Easy Pumpkin Pie Twists with Crescent Dough

Easy Pumpkin Pie Twists

Every fall I slip into what my family calls full autumn mode. The candles come out, the sweaters come out, and the oven starts working overtime. These Easy Pumpkin Pie Twists are the recipe I keep coming back to when I want that cozy pumpkin flavor without spending a whole afternoon in the kitchen.

Here is the best part. You start with a tube of refrigerated crescent roll dough, the kind you can grab at any grocery store.

The dough is already made and already rolled, so your only jobs are filling it, cutting it, twisting it, and baking it.

That is exactly the kind of recipe you want on a chilly fall afternoon: fast, forgiving, and full of pumpkin flavor everyone will reach for.

Total time from start to finish is about 20 minutes. Ten minutes of prep, ten minutes in the oven, and you have 10 to 12 twists ready to share.

They work beautifully for Thanksgiving, for a Halloween get together, or for a random Tuesday when the air turns crisp and you want the whole house to smell like cinnamon and spice.

One thing I love about this recipe is how little it asks of you. There is no chilling dough, no rolling pin, and no waiting around for anything to rise.

If you have ever made a pumpkin pie from scratch, you know the crust alone can eat up an entire evening.

These twists hand you that same spiced pumpkin flavor in a fraction of the time, and the twisting part is honestly the most fun you can have with a tube of dough.

I learned something important while testing these. A thin layer of pumpkin filling is the real secret. Years ago I made a batch of Twisted Pizza Breadsticks that were so overstuffed the filling oozed out of every seam and the strips refused to hold their shape.

These pumpkin twists are the opposite. Spread the filling thinly and evenly, and each strip twists into a neat spiral without a single blowout.

Keep that pumpkin layer thin. It is what makes the strips so easy to shape, and it keeps the filling right where it belongs.

My kids are not pumpkin people. They will skip pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving without a second thought. They ate these. Then they asked for more. Dipped in whipped cream, the twists vanished off the plate before dinner was anywhere near ready, and I had to hide two at the back of the counter just so I could taste one myself.

If you end up with leftover pumpkin puree, do not let it sit in the fridge until it grows a fuzzy coat. A half cup here and there adds up fast, and there are plenty of ways to use the rest of the can:

• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins for lunchboxes and slow weekend mornings
• Mini Pumpkin Pie Pops for a fun bite sized treat
• Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats for a breakfast you can make ahead
• Pumpkin Donut Muffins when you want something sweet next to your coffee

These twists are flexible too. Serve them warm, serve them at room temperature, or hand them out straight from the baking sheet while everyone hovers in the kitchen. They are the kind of treat that makes a house feel cozy, and they take less effort than a batch of cookies.

Pumpkin Pie Twists:

Ready to make a batch? Here is everything you need. This recipe makes 10 to 12 twists, with about 10 minutes of prep and 8 to 11 minutes in the oven.

What you need

• 1 tube refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Whipped cream for dipping, optional

You will also want a cutting board, a small mixing bowl, a pizza cutter or a sharp knife, a pastry brush, and a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, maple syrup, and pumpkin spice until smooth.
3. Unroll the crescent dough on a cutting board. Cut the dough in half so you have two identical rectangles, and lay them beside each other.
4. Spread the pumpkin mixture evenly over one of the rectangles. Keep the layer thin and cover the whole surface.
5. Place the second rectangle of dough on top, so the pumpkin filling is sandwiched in the middle. Line up all the edges as best you can.
6. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips about 3/4 inch wide. You should end up with around 11 strips, though the exact number depends on how wide your dough is.
7. Transfer the strips to the parchment lined baking sheet. Do this while they are still flat and easy to move.
8. Twist each strip. Pick up one end and twist it twice, then pick up the other end and twist it another 2 or 3 times until it forms a spiral.
9. Brush melted butter generously over each twist.
10. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle the mixture evenly over the tops.
11. Bake at 375F for 8 to 11 minutes, until the twists are golden brown.

The twisting trick that actually matters

Here is the tip I wish someone had handed me sooner. Do all of your cutting on a cutting board, not on the baking sheet. If you run a pizza cutter straight across parchment paper, you will slice right through it and end up picking paper shreds out of your dough. Learn from my mistakes, not your own.

The twisting itself is easier than it sounds. Pick up one end of a strip and twist it twice, then pick up the other end and twist it another two or three times.

Working from both ends is what gives you that even spiral instead of one lopsided knot in the middle. If a strip looks a little rough, just keep going. These are homemade, not store bought, and nobody at the table is grading them.

Brush the melted butter on before you sprinkle the cinnamon sugar. The butter gives the sugar something to grab onto, so it stays on the twist instead of sliding off onto the pan.

Once the twists come out of the oven, give them a couple of minutes to cool. They are hot, and that spiced filling holds heat the way a tiny pumpkin pocket should.

How to serve them

Whipped cream for dipping is my favorite way to serve these. It cools them down and adds a creamy contrast to the warm spice.

If you want something sweeter, another blogger suggests drizzling them with icing instead, which pushes them closer to a cinnamon roll kind of treat. Either way works, and nobody has ever complained about either option at my table.

I think they taste best warm from the oven, while the outside is crisp and the middle is soft and spiced. That said, they are still perfectly good a few hours later, which makes them handy for a party where you are juggling five other things. Set them out with a bowl of whipped cream and watch what happens.

Quick fixes

• If the strips are hard to twist, your pumpkin layer is probably too thick. Scrape a little off and try again.
• If the cinnamon sugar slides off, you skipped the butter. Brush first, sprinkle second.
• If the twists are browning faster than you expected, pull them out at 8 minutes. Every oven runs a little hot.

Here is the whole thing at a glance:

Here’s a few more easy dessert recipes:

If you love how simple these twists are, keep a few more easy desserts in your back pocket: Mini Pumpkin Pie Pops, Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes, Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Pops, and Mini Apple Pies.

And if you have kids who need something to do on a rainy afternoon, the book Low Mess Crafts for Kids is packed with 72 craft projects designed to keep the mess under control.

Where to buy:

Low Mess Crafts for Kids is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, Indiebound, Indigo, and Amazon Canada. You can also find it wherever books are sold.

More from One Little Project

More pumpkin recipes from One Little Project include Pumpkin Pie Crescents, also called Easy Pumpkin Pie Bites, plus Pumpkin Donut Muffins and Pumpkin Spice Muffins.

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Easy Pumpkin Pie Twists

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Easy Pumpkin Pie Twists Every fall I slip into what my family calls full autumn mode. The candles come out, the sweaters come out, and the oven starts working overtime.

• Total Time: 20 min
• Yield: 10–12 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

1 tube refrigerated crescent roll dough
1/2 cup Pumpkin puree
1/4 cup Brown sugar
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
2 Tablespoons Melted butter
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
whipped cream for dipping

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Instructions

1-Preheat the oven to 375F: Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2-In a small bowl, mix together the: In a small bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, maple syrup and pumpkin spice.
3-Unroll crescent dough on a cutting board: Unroll crescent dough on a cutting board. Cut the dough in half so you have two identical rectangles and lay them beside each other.
4-Evenly spread the pumpkin mixture over one: Evenly spread the pumpkin mixture over one of the rectangles of dough.
5-Place the second rectangle of dough on: Place the second rectangle of dough on top of the first rectangle of dough (so the pumpkin mixture is sandwiched between them). Make sure you line up all the edges.
6-Use a pizza cutter to cut the: Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips approximately 3/4 inch wide.
7-Transfer the strips to the parchment lined: Transfer the strips to the parchment lined baking sheet.
8-Twist each strip by picking up one: Twist each strip by picking up one end and twisting it twice, then picking up the other end and twisting it another 2 or 3 times.
9-Brush melted butter generously over each twist: Brush melted butter generously over each twist.
10-Mix together the sugar and cinnamon then: Mix together the sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle evenly over each twist.
11-Bake at 375F for 8-11 minutes until: Bake at 375F for 8-11 minutes until golden brown.

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 10 min
• Method: bake