The Easiest Way to Make Cinnamon Rolls, According to Ina Garten

Over the years, the much beloved  Ina Garten has given us countless cooking tips and tricks. She's taught us how to make some outrageous brownies , that  caramelized onions make the best onion dip  and the easiest way to get fancy lasagna on the table in time for dinner.

So, it should come as no surprise that Ina has the most genius shortcut for making  cinnamon rolls easier than ever to whip up. Cinnamon rolls are usually quite the labor of love, requiring hours of time between preparing the dough, letting it rise and then carefully rolling it out. But in true Ina fashion, her shortcut takes most of the work out of the process, while still resulting in flaky, buttery, utterly delicious  cinnamon rolls .

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What is Ina Garten's Cinnamon Roll Shortcut?

This shortcut actually comes from Ina's recipe for Easy Sticky Buns , but it can apply just as well to cinnamon rolls. Instead of tediously making dough from scratch, Ina's shortcut calls for using frozen puff pastry .I think this is pretty genius for a few reasons.

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First, it's incredibly convenient. All you have to do is grab your favorite puff pastry from the freezer aisle, which saves you so much time. 

Second, the texture of  puff pastry -made cinnamon rolls is unmatched. Puff pastry is rolled into hundreds of thin layers, which provides a flaky exterior with a soft, buttery interior. It's slightly different from the texture you'd get with traditional cinnamon rolls, but in a very good way.

Finally, using  frozen puff pastry ensures consistency. You don't have to worry about any of the uncertainties that come along with homemade yeast dough.

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How to Make Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls like Ina Garten

Lightly flour your work surface and roll out thawed puff pastry. Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with a brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, leaving a border around the edges. Roll the pastry into a log, trim the ends, and cut into six rolls. Place the rolls in a greased baking pan and bake at 400° for about 20–25 minutes, until golden brown. While they cool, whisk together  cream cheese frosting to spread on top. 

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Tips for Making the Perfect Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls

1. Let the puff pastry defrost overnight in the refrigerator.You always want puff pastry to be as cold as possible when putting it in the oven. If the butter in the pastry starts to melt too much, your cinnamon rolls will likely be dense and soggy instead of light and flaky.

2. Use floss to cut the rolls. Dental floss, or thin string, is the best way to cut cinnamon rolls while maintaining their shape. Using a knife often squishes the rolls instead of giving you nice, clean cuts like floss does.

3. Size matters.If you have a pretty long sheet of puff pastry, I'd recommend cutting the cinnamon rolls into 1-inch pieces so that way they're not too big. 

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