With Christmas right around the corner many of us are participating in long standing family traditions. Many of those traditions center around food. I’m sure it’s no surprise that one of my most treasured Christmas traditions comes from time spent together in the kitchen. These Simple Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cinni-minis became a tradition in our family after the bakery which served their inspiration closed. We couldn’t imagine a Christmas with out our Lucy Lynn’s pastries, so we found a way to create our own version.
Lucy Lynn’s was a wonderful Kansas City bakery which closed after the owner’s passing. If you grew up in Kansas City, especially near the Country Club Plaza, I would bet you have childhood memories of eating delightful pastries and confections from Lucy Lynn’s. My Grandmother and Grandfather would always have an assortment of these delicious little pastries available to snack on while we opened presents and to keep hungry tummies satisfied while Christmas dinner was being prepared. My little sister and I would ALWAYS receive the stern reminder not to ruin our appetite for dinner by eating too many “Lucy Lynns.” We never listened.
Recipe Evolution – Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cinni-minis
When the sad news our family tradition of having Lucy Lynn’s pastries arrived, we just couldn’t imagine a Christmas without our favorite snacks. So, we went to work. We decided to start simple, knowing all we needed was pie crust, cinnamon, brown sugar, a touch of white sugar and butter. It took a couple of years to find the perfect recipe, but when we tasted this version, it was perfect!
After success with the store bought refrigerated pie crust, we never looked back. I’m sure homemade pie crust would be INCREDIBLE, but simple was the key for us. We’ve been making them in my Mother’s kitchen every year before Christmas ever since. No matter how crazy our schedules are, we make the time to come together and make these pastries.
These perfect little bites are perfectly sweet from the sugar, spiced from the cinnamon and have a wonderful mix of textures from the flaky pie crust and crunchy bubbled sugar. They are the perfect Christmas morning snack. I think they would be the PERFECT bite sized item to add to a charcuterie board or grazing table . Throw 10-15 in a festive bag and you’ve got the perfect little gift. Made with love, without spending hours in the kitchen.
Simple Cinnamon Brown Sugar Mini-Cinnis
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- parchment paper or silicone baking liner
- offset spatula
- sharp knife
Ingredients
- 1 refrigerated rolled pie crust
- 3 tablespoons salted butter softened
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar mix
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450°F
- Unroll the pie crust and spread the soften butter edge to edge in an even layer
- Evenly sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the butter,
- Tightly re-roll the pie crust and place in the freezer for 15 minutes
- Using a very sharp knife slice into ⅛" rounds and place on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. These do not spread so you don't need to leave a lot of space between rounds.
- Top each round with approximately 1/4 teaspoon of dark brown sugar. Use the back of the measuring spoon to press the sugar down into an even layer. It doesn't not have to be perfect.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes in the 450°F preheated oven, the sugar should be caramelized on top and edges of the pie crust should be slightly browned.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes and transfer to a baking rack to cool. The sugar will be extremely hot and could burn you.
Nutrition
Practically Perfect
As if these cinnamon brown sugar cinni-minis weren’t perfect enough being simple and delicious, they also freeze wonderfully! We’ve been known to have a batch from the previous year frozen and can hardly tell the difference from the fresh ones!
I’ll also make the strong recommendation to make way more than you think you’ll need. As I am writing this post, my husband has managed to eat 1/2 a batch! He’s currently running errands because he can’t be in house until I put them away or he’ll eat them all. He’s not wrong, he can’t be trusted when these are within reach. We know from experience.
I hope you’ll enjoy these tiny little bites of Christmas tradition! What are your family Christmas traditions?
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
XOXO,
Alden
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