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Flaky Cinnamon Pinwheels

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Flaky pie crust is rolled with a generous dose of butter and cinnamon sugar to make the best cinnamon pinwheels! These little pie crust cinnamon rolls are the perfect cookies to serve with coffee and a great way to use up leftover pie dough!

A white plate of cinnamon pinwheels on the table. A blue striped napkin in the background

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Hi friends, I’m so excited to bring you my favorite Cinnamon Pinwheels recipe today!

These are my mom’s signature cookies, which she would always make us from the leftover pie crust scraps at Thanksgiving. But since acquiring a couple of son in laws and grandchildren, she’s had to exponentially up the quantity, and now makes pie crust solely for these cookies. Yea, they’re that amazing.

If you want a puff pastry version of these flaky cinnamon swirls, try my easy Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls or my Puff Pastry Cinnamon Twists. Perfect for the holidays!

What are Cinnamon Pinwheels?

A white plate of cinnamon pinwheels on the table. A blue striped napkin and white jub in the background

They’re basically little pie crust cinnamon rolls! Typically, these guys are made from the scraps trimmed off of pies during the sealing and crimping process.

To make these, you’ll roll out your pie crust–either freshly made or from leftover pie scraps– into a rectangle.

You slather the surface of the rectangle with melted butter and then drench said butter with a blend of cinnamon and sugar.

Roll up the dough, slice and bake!

The crust bakes up super flaky and buttery and the center glistens with gooey cinnamon. Sheer perfection.

How to make Cinnamon Pinwheels (Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls)

How to make cinnamon pinwheels (pie crust cinnamon rolls)

Makes 22 Cinnamon Pinwheels

Ingredients You’ll Need:

  • 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) of unsalted butter, very cold and cut into cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons of ice water
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

Combine the granulated sugar and the cinnamon in a small dish and set aside.

To Make The Pie Crust:

In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour and salt. Pulse a few times to combine.

Add in cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand.

Alternatively, you can cut the butter into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry cutter if you don’t have a food processor. You’ll need to work quickly so the butter doesn’t melt.

Drizzle in the water and pulse until the mixture starts to form clumps.

Add more water a tablespoon at a time if the mixture looks too dry and won’t clump together when squeezed in your hand.

Once mixed, pour the pie dough onto a piece of plastic wrap.

Quickly and gently press the dough together into a rectangle. Do not work the dough too much, or the crust will be tough.

Wrap in the plastic and chill in the fridge for one hour. 

Preheat the oven to 375° and adjust your oven rack to the middle height position in your oven (I have 8 shelves, so I put my rack on the 4th shelf up from the bottom).

Rolling Out The Cinnamon Pinwheels Dough

Once the dough has chilled, cut the dough in half and roll out to about 1/4″ thick. Make the rectangle about two times wider than it is tall.

Roll out the pie crust so that it's about twice as long as it is tall, and 1/4" thick

Feel free to trim the edges of your rectangle to make them all neater if you desire.

Pour 1 tablespoon of melted butter onto your rolled out dough.

Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter over the dough until it’s evenly coated.

Sprinkle on a generous 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Starting from the bottom edge of the rectangle, roll up the pinwheels tightly until you have a nice even log.

How to make cinnamon pinwheels: rolling up the cinnamon sugar

Trim off the ends and cut into 1″ slices.

Slicing Cinnamon Pinwheels for the to be baked

Place the slices onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cinnamon swirl side facing up.

Repeat the rolling, filling, and slicing process with your second half of dough.

You’ll probably have extra cinnamon sugar left over–that’s ok! You can use it to sprinkle over the tops of the cookies before baking!

If the dough is really soft, pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

Bake in a 375° oven for 15-18 minutes, until the sides are puffed, and the bottom edge is lightly golden brown.

How do you get sugar to stick to pie crust?

BUTTER! A generous drizzle of melted butter is the key to getting a good deal of cinnamon sugar into the center of these pie crust cinnamon rolls.

And because there is no sugar in the pie crust itself, we need to make sure there is enough cinnamon sugar filling to give the cookies ample sweetness and spice.

Can I make Cinnamon Pinwheels Ahead?

Cinnamon Pinwheels

Yes!

You can make the pie crust up to two days ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

When you’re ready to use, remove from the fridge, and roll out as stated in the recipe. If the dough is too firm to roll, let it sit on the counter for a couple of minutes to soften. But don’t let it get too warm! The butter in the dough needs to stay nice and cold to make flaky cookies.

You can also freeze these cookies! See below.

How To Freeze Cinnamon Pinwheels:

If you need to store your cinnamon pinwheel dough long term, you can freeze it!

Prepare the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and store in an airtight container or freezer bag until ready to use.

When you’re ready to use the dough, let it thaw in the fridge overnight before rolling, filling, and forming cookies.

OR

You can make your pie crust, roll it out, fill it with butter and cinnamon sugar, and slice it as the recipe states. But instead of baking the cookies, pop them on a sheet pan and place them in the freezer until they’re frozen solid.

Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag or freezer safe container.

When you’re ready to bake, place frozen pinwheels on a parchment (not wax!) paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 375° on the middle rack for 17-19 minutes.

No need to thaw first!

Tips for making the best Cinnamon Pinwheels:

Pie Crust Cinnamon Roll Pinwheels
  1. Make sure your oven rack is not too low. I suggest adjusting the oven rack to the middle height position. The cinnamon sugar goes from caramelized to burnt on the bottom of these cookies in an instant.
  2. Don’t overwork the dough. When making the pie crust for these cookies, make sure to be as gentle as possible. Don’t knead the dough too much or gluten will develop and you’ll lose the flakiness.
  3. Make sure the dough is cool and firm before baking, or else the cookies will just melt. If the dough feels super warm or soft, pop in the fridge for 30 minutes to let it firm back up again.
  4. Don’t skimp on the cinnamon sugar. There’s no sugar in the pie crust, so all the sweetness is coming from the filling, so make sure to be liberal with it.

Other cookies I know you’ll love:

Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies

The Best Blueberry Pie Cookies

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Twists

Simple and Easy Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers

Cinnamon Pinwheels

Cinnamon Pinwheels

Yield: 22 Cookies
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Flaky pie crust is rolled with a generous dose of butter and cinnamon sugar to make the best cinnamon pinwheel cookies!

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 heaping tablespoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) of unsalted butter, very cold and cut into cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons of ice water
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Combine the granulated sugar and the cinnamon in a small dish and set aside.
  2. To make the pie crust: In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour and salt. Pulse a few times to combine.
  3. Add in cold, cubed butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse sand.
  4. Alternatively, you can cut the butter into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry cutter if you don't have a food processor. You'll need to work quickly so the butter doesn't melt.
  5. Drizzle in the water and pulse until the mixture starts to form clumps.
  6. Add more water a tablespoon at a time if the mixture looks too dry and won't clump together when squeezed in your hand.
  7. Once mixed, pour the pie dough onto a piece of plastic wrap.
  8. Quickly and gently press the dough together into a rectangle. Do not work the dough too much, or the crust will be tough.
  9. Wrap in the plastic and chill in the fridge for one hour. 
  10. Preheat the oven to 375° and adjust your oven rack to the middle height position in your oven (I have 8 shelves, so I put my rack on the 4th shelf up from the bottom).
  11. Rolling and Shaping the Cookies: once the dough has chilled, cut the dough in half and roll out to about 1/4" thick.
  12. Make a rectangle about two times wider than it is tall.
  13. Feel free to trim the edges of your rectangle to make them all neater if you desire. 
  14. Pour 1 tablespoon of melted butter onto your rolled out dough. 
  15. Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter over the dough until it's evenly coated.
  16. Sprinkle on a generous 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
  17. Starting from the bottom edge of the rectangle, roll up the pinwheels tightly until you have a nice even log.
  18. Trim off the ends and cut into 1" slices.
  19. Place the slices onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cinnamon swirl side facing up.
  20. Repeat the rolling, filling, and slicing process with your second half of dough. 
  21. If you have extra cinnamon sugar left over--that's ok! You can use it to sprinkle over the tops of the cookies before baking!
  22. If the dough is really soft, pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
  23. Bake in a 375° oven for 15-18 minutes, until the sides are puffed, and the bottom edge is lightly golden brown.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 22 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 53Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 49mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g

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9 Comments

  1. These are so cute! We always do this with leftover pie dough and bake it in a log. Now I want to try these and bake them cut individually!

  2. I am learning so much from following you on Instagram and reading all of your recipes. These look absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait to try them!

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