These Cinnamon Twists are an easy and accessible version of cinnamon rolls! Imagine soft, sweet dough packed with cinnamon sugar goodness, then drizzled with a creamy icing that ties it all together. Cinnamon Twists will fill your belly with joy and fill your house with the warming and cozy aroma of cinnamon.
Homemade Cinnamon Twists
Many of my creations are borne out of a craving, and this cinnamon twist recipe is no different! I was in the mood for a baked good, sort of pastry-like, and I wanted it to be full of sweet cinnamon flavor. I basically wanted an elevated version of a cinnamon roll, and voilá – Cinnamon Twists were born!
Now, this isn’t unusual for me. I’ve been known to make twists (no pun intended) on cinnamon rolls, like my Cinnamon Roll Muffins and Cinnamon Roll Cookies, but these are a bit simpler in their replication.
These cinnamon twists are made of a simple dough twisted together with a cinnamon sugar filling, then drizzled with sweet and creamy icing. Each cinnamon twist is soft, sweet, and baked to perfection!
My only suggestion is not to get caught up in making them look absolutely perfect. You’ll wind up going crazy! Just do your best, let them be, and they will taste like heaven. Enjoy!
Why You’ll Love This Cinnamon Twist Recipe
- Delicious
- Gorgeous presentation
- Excellent for breakfast and brunch
- Great for entertaining
- Simple ingredients
Key Ingredients to Make Cinnamon Twist Bread
For this Cinnamon Twist recipe, you’ll have a lot of ingredient overlap between the dough, filling, and icing. That just means you have to buy fewer ingredients!
- YEAST – You’ll need to use dry active yeast to get the perfect rise.
- MILK – You’ll need to use warmed milk for the dough, then you can use cold milk for the icing.
- EGG – A large egg will help bind the dough ingredients together perfectly.
- SUGAR – You’ll need white sugar for the dough as well as the filling.
- SALT – Adding a little bit of salt to your baked goods helps bring out the sweetness.
- BREAD FLOUR – It’s important to use bread flour if possible to achieve the right texture.
- BUTTER – Use softened butter for the filling and icing.
- CINNAMON – The key ingredient is ground cinnamon. Yum!
- POWDERED SUGAR – For the icing, powdered sugar is where it gets its sweetness.
- VANILLA – Use pure vanilla extract to get the best flavor.
Instructions to Make Cinnamon Roll Twists
COMBINE YEAST AND MILK: In a small bowl, add the yeast and half a cup of warm milk. Stir to combine the two, then set the mixture aside to proof.
PREPARE THE DOUGH: In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the remaining warmed milk along with the egg, sugar, butter, and salt. Mix them well, then add in the flour and proofed yeast. Mix everything until it’s well combined.
Switch to the dough hook and knead the mixture for 10 minutes. While kneading, the dough should start to form into a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. If not, that means it’s too wet and you will need to add more flour. Add in small amounts until it’s just slightly sticky to the touch.
Continue kneading and then let the dough rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes in a warm area.
PREHEAT AND PREP: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease two baking sheets. Set them aside.
ADD FILLING: Roll out your proofed dough to a roughly 15×18-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with 2 ½ tablespoons of softened butter. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar, and then sprinkle it over the buttered dough.
TWIST THE DOUGH: Fold the dough in half and cut it into 1-inch strips. Gently twist each strip before placing it on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the twists are lightly golden. Cool your twists before drizzling with icing.
MAKE THE ICING: Combine all the icing ingredients and whisk them together until the mixture is smooth. Drizzle the icing over your cooled cinnamon twists and enjoy!
FAQ
When proofing bread, I like to preheat my oven to 175 degrees F and then turn it off. I immediately set my dough in the warm oven and let it rest there – it helps it to proof faster!
Yes, you can! Just use a large bowl to mix up your dough by hand and turn it out onto a floured surface to knead it. Knead your dough until it is smooth and springy.
Over kneading! As I mentioned above, you only want to knead your dough until it’s smooth and springy. Over-kneading will cause the dough to come out tough and chewy.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature! I wouldn’t recommend keeping them past a couple of days, but I don’t think they’ll last that long anyway. 🙂
More Cinnamon Recipes To Try
- Brioche Cinnamon Snowflake
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Cinnamon Swirl PUMPKIN Bread
Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think about this cinnamon twist bread!
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Cinnamon Twists
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 1 1/4 cup warm milk about 110 degrees F, divided
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
Filling
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter softened
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Dough
- In a small bowl add the yeast and 1/2 cup of the warm milk. Stir to combine and set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer add in the remaining milk, egg, sugar, butter and salt. Mix well. Add in the flour and proofed yeast and mix until combined. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 10 minutes. While kneading your dough should start to form a ball and leave the sides of the bowl. If it is too wet it will not do this and you will need to add more flour. Add in small amounts of flour until it is just slightly sticky to the touch. Continue kneading. Let rest covered for 15-20 minutes in a warm area.
- Grease two baking sheets and set aside.
- Roll out the dough to roughly a 15×18 inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 2 1/2 tablespoons softened butter. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and sugar then sprinkle over the dough.
- Fold dough in half and cut into 1 inch strips. Gently twist each strip then place on prepared baking sheet. cover and let rise for 15-20 minutes. Bake at 350℉ for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool before drizzling with icing.
- Icing
- Combine all the icing ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cinnamon twists.
Just a quick question…is there no second rising needed for the cinnamon twists before they are baked? I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Thanks so much.
Thank you for catching my mistake!! I fixed the recipe. Let me know how you like them!
Thanks so much for your quick response! My grandchildren have this Thanksgiving week off from school so the timing is perfect for me to make these.
That sounds like fun!! Hope you enjoy!
I love these things! I make them a lot!! I’ve learned to spread the cinnamon/sugar over just half the rolled out dough (after buttering all of it) and then flip the other half over the top — not so much spilling out of the stuff. I make them ahead and then freeze them (with the icing). Let them thaw just a bit and then warm them in the microwave and they taste like fresh. These things are always a hit. Thanks for the recipe
That is such a great idea so it doesn’t spill out!! I will have to add that to the post so others can avoid the mess!! Thank you so much and so glad you like the twists!
Made these in the air fryer , 350 for about 8 minutes and fantastic!
Thank you so much for sharing that!! So glad you liked them!!
Sign me up for anything cinnamon!
Lol, you and me both!
These are my absoloute favorite. would love to make these myself. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Why thank you Simon! We really enjoy them too! 🙂
These are so pretty! And that icing- yum!
Thank you Kathleen!
I have no self control either! They were gone the next day!!
If I was to make these cinnamon twists.. they definitely would not last for very long. I have no self control when it comes to cinnamon sugared treats!