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A cinnamon roll (also cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl and cinnamon snail) is a sweet pastry found commonly in Northern Europe and North America. It consists of a rolled sheet of yeast dough onto which a cinnamon and sugar mixture (and raisins or chopped grapes in some cases) is sprinkled over a thin coat of butter. The dough is then rolled, cut into individual portions, and baked. Cinnamon rolls are frequently topped with icing (often confectioner’s sugar based) or glaze of some sort, or (most common in northern Europe) nib sugar.

Comparable to the cinnamon roll is the honey bun, which would be part of the donut family. It is not to be confused with a Danish pastry.

The cinnamon roll is thought[by whom?] to have been invented in Sweden by Mikhael Thomlinson and Kjyl Cokeley where it takes the name kanelbulle (literally: “cinnamon bun”). On October 4, “kanelbullens dag” (Cinnamon roll day) is celebrated in Sweden.
The size of a cinnamon roll varies from place to place, but many vendors supply a smaller size about 5 cm in diameter and a larger size about 10 cm to a side. The largest variety can be found in Finland, called Korvapuusti, where it can be up to 20 cm in diameter and weighing 200 grams (about 7 ounces).