Baked Apple Croissant (Better than Starbucks Copycat)

Craving the pastries from your favorite coffee shop? These Baked Apple Croissants are a better-than-Starbucks homemade version. Flaky pastry filled to the brim with spiced maple apples will transport you straight to your favorite café without the high price or even leaving the house!

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I didn't even know that Starbucks Baked Apple Croissants existed until my family and I took a trip to Philly to find the best cheesesteaks (ironically, John's Roast Pork won our informal contest). Anyway, we stopped at a local Starbucks go to the bathroom, like you do, and there was one lonely apple croissant sitting in the bake case. You know I had to try it.

When I say there were three pieces of apple baked into the center of a whole lotta dough, I am not exaggerating. There were three chunks of apple, no apple pie juiciness to be found, and a whole lot of underbaked dough. Come on guys. We can do better than that!

So, I took my homemade rough puff pastry, put it in my muffin pan, and filled the wells with my delicious maple apples. These are the same delicious apples that I put into my simple apple turnovers, on top of my chai waffles, and on my breakfast chops. Guys, there is almost a full quarter cup of juicy apple pie filling inside of each one of these baked apple croissants and everyone is gonna lose it when they take a bite!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Most of the ingredients for these cinnamon apple croissants are for making the super cravable apple filling. Then it's just puff pastry, an egg (for the egg wash), and some sparkly sugar for fancy reasons (which I forgot to add to the picture, of course).

• Apples - Honeycrisp apples are my apple of choice for these delicious apple croissants because of their sweet and tart flavor and the fact that they hold up well to cooking and baking. Granny smith apples would also be good. I would avoid McIntosh, red delicious, or Fuji apples, as they tend to get a little bit grainy and mushy when cooked.
• Spices - I love cinnamon and allspice in any apple recipe, and nutmeg is their best friend. If you don't have those individual spices, you can use apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, or just cinnamon. You could even skip the warm spices altogether, and let the maple syrup do the heavy lifting.
• Maple syrup - That being said, it has come to my attention that some people don't like the flavor or aroma of maple syrup. Leave it out! You've got brown sugar and spices in there.
• Cornstarch - You need the cornstarch to thicken up the apple pie filling as the mixture bubbles so it doesn't come all running out when you bite in. You can substitute with tapioca starch, arrowroot powder, or even flour in a pinch (add the flour with the sugar and spices).
• Butter - I always use unsalted butter because there is no standard in the amount of salt contained in different brands of butter. If you only have salted butter, just leave out the added salt.
• Puff pastry - I have a super easy and delicious all butter, rough puff pastry recipe on the blog, but store-bought works great. I prefer the ones that come in one long sheet, like Dufour or Jusroll. If you use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry you may need more than one sheet, but you'll get more apple croissants, so you're still winning!
• Egg - The egg is on the list simply to be used as an egg wash. If you don't want to use an egg, feel free to brush the tops of the croissants with a little bit of milk or heavy cream to help the sparkly sugar adhere.

See recipe card below for all measurements.

Step-by-step Instructions

If making a quick batch of maple apples is the hardest thing you do all week, you are very lucky. This is such an easy recipe that is so impressive. Everyone's good to think you're a master baker!

I have two different methods you can use to make these delicious baked apple croissants. The first is to cut up individual squares of puff pastry, press them in, and fill them. The second is to roll the whole sheet of puff pastry directly over the top of your muffin pan, press down, filling, and then cutting the squares. Check out all the pictures and pick the method that works best for you!

• Start by peeling and dicing your apples into ¼ to ½ inch dice.

Step 1: In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. As it melts, keep swirling the butter over the heat until it is light brown in color and smells nutty, about 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately add the diced apples and stir around in the brown butter. This will stop the butter from burning.

Step 2: Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10-12 minutes until the apples have slightly softened.

Step 3: Whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and pour into the apple mixture. Simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes or until juices have thickened. Add vanilla and stir in.

Step 4: Spread on a small sheet pan to cool. When completely cool place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. If making your apple croissants immediately, place the sheet pan of apples into the freezer to flash cool while you prepare your puff pastry.

• Next, preheat your oven to 400°F and spray 8 of the wells of a muffin pan with nonstick spray (spray all 12 wells if using square puff pastry sheets)

Cut-out method

Step 5: Unroll your puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut into 8 equal pieces. If using square sheets of puff pastry, cut each one into 6 pieces. Bonus: You'll get a dozen baked apple croissants!

Step 6: Place the puff pastry into the prepared pan, using your fingers, or the handle of a wooden spoon to press the pastry to the bottom and sides. Spoon cooled maple apple filling into each one, filling them almost to the top. You may not use all the filling. Eat it with the spoon.

Step 7: Fold the corners of the pastry over the top, leaving a bit of the filling exposed. A sneak peek.

Step 8: Brush the exposed pastry with a bit of milk, cream, or an egg wash composed of one egg whisked with one tablespoon of water. Sprinkle with some sparkly coarse sugar or granulated sugar.

Roll-out method

Step 7: Rollout your puff pastry until it's the size of your muffin pan and roll it over the top. Use another muffin, or a small jar to press down lightly into well.

Step 8: Fill each well with about a quarter cup of maple apples. It may seem over-full, but it will work out in the next step.

Step 7: Use a pizza cutter, or a knife, to cut between each well, trimming off the excess from the top and bottom. The weight of the apples should cause the puff pastry squares to fall into the wells.

Step 8: Fold the corners of the pastry over the top, leaving a bit of the filling exposed. Brush the exposed pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar or granulated sugar.

Bake: Bake in your preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and the apple filling is bubbling up out of the pastry. Allow to cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool at least 15 minutes before eating. Trust me, the filling is hot. My husband found out the hard way 🥵

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