Almond Croissant Muffins

Indulge in the delightful combination of flaky crescent dough and rich almond frangipane with these delectable Almond Croissant Muffins. With their golden exterior and irresistible almond aroma, these muffins are sure to become a favorite treat for breakfast or brunch.

Save This Recipe! 💌

I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!

I agree to be receive new recipes from But First We Brunch

From the earliest days of dating my husband when we shared a flaky almond croissant in a cafe near campus, to making him an almond apple cake for our first anniversary, almond flavors have been a part of our story for over 35 years. These Almond Croissant Muffins, also known as cruffins, are an edible walk down our memory lane.

In this recipe I combine the buttery layers of crescent dough with the luxurious sweetness of almond cream, to recreate those flavors we love, and I know you will love them too! This simple version of an almond croissant tastes like you got dressed and went to the bakery to buy them, but you are in the comfort of your own kitchen - hopefully in your pajamas.

What is a cruffin?

Cruffins are sweet treats that combine elements of a flaky croissant and a buttermilk muffin. In this recipe it is made by spreading almond cream over a sheet of crescent dough, cutting the dough into strips, rolling them up, and then baking them in a muffin tin. The result is a flaky, buttery pastry with a muffin shape, filled with the flavors of your favorite almond pastry. Dust them with icing sugar and you'll swear you are in a Pâtisserie.

❤️ What you'll love about this cruffin recipe

• Simple - Although you can use homemade pastry, or try to tackle croissant dough, using store bought crescent dough makes these as easy as can be.
• Quick - Even with making the almond filling, you can have these ready to eat in less than an hour. Made the almond cream ahead? You are 30 minutes from almond croissant muffins!
• Make ahead - Fill, cut, and roll your cruffins up to a day in advance. Place them in your muffin pan and cover with plastic wrap or cling film. Let them come to room temperature while you preheat the oven and you just beat the clock even more!
• Holiday favorite - These almond muffins are just the thing for Christmas morning, Easter Brunch, or Mother’s Day breakfast in bed!
• Feed a crowd - One sheet of crescent dough makes a dozen cruffins. Double the recipe and you’re ready for a potluck or big gathering.

Ingredients

These are all of the ingredients you need to make these almond croissant muffins. Nothing complicated and all of them easy to find at your local mega market

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions

My dream is for you to be able to make adorable little almond cruffins that taste like a traditional croissant. Here are a few ways to help make that dream a reality:

• Almonds - If you are allergic to, or don’t care for almonds, I’m not sure how you got to this page, but let’s see what we can do! If it’s a preference thing, you can make a frangipane with pistachios or hazelnuts. Skip the almond extract and just use vanilla instead. If it’s a nut allergy that stops you, try using oat flour in place of the almond flour!
• Crescent dough - If you can only find crescent rolls you can either pinch the seams shut to make one big sheet, or you can make individual almond croissants.
• Crescent dough, continued - If you don’t want to use crescent dough, you can substitute with store bought puff pastry sheets (like Pepperidge Farm), or homemade puff pastry, or you can use my biscuit dough cinnamon roll technique!

Variations

 I just can’t think of many things better than these almond cruffins, but you know what? Let’s be crazy!

• Nutella - In place of the frangipane filling, try smearing your crescent roll dough with nutella and topping with some crushed hazelnuts before baking.
• Blueberry - Mix one brick of cream cheese with 4 tablespoons of blueberry jam. Smear all over the dough before cutting and rolling. Top with a powdered sugar snowfall.
• Savory - Make a complete 180° turn and make these savory with a smear of dijon mustard, some shredded Gruyère, and some thinly sliced deli ham. Slice, roll, and bake as directed in this recipe.

Equipment

I'm pretty sure everyone has a muffin tin at their disposal, but do you have the best one for these Almond Croissant Muffins? Having owned quite a few crummy pans in my life, I have no problem paying a bit extra for a high quality nonstick muffin pan. Mine has more than paid itself in muffins that come right out of the pan without a paper liner.

BUT, if you don't have a good nonstick muffin pan, just line the wells of your crummy one with muffin liners. For extra insurance, spray each well, and the inside of your muffin liners,  generously with nonstick spray. In a pinch, you could even buy disposable aluminum muffin pans, most of which come with their own muffin liners. I'm all about convenience and eating flaky pastries.

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease all of the wells of a standard size muffin pan with nonstick spray.
• Whisk together one egg with one tablespoon of water to use as an egg wash and set aside.

Step 1: Using a standard rolling pin, or a double sided rolling pin if you have mobility issues, roll your crescent dough out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, or a lightly floured surface, to about 12 inches by 8 inches.

If you have the time and space, place the parchment paper with the dough on a sheet pan into the freezer while you make your almond cream.

Step 2: Using a hand mixer, or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the almond flour until fully blended. 

Step 3: Add in the egg and the almond extract, mixing until it’s all combined and fluffy.

Step 4: Remove your crescent dough from the freezer (if you had time and space to do that) and place the parchment paper and dough on your work surface. Using an offset spatula, or silicone spatula, spread the frangipane evenly over the surface of the dough.

Double up Make a double batch of frangipane and try out my Blueberry Bostock Pastry. The most delicious combination of French toast and an almond croissant, it's the perfect way to use up leftover brioche bread or croissants.

Step 5: Using a sharp knife, or a pizza cutter, slice into 12 strips along the 8 inch side and roll each strip up.

Step 6: Place each roll into one of the greased muffin cups until all the strips are in the pan

Step 7: Brush the top of each almond croissant muffin with a little bit of the egg wash.

Step 8: Top with a few sliced almonds and bake at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until deep golden brown.

Final steps: Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer your almond croissant cruffins to a wire rack to cool for a bit. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

More almond flavors