamon rolls. Are they exactly like what we got in Copenhagen? No, of course not, but they were close enough to satisfy. Plus, since they were much smaller, they don't feel like such a huge indulgence.

Easy Kanelsnegle (flaky cinnamon rolls)

1/2 package of frozen puff pastry (1 sheet), thawed
unsalted room temperature butter
1 T sugar
cinnamon
1 egg
powdered sugar
milk

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place a silicone mat on a baking sheet. Unfold or roll the puff pastry out on top of the mat. Spread with a light coat of butter, leaving about 1/2 inch on one short side unbuttered. Sprinkle on the sugar and a generous amount of cinnamon (I didn't measure the cinnamon, I just sprinkled until it looked well covered.)

Whisk the egg together with about 1 tablespoon of water. Roll the pastry up with the unbuttered side being last. Put a little of the egg and water mixture on that unbuttered end to seal the roll.

Slice the roll into 1/2 - 3/4 inch discs. Place flat side down on the baking sheet. I pressed them down slightly. Brush with the egg and water mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes or until risen and brown. Move to a rack to cool.

Make a glaze by stirring a little milk into some powdered sugar. Just a couple tablespoons of sugar should be enough. You want a thick glaze and will need much less milk than you think. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and add more as needed. Spoon the glaze on top of the cooled rolls and let harden.

I think these rolls are best served at room temperature.

Makes 8 small rolls. (I actually only used 1/2 of a sheet of puff pastry which made 4 rolls which were the perfect sweet with coffee for Matt and I.)

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2012 Kathy Lewinski