Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls is the ultimate shortcut for a quick and delicious breakfast treat. Flaky, buttery layers wrap around a sweet cinnamon filling, and everything is finished with a luscious cream cheese frosting. They’re easy to whip up, bake in no time, and taste like you spent hours in the kitchen!

Love More Puff Pastry Desserts ? Try My Apple Puff Pastry Ring or this Mini Apple Pies With Puff Pastry next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These puff pastry cinnamon rolls taste bakery-worthy but are so simple you can pull them together half-asleep on a weekend morning. The pecans bring just the right amount of crunch to balance the soft, buttery pastry, and the cream cheese frosting makes them downright irresistible. They’re quick, mess-free, and guaranteed to impress anyone lucky enough to snag one while they’re still warm.

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Ingredients

For the Rolls:

• ⅓ cup raw pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 1 package (two sheets, about 17.3 oz total) frozen puff pastry, thawed overnight
• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup light or dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1–2 tablespoons milk, as needed to adjust consistency

Substitutions & Friendly Notes:

• No pecans? I’ve used whatever nuts were hanging around my pantry – walnuts, almonds, even those fancy pistachios my mom brought over
• Puff pastry sold out? Those tube crescent rolls work okay, just won’t be quite as flaky
• Brown sugar emergency? I mix regular sugar with a splash of molasses or maple syrup
• Dairy issues? My friend uses that coconut milk stuff and swears it’s just as good

Why These Ingredients Work

The puff pastry thing is honestly a stroke of luck I stumbled into. All those paper-thin layers puff up into this incredible texture that regular dough could never touch. I use both kinds of sugar because brown sugar gets all melty and caramel-ish while regular sugar keeps it from getting too sticky. That tiny bit of salt makes everything taste more intense – learned that from my mom who salts literally everything. Toasting the pecans is non-negotiable because raw nuts taste like cardboard compared to toasted ones that actually have flavor.

Essential Tools and Equipment

You need one decent baking sheet, parchment paper so nothing sticks to the pan, a sharp knife for slicing, and couple bowls for mixing stuff. I brush the butter on with my pastry brush but honestly a spoon works just fine. Wire rack helps them cool properly but I’ve definitely used clean dish towels when my rack was buried somewhere in the dishwasher.

How To Make Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls

Toast the Pecans

Heat your oven to 350°F first thing. Spread those pecans on whatever baking sheet you have and slide them in for about 10 minutes, giving them a stir halfway through so they don’t burn. Your kitchen will start smelling amazing when they’re ready. Chop them small and put them somewhere you won’t accidentally snack on them while you work.

Prepare Your Baking Sheet

Rip off a sheet of parchment paper and line your biggest baking pan. This step saves you from scraping burnt sugar cement off your pan later because that stuff is impossible to clean once it hardens.

Mix Sugar Filling

Dump both sugars, cinnamon, and salt into a bowl and stir everything together. I always taste this because it’s basically cinnamon sugar crack and also quality control is important.

Assemble the Rolls

Unroll one pastry sheet on your counter with just a light dusting of flour. Brush half the melted butter all over but leave about an inch border around the edges clean or you’ll have filling leaking everywhere. Scatter half your sugar mixture as evenly as possible – I just eyeball this part.

Roll & Slice

Roll it up from the long side, keeping it snug but not so tight you squeeze out all the filling. Trim the messy ends off because they look weird anyway. Cut the whole thing into 8 pieces with your sharpest knife. Put each piece cut-side up on your lined pan with space between them. Repeat everything with the second sheet.

Bake

Stick them in the oven for about 20 minutes until they’re golden brown and all puffed up. My oven runs hot so I start checking around 18 minutes but yours might need longer.

Glaze & Finish

While they cool for just a minute, whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make it drizzly. Pour this over the warm rolls and sprinkle your toasted pecans on top. Try waiting two minutes before eating them but I usually give up on that.

You Must Know

Don’t press hard when rolling these up. I used to think tighter was better but that just mashes all the flaky layers into one dense blob.

Personal Secret: Never microwave frozen puff pastry to thaw it faster like I did once when my book club was coming over early. Ended up with flat sad things that looked like roadkill. Overnight in the fridge is the only way that actually works.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

My weirdest trick is using dental floss to slice these instead of a knife. Slide it under the rolled pastry, cross the ends on top, pull through. Sounds insane but works perfectly without squashing everything flat like a knife does.

Your melted butter needs to be warm but not hot enough to melt the pastry. I stick my finger right in to test – if it burns my finger it’s too hot for the pastry.

Give these things room to breathe on the pan. I used to smoosh them all together thinking it looked prettier but they need space to puff properly or you get one giant connected mess.

Always toast double the pecans you need and freeze the extras in a jar. Perfect for oatmeal, salads, or stress eating during bad days.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Apple Addition: Dice up half a small apple super fine and mix it into your sugar blend. Gets all jammy while it bakes.

Chocolate Version: Mini chocolate chips over the sugar before rolling drives my kids completely nuts in the best way.

Orange Twist: Grate some orange zest into the sugar mix and use orange juice instead of milk in the glaze. Tastes expensive.

Maple Style: Skip the glaze entirely and just drizzle real maple syrup over them while warm. Simple perfection.

Cream Cheese Upgrade: Beat some cream cheese into your glaze for that bakery richness that makes people think you’re fancier than you are.

Make-Ahead Options

Perfect for lazy Sunday mornings when you want fresh pastries without getting up before dawn. Assemble them completely the night before, cover with plastic wrap, stick in the fridge. Next morning just bake them straight from cold and add a few extra minutes.

You can freeze the whole uncut log wrapped tight for up to two months. Thaw overnight, slice, bake as usual. After baking they freeze decent for about a month wrapped individually but honestly they’re never as good reheated.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Keep everything cool and don’t overwork the pastry or you’ll lose those flaky layers. If your kitchen is hot, chill the assembled rolls for ten minutes before baking.

Every oven is different so start peeking around 18 minutes. You want golden brown and puffed but not dark or they get bitter and tough.

Serving Suggestions

These are perfect with weekend breakfast alongside fresh fruit and coffee that’s actually hot for once. Also great as afternoon snack with tea or even dessert when you want something sweet but not too heavy.

They look fancy on a nice plate with the glaze drizzled all over. Sometimes I throw some berries around the edges to make them look more impressive than they actually are.

How to Store Your Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls

Room Temperature: Keep covered for two days max, definitely best eaten fresh Refrigerator: Sealed container for up to three days Freezer: Wrapped individually for up to a month

Reheating: Microwave individual ones for 15 seconds or warm several on a baking sheet at 350°F for about 5 minutes.

Allergy Information

Contains: Wheat, dairy Dairy-Free: Use vegan butter and whatever non-dairy milk you like Nut-Free: Skip the pecans or try sunflower seeds for crunch Gluten-Free: Hunt down gluten-free puff pastry but can’t promise same texture

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use homemade puff pastry?

Sure if you have six hours to kill and hate yourself. I stick with frozen because life’s too short.

Why aren’t mine flaky?

Probably got too warm while you were messing with them. Keep it all cool and handle gently.

Can I skip the nuts?

Yeah they’re fine plain or with chocolate chips, dried fruit, whatever random stuff you have.

How do I know they’re done?

Golden brown, puffed up, sound hollow when you tap them.

💬 Made these? Tell me how they turned out or if you tried any crazy variations!