Cronuts
Homemade Cronuts in 35 minutes or less? Yes, please! With sweet croissant-donut pastries, you get all the flaky, tender, sweet goodness—no fuss required.
Servings: 6 large cronuts and 6 donut holes
Cost: $4.81
Equipment
- Deep fryer or deep, heavy-bottomed pot and thermometer
Ingredients
Cronuts
- 1 (17.3-ounce) package puff pastry dough see note 1
- Flour for work surface
- 1 gallon vegetable oil 3.78L; or canola oil, see note 2
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter very soft
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Follow package directions to thaw the dough. If using Pepperidge Farm's dough, there should be 2 sheets per package. Lightly flour a flat working surface. Unfold the 2 dough sheets (do not roll it out or press it down) and place them on a lightly floured surface.
- Pour oil into a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed deep pot (see note 2). Use a candy thermometer to gauge heat or set the deep fryer to 350°F (it should beep or alert you with a light when it has reached temperature). It’s very important to monitor the heat constantly—too hot and the cronuts will be burned on the outside and raw/doughy inside and too cool they will end up overly chewy.
- Crack both eggs into a small bowl. Briskly whisk the eggs with a fork. Using a pastry brush, brush both puff pastry dough sheets with the egg wash (just one side). Then fold up each dough sheet in thirds (like a letter and how you removed it from the packaging). Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Using donut or pastry cutters, cut out large cronuts. I use a 2-1/2 cutter to get 3 cronuts per sheet of puff pastry. Use a 1-1/2-inch cutter to cut out the center of each cronut. Repeat with the other sheet of puff pastry dough for a total of 6 cronuts and 6 donut holes. You can also save dough scraps and fry them up to avoid wasting dough.
- Place the doughnuts in the hot oil and fry for 5 minutes, flipping every 1 and 1/2 minutes with a fork, until each side has puffed up and is golden brown, for a total of 5 minutes (monitor the heat to ensure it is constantly 350°F). Use a slotted spoon to remove the donuts and place on a plate lined with a few paper towels. Repeat until all the donut and donut holes have been fried.
- Meanwhile, with a spoon, stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon until combined. Using tongs or two forks (the donuts are hot straight out of the fryer), transfer the hot donuts from the paper-towel-lined plate into this bowl. Gently spoon cinnamon sugar over the donuts and rotate with a fork until generously coated. Enjoy now or add a glaze (see next step).
- Optional Glaze: Whisk together the glaze ingredients. If glaze is too thick, add more maple syrup (or milk) 1 teaspoon at a time. Microwave the glaze for 5–10 seconds or until thin enough for dipping. Gently dip the donuts into the glaze or drizzle over the donuts (sometimes the cinnamon sugar keeps the glaze from adhering as nicely). Let set for a minute and enjoy! Cronuts are best enjoyed hot and fresh after being coated in sugar and/or glazed!
Video
Notes
Note 1: I love Pepperidge Farm’s® puff pastry dough. Typically you can locate it in the frozen aisle of the grocery store—usually next to frozen baked goods. Read the directions on the package for thawing the dough before using. Puff pastry dough is spendy, but a package costs about what 1–2 store-bought cronuts will cost you at a bakery!
Note 2: The oil amount depends on your pot—fill about 1/3 full. A deep fryer takes more, but 1–2 quarts work for a pan. The original cronut recipe uses grapeseed oil, but I use vegetable or canola.
Nutrition Note: Nutritional information does not include the oil used for frying.
Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 108IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg