How to Make Cronuts the Easy Way (Video)

Make cronuts at home! In case you’ve been living under a rock, Chef Dominique Ansel has taken over the baking world with his cronut creation. This fried delicasy is a fluffy croissant, donut hybrid covered in sugar and filled with a delicious pastry cream (the flavor of which changes ever month at his SoHo bakery). Unfortunately, the buzz behind this pastry has warranted a near 3 hour waiting time (and that’s only if you show up at 5am, they’re sold out by 9am), so we thought some people might want to learn how to make these guys at home, the lazy way. Here’s how to make a cronut using Pilsbury crescent rolls instead of pain-stakingly folding dough over 2 days the way Mr. Ansel does. Not going to be exactly the same, but 20 mins of making it versus 3 hours of early morning standing in line? Our thoughts exactly.

What You Need for Two Cronuts

Granulated sugar about 2 cups

Instant Pudding or any vanilla pudding

1 Crescent Rolls Package – Pilsbury is the one we used

1/2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar (aka- powdered sugar)

Ziploc bag

1/2 cup whole milk

Scissors

1 shot glass

A rolling pin (or wine bottle)

Canola oil (enough to fill your pan about 3-4 inches)

Something to cut your cronut size out of the dough

Heat-proof tongs

How to Make the Cronuts

1. Open Crescent rolls and unroll them

2. Seal off holes in dough

3. Fold into thirds and roll a little

4. Turn and fold into thirds again and roll

5. Use a cutter of some sort (top of a glass) and cut a two large circles out of the dough

6. Cut out the “hole” (a shot glass is usually a good size)

7. Fill up your pan with about 3-4 inches of canola oil and heat to about 350 degrees

8. Take a Ziploc bag and fill with your pudding

9. Seal off bag and get air out work the pudding to one corner

10. Cut off one tip of the bag at the corner (set aside)

11. Take your whole milk and mix with the confectioner’s sugar

12. Once your oil is hot throw in a “hole” and test the temp ( your “hole” should float to the top and start to brown)

13. Take your cronuts and carefully add to your oil, once they brown take your tongs and carefully flip them

14. Remove from oil once golden brown on both sides and dip into granulated sugar

15. Use something long and make a two holes into your cronut so you can squeeze your pudding into it

16. Use a spoon and glaze the top of your cronut

Enjoy! They are easy and fun! Go cronuts!

For all of you advanced home cooks out there here is a good vanilla pastry cream recipe you can use for your filling.

Vanilla Pastry Cream