Since I began the pursuit of becoming an accomplished home chef, working with puff pastry has been a great delight. There is a bit of patience and attention to detail required but the results are a decadent flaky puff pastry.
Croissants fall under my favorite in the list of viennoiseries. To enjoy the process of preparing puff pastry, I always keep a mental note to start the process a day before and work when the temperatures are low.
I came across this creative recipe as I researched for a more creative shape and version of puff pastry. This recipe was first made popular at the Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, a bakery in San Francisco.
The craft bakery has mastered the art of combining flavor and art in baked goods. I was determined to try these at home when I came across a true copycat recipe for croissant muffins.
Some people combine the name of the two products, coining an interesting name ‘croiffins’.
They are croissants because of their texture and muffins because of their shape! The product is an amazing piece of pastry with spiraling flaky layers.
As they do at Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, you can roll the warm croissant muffins in sugar and fill them with various fillings or enjoy them as plain croissant muffins too!
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Why This Recipe?
I spoil my girlfriends every time we have our monthly meetup. They long for the day I will be assigned to host them. How delicious is the cross between a muffin and a croissant? It blends perfectly with a hot cup of coffee on a cold winter evening.
‘My creativity and productivity are enhanced as long as these special muffins are served’ always confirms one of the cheerful visitors.
This copycat recipe furnishes you with detailed step by step on how to make this heavenly-tasting puff pastry treat.
Ingredients and Substitutes.
All-purpose flour works well in this recipe forming the base of the recipe. You can substitute with whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour.
Milk is rich in flavor and contains fat that immensely moisturizes as well as hydrates the pastry dough. You can use water in place of milk.
Yeast releases special aromas and leavens the dough.
Eggs contribute to the moisture content of the pastry dough. Sugar adds depth of sweetness to the confectionaries
Vanilla extract is my all-time favorite dough flavor responsible for its sweet and almost mild aroma.
Butter moisturizes the croissant muffin dough. The cold-blocked butter rolled and folded in the dough transforms regular dough into an airy puff pastry.
Cinnamon sugar or granulated sugar: adds a sweet layer to the baked croissant muffins
Filling the muffins is optional though jam or a filling of your choice will make the confectioneries more exquisite.
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Muffin tins
- Rolling pins
- Pastry wheel cutter
- Rulers
- Parchment Paper
Shaping The croissant muffins
- Pastry rolled into a rectangle.
2. Divided into 2-inch strips.
3. Pastry cut across.
4. Roll into a spiral croissant shape.
- Roll out the pastry into a rectangle measuring (24cm by 8cm ) on a floured surface. Use a pastry wheel cutter to divide the dough into strips of about 2 inches in thickness. (Use a ruler to mark the cutting points on your pastry dough.)
- Lay out one strip, and place two other strips above the bottom strip 1 inch from the end of each (see pictures). Begin to roll the three strips in a spiral manner. Set the rolled pastry upright, wrap the remaining dough, and secure it on the bottom of the croissant muffin. With a finger, poke a hole in the center of the croissant. It should look like a cinnamon roll.
- Place the croissant muffin into a greased muffin and set it in an oven (switched off ) with a bowl of hot water. Let the croissant muffins proof for about two hours, You can also proof your croissant muffins in a warm area in your kitchen. Cover the proofing pastries with plastic wrap to protect them from the draft.
- Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius or 300 Fahrenheit, set the croissant muffins in the oven and bake for 5 minutes at 180 C to 356F then reduce the temperature to 150C/300F and bake the croissant muffins for 25 minutes until the edges are deep golden brown.
- Get the baked puff pastries from the oven and let them cool slightly so as not to burn your fingers. Roll the croissant muffins in a bowl containing white sugar or cinnamon sugar.
- Though this is optional, you could pipe your choice of fruit filling or jam into the hole at the center. Fillings add flavor and sweetness to the decadent laminated puff pastries.
( If you do not have enough time and patience to laminate the dough, don't worry we got you covered! Roll the dough onto a large rectangle on a floured surface.
Using a butter knife, spread soft butter all over the dough. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the entire surface of the dough. Roll over the dough into a log.
Cut the log into shorter pieces, split each log into half with a sharp knife or pastry wheel. Roll the split logs in a spiral shape and place them in a prepared muffin tin for baking.)
Enjoy your exquisite, soft, and puffy choice of viennoiseries with a hot cup of coffee. Your laminating efforts will pay off! Your guests will keep asking for more, you might have to double your recipe next time! lol
FAQ Croissants Muffins
The muffins can stay in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
The flaky pastries freeze perfectly when each is wrapped with parchment paper and placed in a freezer-friendly container or bag. These hybrid muffins can stay up for 2 months in the freezer.
Butter is a great option for most home cooks and specialty chefs since it’s easily available and contains less fat. Use rich organic butter that contains less water.
Be sure to chill your dishes and your butter for delicious flaky pastry.
Pastry margarine, on the other hand, is preferred by commercial pastry shops.
The same flavor and structure have to be maintained on a larger scale to meet client needs.
It is easier to work with even at room temperature, however, it contains higher levels of fat translating to lots of calories in your puff pastry.
If it is the first attempt at croissants don’t worry if they don’t come exactly like the recipe picture. As you continue to practice, you will ultimately perfect your skills and love the results of your work.
Creating those flaky layers is affected by many factors. Most likely your butter wasn’t cold enough and was absorbed into the pastry dough.
If you stay in the tropics, make the dough late in the night when the temperature is below 28 degrees. Chill all the dishes you intend to use and follow the recipe’s chilling periods.
Experts Tip
When working with butter, I can never over-emphasize the need to chill your butter and work in an almost cold kitchen.
Lower temperatures will keep the butter from melting and getting absorbed into the dough. Layering with butter ensures the structure of the puff pastry is achieved.
Once the butter begins to melt, the structure gets distorted.
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Croissant Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 grams All-purpose flour
- 10 grams Instant yeast
- 60 grams Sugar
- 10 grams Salt
- 50 grams Unsalted Butter
- 210 ml Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 100 grams Butter for blocking
Instructions
How to make croissant muffins
- Toprepare the puff pastry dough, measure the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt thentransfer into a stand mixer bowl. Whisk until all the dry ingredients mixthoroughly.
- Add warm milk, lightly beaten egg, and butter into the flour mixture and set the dough hook of the stand mixer and mix to form a soft dough.
- Form a round ball and chill in the fridge for 4 hours or preferably overnight.
Laminating the dough
- Prepare the butter square that will be wrapped within the pastry dough. Place parchment paper on the working surface and sprinkle some flour.
- Place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the butter and roll out the butter as you gently tap and spread to fit within a square (8 cm by 8cm ). Let the butter square rest in the fridge for about thirty minutes.
- Get the chilled pastry dough from the fridge and roll it out on floured parchment paper into a rectangle measuring (24cm by 8cm).
- Place the square in the middle of the rectangle then fold the right side of the rectangle and then the left to the envelope to cover the butter.
- Roll the square formed into a rectangle. Fold the dough as you did the first time into a square. By this time your hands are getting warmer. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, roll into the rectangle, and fold into the square. Cover with a cling film and return to the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Repeat the process of rolling into a rectangle, folding into a square, and refrigerating for about three times.
