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.
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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.
Jump to:
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.
Love almond flavor? Try my Almond Sweet Rolls. A fluffy brioche dough, baked around rich and nutty frangipane, and topped with cream cheese frosting? I'm in!
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.
More muffin pan magic: For an easy but impressive breakfast, try my Muffin Tin Popovers. They are lightly sweet, supremely airy, and ready for you to top with sweetened yogurt and fruit!
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!
Got crescent rolls? Try my most nostalgic trip down food memory lane ever with my Breakfast Pigs in a Blanket. Link sausages rolled up in crescent dough and brushed with french toast custard? Yes! Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar hot out of the oven? Yes, please!
Expert tip
It can be difficult to visualize what a recipe writer means when they tell you to slice something in a specific way. Let me try to make this more clear.
- Lay your dough on your work surface so that the 12 inch long side is laying from left to right. Slice your dough in half, in the up and down direction, giving you two pieces of dough that are about 8 inches by 6 inches.
- Then slice each of those pieces in half in the same up and down direction. You now have four 3 inch wide by 8 inch long pieces of dough.
- Slice each of those four pieces into three strips. You now have twelve 1 inch wide by 8 inch long almond cream covered strips. Or close enough. No one will be coming to your house to inspect your measurements.
Quick tip: Make another slice, straight across the middle, doubling the amount to 24 strips that are 1 inch wide by 4 inches long. Bake in a mini muffin pan for 18 to 22 minutes. Enjoy your mini almond cruffins!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can. If you feel like a project you can use the dough from my easy cinnamon rolls or my quick and easy puff pastry in place of the crescent dough.
Can I freeze these before baking and bake them another day?
Absolutely and aren’t you clever? Tuck the tail ends of your cruffins underneath each roll and place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Freeze until solid and then transfer them to a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in a paper lined muffin pan in the refrigerator overnight or bake from frozen, allowing another 5 to 10 minutes extra baking time.
How should I store my leftover cruffins?
Store them at room temperature in an airtight container. They will last up to 3 days. You can also freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
How should I reheat my leftover cruffins?
Microwave room temperature cruffins for about 10 seconds, or defrost and heat the frozen ones in the oven at 400°F for about 5 minutes.
Did you try this recipe?
Write a note with a ⭐️ rating below to tell me all about it! And don't forget to tag me @butfirst_webrunch on Instagram!
I appreciate you!
-Cynthia
📖 Recipe
Almond Croissant Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 package crescent dough sheet
- 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cup (140 g) almond flour
- 3 large eggs room temperature, reserve 1 for the egg wash
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ⅓ cup (30.67 g) sliced almonds untoasted
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.
- Using a standard rolling pin, or a double sided rolling pan if you have mobility issues, roll, your crescent dough out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper 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.
- Using a hand mixer, or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in the almond flour until fully blended. Add in the egg and the almond extract, mixing until it’s all combined and fluffy.
- Remove your crescent dough from the freezer 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.
- Using a knife or a pizza cutter, slice into 12 strips along the 8 inch side (so shorter strips).
- Tip: To make this easier, slice your dough in half. Then slice each of those pieces in half. You now have 4 pieces. Slice each of those 4 pieces into 3 strips. You now have 12 almond cream covered strips.
- Roll each strip up and place into one of the greased wells until all the strips are in the pan. Brush the top of each almond croissant muffin with a little bit of the egg wash and then top with a few sliced almonds.
- Bake at 375°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for a bit. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!
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!
Notes
- The exact measurements that you roll your crescent sheet are not a deal breaker. It’s not difficult, but do your best. You are just going to make 12 strips out of whatever size you get and it will still be delicious.
- If you cannot find the crescent dough sheets, transfer crescent roll dough to a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Pinch the perforated seams closed the best that you can and the roll out to 12 nches by 8 inches, or as large as you can.
- Extra egg wash can be kept in an airtight container, like a small mason jar, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Use to get a great shine on pies, biscuits, scones, and more.
- Store leftover almond croissant muffins in a cake stand or airtight container for up to 3 days. To freeze, individually wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and place them in a zip top bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for 30 minutes.
- To reheat, microwave for 10 to 15 seconds or place in a 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Sara says
Could store purchased puff pastry substitute the crescent dough?
Cynthia Christensen says
Absolutely! I enjoy the soft texture of the crescent rolls, but puff pastry would give you lots of flake layers like a real croissant!