It’s been years since I first saw a recipe pop up for cruffins. Cruffin recipes were really popular for while. In case you missed the fad, a cruffin is a cross between a croissant and a muffin. It is basically croissant muffins (cruffins!). I forgot about this magical wonder using store-bought crescent dough, and was excited to make a new version. The fun part of a cruffin is the presentation. People think you have some magical baking skills when in actuality, it is all about the way you roll and cut the dough. More about that later. To make these yummy herb Parmesan cruffins, I used one of my new obsessions, Shawhan Farms Herb & Garlic Parmesan Inspired Seasoning. This seasoning makes everything taste better, but it works so well here when I combine is with fresh garlic, fresh herbs (thyme) and fresh shaved Parmesan. Yup, this is delicious! To make this recipe for cruffins is really quite easy.
Let’s talk about the dough. Sure, you could make your own dough, but why would you when you can buy a basic crescent dough at the supermarket and turn it into this? You’ll need three standard cans of the dough to make 12 cruffins. The key is carefully rolling out each can of dough, so you are sealing all the pre-made perforations. Using a rolling pin, all you need to do is gently roll out the dough so it is flat and just one sheet. Use your fingers, if needed, to make sure the dough is in one piece. You’ll wind up with three flat, rectangle pieces of dough ready to be topped with yummy “stuff”.
The seasoned butter is by far, the best part. You can use either salted or unsalted butter (your call), just bring it to room temperature so it is easy to spread. You’ll be mixing in a couple of tablespoons of that special seasoning, 4 finely minced garlic cloves and a 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh thyme. Add plenty of fresh ground black pepper and salt. Obviously, you’ll use more if using unsalted butter, but you can control the amount used. Smash all this together so it is well combined and smooth. If you don’t have the specialty seasoning, you could leave it out completely, or mix up your own seasoning by mixing some garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried basil and dried oregano in a small bowl and use that. (I’d use 1 teaspoon of each.) As always, you can add more grated Parmesan too! BTW, you can get creative and use any mix of seasonings to make croissant muffins. You might want to try a sweet version too. Butter, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg would be delish! But, I digress…back to the regularly scheduled recipe!
Then, you are going to spread one quarter of the mixture on each of the three rolled out rectangles. You are saving the last quarter of butter to baste the muffins before baking. Spread out the butter mixture evenly over each dough rectangle. I use a back of a spoon, but a knife or offset spatula works too. Then, top each rectangle with a third of the grated or shaved Parmesan. NOTE: I really like shaved Parmesan but grated is just fine. Just make sure it is sprinkled evenly over the seasoned butter.
Once the dough is topped with both the butter and cheese, it is time to roll up the dough.
Starting on the long end, gently roll up the dough. Just use your fingers to gently prod the dough along the entire length to start rolling. Roll into a cylinder. You’ll gave three long logs. Cut each one in half. You’ll now have 6 logs.
The thing that makes these look so great is the next step. You want to slice each log half horizontally so each log is turned into two long, half logs with the cut side showing all the layers. Do this to all the logs so you wind up with 12 horizontally sliced half logs.
Now, you’ll roll each strip into a spiral with the CUT SIDE FACING OUT. That’s what makes this look “fancy” when baked.
As you roll up each strip, put it into a muffin tin that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Once you have all your cruffins in the muffin tin, take the remaining 1/4 of seasoned butter and put it in the microwave for 10-15 second to melt. Stir. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of each cruffin with the melted seasoned butter. Pop in the preheated 350 Degree F. oven and baked for about 25 minutes. Start checking at 20 minutes.
Once golden brown, remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes in the muffin tin. Remove the muffins to a rack and let cool completely OR serve warm with your meal. You can freeze these when you have formed the dough into cruffins BUT BEFORE you baste them. Just put on a plate, freeze then add to a baggie and keep in the freezer until ready to serve.
When you are ready to bake, brush with the melted seasoned butter (or just plain melted butter) and bake in the oven. They will take a little longer to cook through (up to an extra five minutes), so start checking at 22 minutes. NOTE: you need to freeze the last 1/4 of the butter too. Then, you’ll melt in the microwave before basting the frozen cruffins. There is fresh garlic and thyme in that seasoning mix and you want to be safe, so freeze it. Don’t let it just sit in the refrigerator. If you decide to bake off the muffins individually as needed, you can baste with plain melted butter or add seasoning to butter, then melt and baste as you bake the cruffins. Your choice.
These are just packed with flavor and so easy to make, you’ll be making them on repeat all the time. Did you like this recipe? If so, please rate the recipe below and leave a comment. Looking for other easy bread/muffin recipes? Try some of these:
Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Bread
Herb Parmesan Cruffins
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 8- Oz. Tubes of crescent roll dough
- 3/4 Cup Unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 Garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp. Shawhan Farms Herb & Garlic Parmesan Inspirations Seasoning
- 1/4 Cup Fresh thyme, chopped
- 3/4 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Pinch of kosher salt and several grinds of black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray and put to the side.
- Put the room temperature butter into a bowl and add the herb parmesan seasoning, minced garlic, chopped thyme, salt and pepper. Put 1/4 cup of the mixture to the side for brushing on top of the cruffins.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out each sheet of the crescent roll dough so you have 3 larger rectangles that are slightly larger than what you started with and the perforated lines are blended back together. Spread a thin layer of the butter mixture onto each crescent roll sheet. Sprinkle each sheet with about 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese.
- Starting on the long end of the rectangle, roll up the dough into a log. Cut the dough in half, giving you two shorter logs. Then cut each of those logs in half, lengthwise. Repeat with the other two sheets. When you’re finished, you should have 12 pieces.
- Take each piece and wrap it around your finger to form the shape of a muffin, with the layered side facing out. (that’s important for presentation)
- Place each rolled piece in the greased muffin pan.
- Melt reserved butter mixture in the microware for about 10 seconds. Brush that melted butter on top of the cruffin and then sprinkle the remaining grated parmesan over the top of the cruffins.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the cruffins are golden brown on top.
- Remove from the oven and place them on a rack. to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
