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Easiest Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. For your weekend bagel fixโฆand every day in between. Made using pantry staples, a good amount of cinnamon, and a touch of sweet brown sugar. These bagels are chewy, extra cinnamony, perfectly sweet, and have a little crunch with every bite. Perfect to make on the weekend and enjoy throughout the weekโฆbagel exquisiteness.
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Iโve been on a big breakfast kick the last couple weeks. I go through phases sometimes, and right now I am very much into all the breakfast foods. Last week alone I shared breakfast style potatoes and these (springy) lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes.
But this week? It is all about bagels. More specifically, cinnamon crunch bagels. 100% inspired by the Panera Bread cinnamon crunch bagels I used to love so much as a kid (anyone else?!). I created my own homemade version, and I dunno, I think they might just be better. To be fair, I have not had the Panera version since I was probably 10 years old. So itโs been a while, but, going from memory, I kinda think my homemade version is better.
Why? They have the perfect ratio of chewy bagel, to cinnamon sugar crunch. Meaning, theyโre heavy on the cinnamon crunch, and thatโs just the way they should be.
Hereโs the story.
Iโve actually been working on a good bagel recipe for over a year now. Yes, over a year. I first started the process back in January of 2018. And while I made multiple rounds of plain and sesame seed bagels, I just never came away with a bagel that was truly amazing. I gave up on the bagels sometime in February of 2018. But then January of 2019 rolled around and wellโฆI had the desire to give the bagels another go.
After 4 or 5 rounds, I gave up. Again. Itโs not that the bagels were bad, they tasted just fine. But you guys know me, I have my standards. I only like to share the very best recipes with you guys. Because of this I just never shared any of those bagels attempts.
But then I remember that a while back I created a recipe for cinnamon crunch bagels. As soon as I remember that, I knew I had to make a new and improved cinnamon crunch bagel. Because well, whatโs better than a cinnamon crunch bagel?
Absolutely nothing.
Well, ok. I think this probably depends on just what youโre in the mood for. If you want a bagelโฆand you also want something sweetโฆthen thereโs nothing better than these bagels.
If youโve never made bagels, do not fear, they are simple and easy, especially with this recipe.
My trick is to use instant yeast, which makes mixing up the dough super easy, and keeps the rising time very minimal. Whatโs really awesome, is that these bagels require no fancy ingredients. Just water, yeast, honey, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter.
Thatโs it. And if you have a kitchen with anything stocked in it, then you most likely have these ingredients on hand.
Mix the dough, let it rise, and then shape the dough into bagels. Meaning, roll into balls, punch a hole through the center of each ball, and create a bagel shape. EASY.
The trickiest part about bagels is the boiling process, which truly isnโt tricky at all. Simply drop the bagels, a few at a time, into boiling water and boil until they float. Boiling the bagels before baking gives them the chew factor, and that classic โbagelโ taste.
Now, the key to these bagels is the cinnamon crunch topping. Itโs just a simple mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Simply sprinkle the topping over top each bagel before baking. As the bagels bake up, the topping melts and slowly begins to caramelize over the bagel, becoming crunchy.
DELICIOUS.
I do want to note that the cinnamon sugar will fall off the top of the bagel and onto the pan. When this happens, just use a spoon to quickly, and carefully, scoop the sugar up off the pan. Then simply spoon it back over the bagel. This is why itโs important to line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Once the bagels have cooled off slightly (like just not piping hot), be sure to enjoy one fresh out of the oven. These are great smeared with butter or cream cheese, and yes, the leftover bagels are beyond good toasted. These bagels make for a really fun weekday breakfastโฆor lunch!
So, what are your weekend plans? hopefully bagel making and plenty of chill time. Yep, itโs much needed. See yโall Sunday!
If you make these cinnamon crunch bagels, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, donโt forget to also tag me onย Instagram!ย Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels.
Ingredientsย
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 packets instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour or pastry flour, (or more all-purpose)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Cinnamon Crunch Layer
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Instructionsย
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, yeast, honey, flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, and salt. Knead until the dough comes together, about 1-2 minutes. Cover and let sit in a warm place for 1-2 hours.ย 2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.ย Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.3.ย Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and place on your counter, using a little more flour if needed to prevent from sticking. Divide dough into 10-12 balls.ย Working with one piece of dough at a time, use your finger to poke a hole in the middle. Gently stretch the dough until the hole is about 2 inches big. Place the bagel on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Cover the baking sheet lightly with plastic wrap and let the bagels rise for about 15 minutes.4. To make the topping: In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Stir in 2 tablespoons melted butter.ย 5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Lower 2-3 bagels at a time into the water. Boil for 3 minutes then flip to the other side and boil for 1 additional minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bagels from the pot letting the water drain. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat until youโve boiled all of the bagels.6. Brush each bagel with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and spoon clumps of the brown sugar mix over the bagels (see above photo). This is going to be your โcrunchโ layer. Transfer to the oven and bake forย 25-30 minutes, or until the bagels are golden brown, rotating the pans half way through cooking. Allow the bagels to cool. Slice, toast, eat whole, slathered with butter or cream cheese! Bagels will keep for 4-5 days in a sealed storage bag.ย
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Hi, Iโm wondering about the calorie count. I have a hard time believing they are almost 1000 calories they are much smaller and healthier than the Panera ones and those are around 500 calories am I missing something?
Hi Danielle,
I always recommend that if the nutritional information is important to you, you use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. Itโs not something weโd prefer to be using. We are required to. Iโm sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you enjoy the recipe! xT
I made these yesterday and love them! My only issue is that today when I looked at them the topping was no longer firm? Whatโs the best way to store them to keep the topping crunchy?
Hey Ebony,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback!! The topping does get soft over-night if kept in an airtight container. You can pop them under the broiler the next day. I hope this helps! xT
It’s a shame because I see how these could be so delicious but the sugar mix that melted off burned badly and ended up getting on the underside of the bagels. I grated it off to salvage and what’s left is alright, but it have been so much better had the sugar mixture remained intact. I think I’m going to retry and refrigerate the sugar mix while the bagels bake for 20+ mins and add right before finishing baking. If it works I’ll let you know and revise.
I just made these, I should have twice as manyโฆ. They were eaten with 20 minutes unbelievably Thank You for the recipe
Hi Russ,
Happy Friday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear it was enjoyed! XxT
Hi! These sound amazing and I really want to make them, but I don’t have a stand mixer. What are your suggestions for how to mix the dough without one? I love your recipes! Thank you!
Thanks so much, Heather! No worries, just mix with a wooden spoon and knead by hand until you have a smooth dough ball. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Thanks for this recipe!! They were great!! I boiled them like traditional bagels and added some cinnamon sugar flour mixture to the dough. I had no problem with the sugar coming of. I used the aquafaba aka the juice from a can of white beans for brushing. This is great to not waste any ingredients!! Thanks!!
Hey Sophie,
Yay! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for giving it a try! Happy fall weekend! xT
The majority of my sugar melted off. What can I do to prevent that from happening next time?
Hey Brittney,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I usually use a spoon to help spoon it back over the bagels while baking. Sorry about that! xT
all of my topping melted off and was smokey ๐ฎ
Hi John,
So sorry to hear this! Sometimes you have to use a spoon to scoop the topping back onto the bagels while baking. Thanks for trying this recipe! xx
I have tried several cinnamon crunch bagel recipes the past two weeks. A couple were ok, a few were not!
This recipe is easy and was delicious.
I have added it to my personal cookbook. The only changes I made,
I added 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of baking soda to boiling water, I also used an egg wash instead of butter before adding the topping.
I forgot I also boiled until the bagels floated. Moving them around to keep from sticking.
Hey Heather,
Awesome!! Love to hear that these bagels turned out well for you, thanks so much for sharing your notes and giving them a try! xT
The bagels are delicious but I did experience a lot of smoke baking them and they also stuck to the parchment paper completely. Any ideas on what I was doing wrong?
I had never made bagels before and these were seamlessly easy and tasted delicious too!!
I did use some crisco on my hands and parchment when shaping these and setting them to proof on the pan, it helped with them not sticking.
Thanks Tieghan for another amazing recipe!
Not sure what I did wrongโฆthe entire bagel was kinda hard and chewy . The flavor was good, but not soft and chewy. Did I boil them too long! 3 min seemed too much. Maybe I did not left them raise enough? I was disappointedโฆmy first attempt at bagels! Also needed more salt?
Hi Mary! I’m so sorry about that! I would maybe bake them less time if they felt too hard! xT
Hey, about to fry this recipe but wondering if I could sun bread flour for the all purpose flour and additional 2 cups of pasty flour
Hi Emma! I haven’t ever tried that personally but I think that should work just fine! xT
My whole family loved these and raved at how successful my first ever attempt at making homemade bagels was. If Iโd known they were so easy I wouldโve made them a long long time ago. I too love Paneraโs version of these. The only part that didnโt turn out the best was the crunch. Iโm not sure why but it was more like a layer of cinnamon sugar than crunchiness. Will definitely make these over and over again. Thanks so much for another foolproof, yet amazing, recipe!
Hi Suzanne! Aw thank you so so much! I’m so glad you and your family are enjoying these bagels! Thank you again for trying out the recipe! ๐ xT
Have you tried adding some c.c. to the dough mixture?
You have flour written down twice so now in a bowl I have 3 1/2 cups flour and have no idea if thatโs correct or not.. definitely recommend proof reading your recipe before posting. Also I should have read over your ingredients list prior but Iโve never had this happen before when using a recipe.
Hi Shelley,
This recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and 2 cups of pastry flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions:) xx
Shelly, definitely recommend you read and reread a recipe before posting such a comment. Interesting that you criticized the author instead of questioning yourself, especially when no one else had this issue. Save the negativity for someone who deserves it, and enjoy the free recipes!
Can I sub active dry yeast? I know I have to activate it. Looks yummy!
Hey Abby,
Totally, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
So, Iโll preface by saying we are huge Panera cinnamon crunch bagel fans, so i was very eager to try this recipe, but also skeptical! The recipe was super easy to follow, and i did make some modifications based off of the comments and i subbed organic cane sugar for honey since i have a tiny human under one. These bagels are FAR superior to the ones at Panera! My kiddos, who again are BIG fans of Paneraโs version, squealed in delight over these bagels. Will definitely be making these again!
Hey Abigail,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx