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Easiest Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. For your weekend bagel fix…and 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 week…bagel exquisiteness.

overhead photo of Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

I’ve 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 it’s 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, they’re heavy on the cinnamon crunch, and that’s just the way they should be.

bageling boiling in water

Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels before baking

Here’s the story.

I’ve 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 well…I had the desire to give the bagels another go.

After 4 or 5 rounds, I gave up. Again. It’s 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, what’s better than a cinnamon crunch bagel?

Absolutely nothing.

Well, ok. I think this probably depends on just what you’re in the mood for. If you want a bagel…and you also want something sweet…then there’s nothing better than these bagels.

Homemade Cinnamon Crunch

Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels on baking sheet

If you’ve 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. What’s really awesome, is that these bagels require no fancy ingredients. Just water, yeast, honey, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter.

That’s 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 isn’t 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 “bagel” taste.

overhead photo of Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

Now, the key to these bagels is the cinnamon crunch topping. It’s 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.

Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels with bite taken out of bagel

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 it’s 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 breakfast…or lunch!

So, what are your weekend plans? hopefully bagel making and plenty of chill time. Yep, it’s much needed. See y’all Sunday!

overhead close up photo of Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels

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, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Homemade Cinnamon Crunch Bagels.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 10
Calories Per Serving: 952 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Cinnamon Crunch Layer

Instructions

  • 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. 
    2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
    3. 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. 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. 
    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 you've 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 "crunch" layer. Transfer to the oven and bake for 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. 
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  1. 5 stars
    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.

    1. 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

  2. 5 stars
    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?

    1. 5 stars
      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!

  3. 3 stars
    Not sure what I did wrong…the 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 disappointed…my first attempt at bagels! Also needed more salt?

  4. 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

  5. 5 stars
    You have flour written down twice so now in a bowl I have 3 1/2 cups flour and have no idea if that’s correct or not.. definitely recommend proof reading your recipe before posting. Also I should have read over your ingredients list prior but I’ve never had this happen before when using a recipe.

    1. 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

    1. 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

  6. 5 stars
    So, I’ll 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 Panera’s version, squealed in delight over these bagels. Will definitely be making these again!