Fried to golden brown and rolled in a tantalizing cinnamon sugar mixture, these easy fried mini Cronuts are quick, mouthwatering, and sure to please.
Even as an avid cookie lover, it’s hard to pass up a donut. There’s just something about that soft, fried dough that’s slightly sweet and oh so comforting. Croissants, on the other hand, are generally baked but contain large amounts of butter to create the most decadent pastry finish. Enter this exquisite hybrid: the cronut. A croissant is deep-fried and comes out perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle for a truly unique goodie. These easy fried mini Cronuts take less than thirty minutes and are all but guaranteed to please even your pickiest dessert-goers. Let’s make them.
What you’ll need to make these easy fried mini Cronuts:
One pack of crescent rolls
Frying oil of choice (I chose vegetable)
Granulated sugar
Ground cinnamon
for dipping (optional)
The Cronut
So what exactly is a Cronut? It’s basically a hybrid between a croissant and a donut. While the process of making a croissant is involved and can be tedious at times, we use store-bought crescent rolls here for a quick and easy treat.
Begin by heating your oil on high in a heavy-bottomed pan until it reaches 350 degrees. It’s ok if the temperature fluctuates between 325 and 350, but try to keep it in that range.
Open your pack of crescent rolls and remove + open both rolls of dough. Seal the perforations in the dough gently by pressing the seams together. You will have 4 rectangles of dough, each of which is two triangles pressed together.
Using a pizza cutter, divide each rectangle into 6 smaller triangles. Roll each of the pieces up into mini crescent rolls and press down on the tip to “seal” it to the bottom.
Using a slotted spoon, gently place the mini crescents into the oil. Be cautious as the oil is hot and can burn if it splashes on the skin.
Fry each batch of mini crescents for about one and a half minutes each, flipping them several times with the spoon so they brown up evenly.
Using the slotted spoon, carefully remove 2-3 crescents from the oil at a time, allowing the excess oil to drip off. Place them on a paper towel-lined plate to cool further.
Toss the Cronuts in the cinnamon + sugar mixture. Top them with homemade caramel sauce or chocolate fudge. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for one day. This recipe makes about 24 mini Cronuts, and they are best served the day of. Enjoy!
Dietary substitutions
Mom’s Place makes a gluten-free crescent roll mix that you can easily make dairy free as well. Use this as a substitute for the prepackaged crescent rolls in this recipe.
See substitutions on my Three Ingredient Homemade Caramel blog for a dairy free version of my caramel sauce.
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XO,
Heather
Easy Fried Mini Cronuts
Ingredients
- 1 8 Ounce Pack of Crescent Rolls
- Oil For Frying (I used vegetable, and about 6-8 cups is good depending on pan size)
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- Homemade Caramel, for dipping (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil on high in a heavy-bottom pan until it reaches 350 degrees. It’s ok if the temperature fluctuates between 325 and 350, but try to keep it in that range. Open your pack of crescent rolls, and remove + open both rolls of dough. Seal the perforations in the dough gently by pressing the seams together. You will have 4 rectangles of dough, which are each two triangles pressed together.
- Using a pizza cutter, divide each rectangle into 6 smaller triangles. Roll each of the pieces up into mini crescent rolls and press down on the tip to “seal” it to the bottom. Using a slotted spoon, gently place the mini crescents into the oil. Be cautious as the oil is hot and burn if it splashes on the skin. Fry each batch of mini crescents for about one and a half minutes each, flipping them several times with the spoon so they brown up evenly.
- Using the slotted spoon, carefully remove 2-3 crescents from the oil at a time, allowing the excess oil to drip off. Place them on a paper towel lined plate to sewn further. Toss in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Top with homemade caramel sauce or chocolate fudge. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for one day. Makes about 24 mini Cronuts. Best served day of. Enjoy!
Bridget
Have you experimented with using an air fryer?
Heather Templeton
Not yet!