This Easy Cruffin Recipe is a cross between a croissant & a muffin. Made with puff pastry OR crescent roll dough & coated in cinnamon & sugar. Taste & texture similar to churros & positively heavenly. Great for breakfast, drizzled with dipping sauce, or topped with ice cream for dessert.
One thing this house goes crazy for is cinnamon. So when I made these cruffins to enjoy on a holiday morning – everyone was clamoring for more.
I was getting requests to make several more batches before they had even made it through the one cruffin on their plate. Needless to say, these will be making an appearance frequently around here.
I love this recipe because it takes only a handful of ingredients to make and it is CRAZY simple. No special skills or equipment needed. If you have a standard muffin tin – you can make these cruffins.
I tried it with both puff pastry and crescent roll dough. I have both shown here so you can see the difference. As expected, the ones made with the puff pastry and light and crumbly texture.
Cruffins
With the cinnamon and sugar coating, they gave a crunch that was so similar to churros.
The ones made with crescent roll dough were denser and more doughy in texture. Still delicious and I’ll probably continue to make both versions of this easy cruffin recipe frequently depending on what ingredients are available at the store.
Cruffin Recipe
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can this Easy Cruffin recipe be cut in half?
Oh of course! If you would like to only make 4 cruffins, just use either 1 sheet of puff pastry or 1 tube of crescent roll dough. Reduce the butter, cinnamon, and sugar by half. The recipe steps will remain the same.
cruffins made with puff pastry
Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
This is really a personal preference. If you are happy with just a little salt to cut the sweetness, then use salted butter.
I usually use whatever I have on hand, which is usually salted butter. I love that little bit of extra salt with the sweet in this recipe.
More Delicious Cinnamon Recipes
Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookie Bars
One-Hour Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake
Copycat Roadhouse Cinnamon Butter
Can I use a sugar substitute?
I have not personally tried it, so I can’t say how that would turn out. But if you would like to try it, I suggest a product that offers a 1:1 swap. Please let me know how it turns out.
More Cruffin Recipes to Try
HOW DO YOU MAKE Cruffins using puff pastry?
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly grease 8 wells of a muffin tin. Set aside.
- Using a small rolling pin, roll out each sheet of puff pastry until you have 2 larger rectangles that are approx 11×15 inches.
- Spread the softened butter onto the sheets.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.
- Sprinkle a small amount of the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the buttered sheets.
- Starting on the long end of the rectangle, roll up the dough tightly into a log.
- Cut the dough in half, giving you shorter logs.
- Then cut each of those logs in half, lengthwise – exposing the inner layers of the logs.
- Repeat with the second sheet. When you are finished – you should have 4 pieces out of each sheet.
- Take each piece and wrap it around your fingers to form the shape of a muffin, with the layered side out. This will give the best chance of all those layers being visible when they are baked.
- Place each rolled piece in the greased muffin tin.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes – rotating halfway through.
Coat with Cinnamon/Sugar Mixture
- Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the pan, one by one, by gently releasing any parts that are stuck using a butter knife or thin object.
- Roll each cruffin in the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture and place them on a plate or cooling rack to come to room temperature.
- Store at room temperature in an open container. Closing them into an airtight container will make them sweat and the sugar will become moist and they will lose the texture that makes them great.
Note –
Since all ovens bake a little differently, check these in the last 10 minutes or so. For the puff pastry, you want them deep brown and crispy, but they can easily go too far and burn if they aren’t watched because the sugar melts and puddles in the bottom of the pan. Left too long, the sugar will start to burn.
HOW DO YOU MAKE Cruffins using crescent roll dough?
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Lightly grease 8 well os a muffin tin. Set aside.
- Using a small rolling pin, roll out each sheet of the crescent roll dough until you have 2 larger rectangles that are slightly larger than what you started with and the perforated portions are blended back together.
- Spread the softened butter onto the sheets.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.
- Sprinkle a small amount of the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the buttered sheets.
- Starting on the long end of the rectangle, roll up the dough into a log.
- Cut the dough in half, giving you shorter logs.
- Then cut each of those logs in half, lengthwise – exposing the inner layers of the logs.
- Repeat with the second sheet. When you are finished – you should have 4 pieces out of each sheet.
- Take each piece and wrap it around your fingers to form the shape of a muffin, with the layered side out. This will give the best chance of all those layers being visible when they are baked. You can gently stretch the dough during this process.
- Place each rolled piece in the greased muffin tin.
- Bake for 15 minutes – rotating halfway through.
Coat with Cinnamon/Sugar Mixture
- Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the pan, one by one, by gently releasing any parts that are stuck using a butter knife or thin object.
- Roll each cruffin in the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture and place them on a plate or cooling rack to come to room temperature.
- Store at room temperature in an open container. Closing them into an airtight container will make them sweat and the sugar will become moist and they will lose the texture that makes them great.
To make Cruffins using puff pastry you will need…
- frozen puff pastry – thawed
- butter – room temperature
- granulated sugar
- ground cinnamon
croissant muffins
To make Cruffins using crescent roll dough you will need…
- crescent roll dough
- butter – room temperature
- granulated sugar
- ground cinnamon
cruffins made with crescent roll dough
What is a cruffin?
A cruffin is a delicious combination of a croissant and a muffin. Basically, we are taking the idea of the flaky layers of a croissant and twisting the dough into a muffin shape, and baking in a muffin tin.
Other Sweet Pastries
If you love this Easy Cruffin recipe, you’re going to love these other recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Products I love when making cruffins…
This easy cruffin recipe is SUPER delicious – and if you’re like me, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand
OR maybe you have never made cruffins before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love them. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this cruffin recipe.
- crescent dough
- puff pastry
- cinnamon
- granulated sugar
- muffin tin
- mini rolling pin
Easy Cruffin Recipe
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
- 2 sheets of frozen puff pastry thawed
- 3-4 tbsp butter room temperature – divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Crescent Roll Dough
- 2 tubes of crescent roll dough
- 3-4 tbsp butter room temperature – divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Puff Pastry
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Lightly grease 8 wells of a muffin tin. Set aside.
- Using a small rolling pin, roll out each sheet of puff pastry until you have 2 larger rectangles that are approx 11×15 inches.
- Spread the softened butter onto the sheets.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.
- Sprinkle a small amount of the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the buttered sheets.
- Starting on the long end of the rectangle, roll up the dough tightly into a log.
- Cut the dough in half, giving you shorter logs.
- Then cut each of those logs in half, lengthwise – exposing the inner layers of the logs.
- Repeat with the second sheet. When you are finished – you should have 4 pieces out of each sheet.
- Take each piece and wrap it around your fingers to form the shape of a muffin, with the layered side out. This will give the best chance of all those layers being visible when they are baked.
- Place each rolled piece in the greased muffin tin.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes – rotating halfway through. Since all ovens bake a little different, check these in the last 10 minutes or so. For the puff pastry, you want them deep brown and crispy, but they can easily go too far and burn if they aren’t watched because the sugar melts and puddles in the bottom of the pan. Left too long, the sugar will start to burn.
- Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the pan, one by one, by gently releasing any parts that are stuck using a butter knife or thin object.
- Roll each cruffin in the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture and place them on a plate or cooling rack to come to room temperature.
- Store at room temperature in an open container. Closing them into an airtight container will make them sweat and the sugar will become moist and they will lose the texture that makes them great.
Crescent Roll Dough
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Lightly grease 8 wells of a muffin tin. Set aside.
- Using a small rolling pin, roll out each sheet of the crescent roll dough until you have 2 larger rectangles that are slightly larger than what you started with and the perforated portions are blended back together.
- Spread the softened butter onto the sheets.
- Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.
- Sprinkle a small amount of the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the buttered sheets.
- Starting on the long end of the rectangle, roll up the dough into a log.
- Cut the dough in half, giving you shorter logs.
- Then cut each of those logs in half, lengthwise – exposing the inner layers of the logs.
- Repeat with the second sheet. When you are finished – you should have 4 pieces out of each sheet.
- Take each piece and wrap it around your fingers to form the shape of a muffin, with the layered side out. This will give the best chance of all those layers being visible when they are baked. You can gently stretch the dough during this process.
- Place each rolled piece in the greased muffin tin.
- Bake for 15 minutes – rotating halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the pan, one by one, by gently releasing any parts that are stuck using a butter knife or thin object.
- Roll each cruffin in the remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture and place them on a plate or cooling rack to come to room temperature.
- Store at room temperature in an open container. Closing them into an airtight container will make them sweat and the sugar will become moist and they will lose the texture that makes them great.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Keira says
These look amazing. I’ll have to try these for Saturday morning breakfast.
Diane N. says
How could I modify this recipe for mini muffin pans? TY
Gina Kleinworth says
I suppose you could – the baking time will be significantly less – but since I have never done it, I can’t say how long.
Kathie Y Elia says
would smearing the strips with softened almond paste work?
Gina Kleinworth says
I suppose you could give it a try. Keep in mind that as it melts it will drip out and could bubble over. You might want to watch to make sure it doesn’t cause burning or a mess in your oven.
Terry says
What is a os muffin tin? I am thinking it means over size. Tks
Gina Kleinworth says
Sorry about that – That is a typo. It should say 8 wells of a muffin tin.
Susan Wright says
Have you made these the night before and baked the next morning??
Gina Kleinworth says
I have not tried that Susan. If you do give it a try, I’d love to know how it turned out.
Dani says
Love the easy recipe! Can you let me know roughly what weight each sheet of puff pastry should be? Thanks!
Gina Kleinworth says
we used Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Frozen Pastry Dough Sheets, 2-Count, 17.3 oz. Box
Stephanie says
Oh no, these are addicting! So quick and delicious, I could eat the whole batch in one sitting. Thanks for such a fabulous recipe! I did the puff pastry version and followed it to a T. Came out perfect.
Sandyb says
These were fantastic! Definitely check the time. I pulled them T about 35 minutes and they were just right. Don’t think I would let them get as dark as some of the pictures shown here! Great recipe made with store bought puff pastry!
Lisa says
They are delicious, but I should have watched a video about how to shape them because guaranteed mine aren’t correct…but delicious
Deb says
I’m concerned about how to roll them around my finger…dont they fall apart?
Gina Kleinworth says
No – not really. You can check out my Reel for the Oreo version here to see how it looks – https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrRjJ8ksshi/
Marlene says
I cut the rolled dough one more time to get 8 cinnamon rolls out of each tube and baked them in mini muffin pans. Also, I drizzled with a buttercream icing instead of rolling in additional cinnamon sugar. Love the appearance. I much prefer a yeast based cinnamon roll but you can’t beat the convenience and speed of this cute and tasty version.
Greta Earthly says
They sound and look remarkable. In trying them on Sunday, New Years Day. Happy New Year to me!! And to you as well
DONNA TAWNEY says
Look good, however, wasn’t able to wrap around my fat fingers. So I flipped the 8 logs over exposing the butter sugar. I then rolled them like a cinnamon roll. Tastes great.
Charlene says
Absolutely delicious. Easy to make. I did add a little drizzle of cream cheese icing.
bluegreeneyes says
I used the crescent roll dough and found it difficult to roll out. The results were ok, but not as great as I had anticipated. Next time I will use puff pastry which I know will be better.
Gina Kleinworth says
It could be the temperature of the room or the brand of the dough.
Lin says
When you say ‘sprinkle a small amount of cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the buttered sheets’ … what do you consider a small amount? Is it 1/2 of the mixture, 1/3 of the mixture or what?
Also, could you use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar?
Gina Kleinworth says
I suppose if you measured it out – it would be maybe 1/3 of the mixture. You’ll need the rest for rolling the baked cruffins in afterwards. So I wouldn’t add too much of the total mixture.
I don’t recommend brown sugar because it is inherantly sticky – keeping it from coating or sprinkling evenly.
b says
Loved these! Made them in the morning and it was hard not to eat two.
Kim says
I used the 15 minute puff pastry (with sour cream). Made 12 cruffins. Raised the temperature to 400° half way through.
Cookie says
Made these for Christmas brunch following the puff pastry recipe and they turned out perfectly. They were a big hit with the family. Absolutely delicious!
Vy Nguyen says
I used puff pastry but it didn’t rise and was dough-ie in the centre and bottom. What did it do wrong?
Gina Kleinworth says
It is possible that you didn’t roll it or stretch it thin enough before so that they layers would bake through. I have never had that issue before.