Make wonderul cinnamon puff- pastry pinwheels in a flash.....every inch is crusted with sugar crystals. Using a box of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets , these gems are super-easy. After thawing the pastry, by the time you preheat the oven your pinwheels are ready to bake. Be sure to use parchment paper or you'll be spending quality time with your favorite chisel and the baking sheet. The cinnamon -sugar can't help but ooze out a bit as it bakes, and you've got better things to do than chip away at a cookie sheet. Thaw the box of pastry on the countertop for about 20- 40 minutes, or overnight in the fridge, but it should still be COLD...and DO NOT UNROLL it!
There are two packs of rectangular-folded pastry in each box. Generally you'd unfold the pastry sheets to use it, but not today. Mix 1 cup sugar ( preferably large-crystals) * and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Find a clean worksurface or cutting board, and spread about half the sugar on it. Lay the folded sheet of dough on it...top with some more cinnamon sugar, and roll it out to an 11x15 sheet...Keep adding more sugar to keep it from sticking as you roll ... you'll be rolling it right into the dough. Use lots! Lightly brush off the excess, and starting from a short side, roll up jellyroll fashion. Slice in 1/2" slices and place 2" apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 oven 20-25 minutes until the centers are baked through. Immediately lift off the parchment and flip over onto a clean surface or parchment. Cool completely before serving.
What's great is that they get even crustier after a day or so. Don't seal them in a closed container, let air get to them. I've made them with bigger-sugar crystals such as those made by Wilton, sometimes with colored sugar; I've rolled extra-tiny mini chocolate chips on them; I've mixed a heaping TB of dark cocoa powder with the cinnamon sugar; all versions are delicious. One sheet (package) makes about 15 'fancy cookies'.
