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Homemade Cruffins Recipe

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Homemade Cruffins are delightful flaky pastries that combine the buttery layers of croissants with the shape and convenience of muffins. This recipe guides you through creating a laminated yeast dough, folding it multiple times with butter to achieve the signature layers, then rolling and shaping the dough into beautiful spiraled cruffins. Coated in cinnamon sugar and optionally filled with Nutella, jam, or pastry cream, these cruffins are a perfect indulgent treat for breakfast or brunch.

Ingredients

Scale

Dough Ingredients

  • 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
  • 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
  • 3 Tablespoons (38g) granulated sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted or salted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 3 pieces
  • 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
  • 1 and 1/4 teaspoons salt

Lamination Butter Mixture

  • 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) salted butter, slightly softened (between 60–64°F / 15–18°C)
  • 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

  • 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Optional Fillings

  • 6 Tablespoons Nutella, jam, lemon curd, or pastry cream

Instructions

  1. Preliminary Notes: Read through the recipe and review step-by-step photos before beginning. Prepare space in the refrigerator for the baking sheet needed during dough chilling and folding stages.
  2. Prepare the Dough: Whisk warm milk, yeast, and sugar in the stand mixer bowl with dough hook. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Add butter, 2 cups flour, and salt. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl as needed. Add remaining 1 cup flour and beat on low speed until soft dough forms, adding up to 2 more tablespoons flour if sticky.
  3. Knead the Dough: Continue kneading in mixer for 5 more minutes or knead by hand on floured surface for 5 minutes. Dough should be soft, tacky but not sticky, passing windowpane test for gluten development.
  4. First Rise: Lightly grease large bowl, place dough inside turning to coat with oil. Cover tightly and let rise in warm spot about 2 hours or until nearly doubled.
  5. Flatten Dough: Punch down dough to release air, place on floured silicone mat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten to 10×14-inch rectangle. Cover and chill in refrigerator 20 minutes.
  6. Prepare Butter Mixture: Beat softened butter with 1 tablespoon flour until combined. Keep butter cool but pliable between 60-64°F.
  7. First Lamination: Remove dough from fridge. Spread butter mixture over center third of dough lengthwise. Fold edges over butter like a business letter, sealing ends. Rotate dough, lightly flour top, roll out to 9×12-inch rectangle. Fold edges in again like a letter. Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes.
  8. Second Lamination: Repeat rolling out to 9×12-inch rectangle and folding like a letter twice. Cover and chill 20 minutes.
  9. Third Lamination: Repeat lamination steps again: roll out and fold twice more, then refrigerate 20 minutes.
  10. Shape & Fill: Lightly grease 12-cup muffin pan. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Remove dough and cut into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion to 8×12-inch rectangle, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and press in. Cut dough into twelve 1-inch strips, stack three strips at a time, roll into spiral, tuck ends under, and place in muffin cups. Repeat for all portions.
  11. Second Rise: Cover shaped cruffins lightly and let rise 1 hour until puffy.
  12. Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Bake cruffins 25–28 minutes until internal temperature reaches 200°F (93°C). Let cool in pan on rack.
  13. Coat and Fill: Roll cooled cruffins in remaining cinnamon sugar. Optionally fill with Nutella, jam, or pastry cream using piping bag and long tip. Poke hole 3/4 down cruffin and squeeze filling inside.
  14. Storage: Store leftover cruffins at room temperature up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Use a silicone baking mat for rolling dough to prevent sliding and make cleanup easier.
  • Do not extend refrigeration times during lamination steps to avoid dough over-expansion and difficulty rolling.
  • Keep lamination butter cool but soft for proper layering; too warm will melt into dough, too cold will tear dough.
  • Rolling dough in strips and layering creates signature flaky cruffin texture.
  • If dough shrinks back while rolling, let it rest 5 minutes to relax gluten before continuing.
  • Optional fillings enhance flavor but cruffins are delicious plain with cinnamon sugar coating.

Keywords: Cruffins, laminated dough, cinnamon sugar pastry, breakfast recipe, croissant muffin hybrid

Find it online: https://kitchenbyclara.com/homemade-cruffins-recipe/