Best Cronuts Recipe Recipe Card

HOW TO MAKE CRONUTS, PART II

Steps:

• Once dough has been made, cut, and dough has risen (see How to Make Cronuts, Part I), continue on to fry and glaze your homemade cronuts.
• Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer or a deep saucepan over medium heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Carefully lift a cronut and gently drop into oil. Fry 2 at a time until golden brown, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Cronuts will puff up as they cook. Drain on racks over paper towels; let cool.
• Whisk confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a shallow bowl until glaze is smooth and slightly runny.
• Pick up a fried cronut and gently dip the top in glaze; return to rack and let stand until glaze has set, about 15 minutes.
• Alternate version: For higher-rising cronuts, roll out finished dough (see Part I) into an 8x12 inch rectangle. Fold dough in thirds and roll out into a rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut out 6 cronuts and holes, using a 3-inch round cutter and a 1-inch small hole cutter.
• Line baking sheet with waxed paper and dust paper lightly with flour. Place cronuts and holes onto prepared baking sheet and let rise in a draft-free place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Carefully pick up and gently drop cronuts, 2 at a time, into the preheated oil. Fry 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. The extra fold and making the dough thicker will result in taller cronuts than before. Let fried cronuts drain on racks.
• Dip tops of cronuts in glaze as described above, and let cool on racks to let glaze set up.

HOW TO MAKE CRONUTS, PART I

Steps:

• Place yeast into the mixing bowl of a large stand mixer. Whisk in warm water and let stand until a creamy foam forms on top, about 5 minutes. Add salt, sugar, milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter, vanilla extract, egg, and nutmeg. Whisk mixture thoroughly. Pour flour on top of liquid ingredients. Place mixing bowl onto mixer.
• Attach dough hook to mixer and knead on low speed until dough comes together in a ball and becomes soft and sticky, about 3 minutes. Dough will stick to the hook and pull away from the side of the bowl.
• Transfer dough to a floured work surface, knead 2 or 3 times, and shape into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes to let gluten relax.
• Remove dough from refrigerator, unwrap, and dust lightly with flour. Roll out into a 9x18-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Evenly spread 6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter onto the middle third of the dough. Fold one unbuttered third over the buttered third and press lightly; spread remaining 6 tablespoons of unsalted button on top of that third. Fold remaining third over the first (buttered) third. Transfer dough onto a sheet pan, cover lightly with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and refrigerate 20 to 30 more minutes for butter to become firm. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour as you work if it becomes sticky.
• Return dough to floured work surface and pat very gently into an 8x14 rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Fold outer thirds over center third as before; roll out into an 8x14-inch rectangle again. Keep edges of rectangle as straight as possible. Fold in thirds as before. Cover dough lightly with a kitchen towel, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Roll the dough out to about 3/8 inch thick. Cut dough in half crosswise. Leave half on a lightly floured work surface; refrigerate other half of dough until needed.
• Use a sharp 3-inch circular cutter to cut 8 circles of dough from piece on the work surface. Use 1-inch size cutter to cut the donut holes out of the dough circles.
• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and sprinkle lightly with flour. Arrange cronuts and holes onto prepared baking sheet. Let rise in a draft-free, warm place (such as an unheated oven) until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

CRONUTS RECIPE

Steps:

• Put oil in pan min. 2" deep and heat to 350 degrees.
• Fold dough in half in one direction then repeat in other direction.
• Cut out 3" circles of dough using biscuit cutter of cup/glass.
• Cut a 1" circles from center of each.
• Gather up scraps of dough, roll and cut an additional cronut.
• Fry approximately 90 seconds on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
• Drain on paper towels.
• Cool before glazing and filling.
• Split cooled cronuts in half and fill each with 2 tbs of pudding then replace top.
• Make glaze and drizzle over top. Set aside until glaze has set.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CRONUTS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a deep saucepan or deep-fat fryer to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Spread out an 8-ounce container of refrigerated crescent dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pinch the perforated edges together and fold 1/3 of the dough over the center third; fold opposite 1/3 of dough over first third. Lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and roll it out, pressing firmly together so that the layers don't separate completely during frying.
• Fold the dough into thirds again in the opposite direction; sprinkle dough with flour and use a rolling pin to roll it into a rectangle measuring about 4x7 inches.
• Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut 2 circles from the dough. Then use a 1-inch cookie cutter to cut holes from the centers of the 3-inch rounds to make flat doughnut-like shapes.
• Repeat the steps with the remaining 8-ounce container of refrigerated crescent dough. You will now have 4 cronuts to fry. Reserve the holes and the dough scraps for frying as well, if you wish.
• Carefully lower cronuts into the heated oil, working in batches if necessary, and fry on one side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip cronuts and fry until other sides are golden brown, 2 to 3 more minutes. Cronuts will puff up during frying. Remove the cronuts to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Fill a plastic squeeze bottle with a long, pointed tip or a pastry bag fitted with a medium tip with vanilla pudding. Push the bottle tip into the side of a cronut and squeeze 1 or 2 teaspoons of vanilla pudding into the pastry; continue filling pastry from the side with several more holes spaced around the edge of the cronut. Repeat, filling remaining cronuts with pudding.
• Place chopped bittersweet chocolate into a heatproof mixing bowl. Pour cream into a small saucepan over low heat. Heat cream almost to a boil, stirring constantly; pour hot cream over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate has melted and mixture is warm and smooth. Dip tops of cronuts in warm ganache, place on a serving platter, and let cool until ganache has set, about 5 minutes.

HOMEMADE CRONUTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together milk and yeast, then sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add 1 cup flour and salt. Gradually add 2-1/4 cups more flour, stirring, then kneading, until dough is smooth. Transfer to a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Beat butter and 1/4 cup flour with a mixer until smooth. Place chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 1-4/-inch rectangle about 13x8 inches. Spread butter mixture evenly over dough. Fold dough in thirds, like a letter; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes more.
• Remove dough, roll it into a rectangle again, then fold both edges ot to the middle. Refrigerate 30 minutes, then repeat folding and chilling sequence twice more, finally chilling the dough at least an hour.
• In a heavy pot, heat 2 or 3 inches oil to 350°. Roll out dough to 1- to 2-inch thickness and cut into rings. Cook cronuts in batches, flipping as needed, until golden. Transfer to a paper towel.
• Whisk together powdered sugar, syrup, and whipping cream to make a glaze. Drizzle glaze over the cronuts while they're still warm.