5 Minute Cinnamon Whirls Recipe ~ with a little help from Oxo Good Grips Kitchen Tools.

Oxo asked me what I wanted to review, what kitchen tools did I want?  I REALLY wanted a set of tongs and an ice cream scoop that actually works, but I couldn't think of a recipe I can do that would show them off. I intended to use the tongs with my veggie burger recipe, but it wasn't to be as the burgers were too soft, so this is a bit tenuous, but I'm sure it's admissable, and I have no doubt that we'll see both of these gorgeous tools many times again...

5 Minute Cinnamon Whirls

These are incredibly simple, stupendously quick to make and will please even the most difficult of guests. I make them a lot around Christmas and I even make them at parties as they're best eaten straight out of the oven and they impress almost everyone.

Ingredients

For the whirls
Puff Pastry - I used ready rolled because it was on offer!
1oz/25g Butter, softened
3 tablespoons ordinary Granulated Sugar
1  tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
Raisins/Sultanas/Currants (optional)

Egg or Milk to brush over

For the glaze

1/2oz/15g Butter, melted
1oz/25g Icing Sugar
1oz Milk

 Method

Soften your butter and add the cinnamon and sugar. Mix to a paste.

Roll out your pastry and  spread the paste all over it. Make sure you go all the way to the edges but it really doesn't have to be tidy or neat.

. If you wish to use dried fruit, sprinkle that liberally over the top.

 Roll it all up.

Cut to size around 2cm/just under and inch. Using a sharp knife will give a far better result.

 Plump up any flattened rolls and stand stand them up on a greased and lined baking tray.

Brush with egg or milk. Cook for around  20 minutes at 180/Gas Mark 4/350

IMMEDIATELY remove them from the tray or else they'll stick really badly because of the syrup that is created by the molten sugar mixture. I find tongs are great for this job because they are hot and the syrup really burns....Take this opportunity to remove any fruit that popped out of the top early in cooking and burnt. Don't worry about the cinnamon that escapes - it looks better in real life than on photo's.

Mix together the ingredients for the glaze and drizzle over your whirls.

 

 Serve straightaway hot with ice cream for best effect, or leave to cool and eat later...

 
 I had a little help from the following Oxo tools ~

12" Tongs With Silicone Heads
These have a stainless steel body and silicone heads, so they're safe for non-stick cookware and heat resistant to 600F/315C. Perfect for a multitude of jobs...

They have a really nicely designed silicone grip and head, which is wide and slightly angled to hold just about anything well. They also have a really easy to use 'pull out' lock, which is chunky enough to be handy even through oven gloves. 

 Beak Ice Cream Scoop
The thin tip breaks into hard ice cream and the flat back accomodates round and square ice cream containers. It rolls perfect scoops and has the soft touch no-slip handle to absorb pressure as you scoop. It's got a great 'ejector button' which is really large, so pushes out the entire scoop without mashing the shape.

 Because of the spring design they're hand wash only, but very easy to rinse off as soon as you've finished.

 Happy National Dessert Day!