Puff Pastry Twists

Stages of cooking

1

2

3

4

5

6

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8

1. Thaw puff pastry sheet according to package directions, keeping it very cold, and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and set aside.
   
3. Unfold the cold puff pastry sheet and place on a lightly-floured surface. Use a rolling pin to gently roll out the creases into a 12-inch wide rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick.
   
4. Use a pastry brush to brush melted (room temperature) butter evenly over pastry sheet (if butter is too hot, it will soften pastry). Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and lightly press down, being sure that it has been absorbed into the buttered surface. The butter moistens the sugar.
   
5. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut pastry sheet from top to bottom into 12 1-inch-wide strips. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Pastry needs to be cold to twist the strips.
   
6. Twist each strip 5 or 6 times with the cinnamon layer facing inward and the plain pastry on the outside; work quickly so that pastry stays cold. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Chilling is important—it will keep the twists from spreading and unraveling while baking.
   
7. Arrange strips on the prepared baking sheets, lining them up about 2 inches apart. 
   
8. Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and a light golden brown,  14 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cook’s Note There’s a little bit of a learning curve involved, but when working with puff pastry, the faster you can work, the better. The most important thing to remember when making these twists is that the pastry must be cold throughout this process.