Croissant Cinnamon Rolls
A hybrid between a croissant and a cinnamon roll: everything you love about cinnamon rolls but instead of a purely plush bread roll, you’ll get flaky buttery croissant layers.
Oh boy have I got a good one for you. The idea for this was penned down sometime in the spring and I’ve been working on it on and off for a few months now, tinkering with the shaping and the chilling periods, and at this point, well they are fire.
This one is more involved than my usual cinnamon rolls, although you’ll note the base dough is quite similar to my brown butter cinnamon rolls. There are only two folds to do before you start shaping the rolls themselves and one beauty of this recipe is that it sits overnight in the fridge post shaping – which means you can wake up, take them out, and by the time the oven is done preheating (30 minutes) they are ready to bake. This puts you at having fresh bakery-like croissant cinnamon rolls roughly one hour after you’ve woken up!
The first thing I want you to know is that these are not difficult to make but there are a few steps. The only part you will curse me for (err, hopefully) is the rolling of the dough which will take some arm muscle as it resists stretching, but have patience. You can do this.
Recipe Ingredient Info
Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter here, for the filling if you are using unsalted I’d add a pinch of salt. It doesn’t matter if you use european or american style butter (I actually prefer the latter for laminating because it won’t melt as quickly).
Oil: I realize it’s fussy to ask you to use two different types of fat. I use oil here because the dough recipe is based on my original cinnamon roll recipe but you can also use melted butter instead. If you don’t mind using oil, make it something flavorless like grapeseed, avocado, canola or vegetable.
Yeast: I use instant yeast but you can also use active dry, add an additional ¼ tsp of active dry.
How to make the croissant cinnamon rolls, in simple steps
- Make the dough (all in the stand mixer, very hands off), let rise
- Spread the butter to make the ‘block’ then chill it
- First fold: roll out, book fold, letter fold, last fold
- Second fold: roll out, vertical letter fold, last fold
- Roll out, spread filling, roll up, slice
- Cover and chill overnight
- Bake & glaze
The butter block
This is as simple as slightly softening some butter, then pressing it into a rectangle between two sheets of parchment (to save on parchment you could probably cut one in half). Then you’ll place it in the fridge to chill.
Keeping that butter cold is *key* to laminating successfully (laminating is a fancy word for folding butter into dough). It should never melt when you’re handling the dough and if you see it getting over soft, set the dough in the fridge for a bit then come back to it.
Folding the Croissant Cinnamon Roll dough
This is where things get a little more complicated than your average cinnamon roll, because before we roll out the dough to spread the filling, we’re going to do some laminating, ie. getting that butter into very, very thin layers between many layers of dough.
I have photos in the recipe below that are going to take you through every step. But basically we’re doing some book folds (so folding in half) and some letter folds (thirds).
After every “fold”, which is actually 3-4 mini folds, you’ll chill the dough. This is partially to allow the gluten in the dough to rest but also to keep that butter cold.
Cold butter = flaky layers. If the butter melts before it gets into the oven, it won’t release the gas necessary to separate the layers to give you that crispy, flaky croissant texture. Instead it’ll pool at the bottom and the rolls will be quite, well, sad.
Rising Times for the Rolls
The first rise: an easy one, you’ve done it before: wait until it’s doubled in size. It’ll take between 1.5 to 2.5 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Dough didn’t rise the first time? Something probably went wrong with the yeast, it could’ve been expired (you’ll notice this if it didn’t foam when you mixed it with the water) or the water added was too hot and killed the yeast. I wouldn’t worry about the water being too cold, the dough is warmed up by the addition of the roux.
The second rise: we’re going to be pretty hands off with this one and let it do most, or all, of its rising in the fridge. When you go to bed at night, take a picture or a mental photo of the rolls, in the morning they should have grown at least 30% and you’ll see some bubbles (pics below for reference). Then leave them at room temperature to warm up a bit before baking.
Let’s say you are in a time pinch and can’t do the overnight bedtime for the rolls, in this case I’d leave them at room temperature for just half an hour before baking. It’s *super* important that the butter doesn’t melt before the tray goes into the oven so keep them in a cool area.
Croissant Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Croissant Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Butter block
- 113g or ½ cup g butter softened slightly
Dough
- 240g or 1 cup milk
- 40g or ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 60g or ¼ cup warm water
- 7g or 1 packet instant yeast
- 500g or 4 cups all purpose flour
- 105g or ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 60g or ¼ cup canola or flavorless oil or melted butter
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
Filling
- 113g or ½ cup butter
- 210g or 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla paste or extract
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Method
- In a pot, whisk together the ⅓ cup flour and the milk. Let cook until thickened, stirring as needed - this is the 'flour paste'. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the yeast and warm water, sprinkle a pinch of sugar over it and stir. Leave it until it foams, about 3 minutes.
- Add the remaining flour and dough ingredients to the bowl then add the flour paste keeping the paste on one side of the bowl and the eggs on the other. Begin kneading on low speed then work up to medium speed and knead for about 5-7 minutes until the dough comes together in a sticky ball. Set in an oiled bowl and cover to rise for about 2 hours (until doubled in size).
Meanwhile make the butter block:
- Spread the butter into a thin layer between two sheets of parchment paper, do your best to get it to be about 9x12”. Set it in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes before you start folding.
First fold:
- On a floured surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 13x18”. Place the butter about half an inch from one side of the dough. It might take some work to get it off the parchment, do your best. Use your fingers to smear it into an even layer.
- Fold the dough in half, like you’re closing a book.
- Use your fingers to press the edges so the butter stays sealed.
- Now fold it like a letter, bring the bottom third up and over the middle.
- Then the top over the middle as well.
- Now fold the dough over itself like you’re closing a book again. Wrap in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest.
Second fold:
- Roll out the dough again into a large rectangle, as thin as you can get it (aim for another 13x18 but it probably won’t go that far).
- Fold it over from one of the shorter sides over the middle (like a letter but vertical).
- Fold the other side over the middle.
- Fold the bottom up so you have more of a square.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for about 45 minutes.
Filling & Shaping
- Melt or brown the butter, then combine with the sugar and cinnamon.
- Try rolling out the dough into a large rectangle again, if it is very tough and resists cover it with a tea towel and let it rest on the counter for 10-15 minutes. You can also try stretching it with your hands & knuckles like a pizza dough.
- Grease a 9x13 cake pan (I like to use the back of the butter wrapper).
- Spread the filling over the dough and roll it up into a log.
- Use unwaxed dental floss to slice the dough into about 1” rounds. Place each round into the pan, leaving an inch between them.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge for 12 hours.
- In the morning, take the pan out of the fridge and leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the rolls for about 40 minutes, until dark and golden.
To glaze
- Whisk all the ingredients together then spoon and spread over the rolls.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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This recipe is written incredibly badly. Why would you say “add the flour, and the rest of the ingredients, and the flour paste” instead of just adding either one by one the ingredients listed, or all of the ingredients. Why split these from “rest of ingredients”. Causes a lot of confusion.
Leanne, if you look at the ingredients, there are two flour measurements listed: one goes into making the paste (the tangzhong), the rest goes into the bowl after the yeast has bloomed and the paste is made, then they are all (along with the rest of the dough ingredients) kneaded together. I specifically mention the two so you know when and how they go in separately.
These are so great and have become our christmas morning breakfast. There are a lot of steps but we’ll worth the effort! I do have a question tho. Would it not be easier to put the butter on while it’s semi soft, then refrigerate long enough for it to firm up? Getting the butter off the parchment paper is so frustrating! Then spreading it while it softens up seems like creating a ‘block’ was a wasted step. Even your picture shows your finger lines in the softened butter. Am I missing a point here? Please let me know before I try it and mess something up that I was unaware of. I fought the parchment this year, but next year I already know I don’t want to. lol
Hi Kathleen! tbh, if the butter is cold it shouldn’t be TOO hard to get off the parchment, mine usually peels right off. I have done it (as you see in the photos) by spreading room temperature butter over the dough, but traditionally the butter block is recommended because if you don’t spread it evenly you will have uneven patches of butter which can lead to uneven layers. I’d say if you work on getting it pretty even then you could try that instead.
Do these have to sit in the fridge for the full 12 hrs?
For the second rise yeah? You could probably get a way with a shorter rise but you’ll want to give the rolls time at room temperature. Always do the poke test to see if they are ready to bake: gently poke the dough and if it bounces back it’s not ready. If it leaves an indentation, it’s usually ready.
Can this be made into to a loaf!
I haven’t tried it with this exact dough but I think there’s a chance it could work!
do you think you could make these 2 days in advance? i.e- Thursday and then bake Saturday? I’m making them for a bake off Friday morning but my boyfriend wants to try them and will be there Saturday morning
You’d have to freeze the dough before baking or it will over proof. I’d also watch it carefully, knowing when the dough was ready for baking: thaw it first then wait for signs it’s ready to bake (puffed but not overly so, a gently press shows an indentation that doesn’t spring back too quickly).
These are just what I was looking for, thank you! They are more time-consuming with the layer of butter and folding the dough, but definitely worth it to get the tender flaky layers that make this way above the typical yeast dough. I followed the recipe exactly except used salted butter which I like and used a caramel pecan base under the sliced rolls.
I’ve been trying to find a recipe like the delicious flaky pecan rolls Panera used to make and this is close. I haven’t had any luck yet on their pecan caramel topping that was a little crisp and a perfect complement to these delicious rolls.
My husband agreed these were better than my regular cinnamon rolls. This will be my go to recipe whenever we’re craving cinnamon rolls.
I made these for Christmas breakfast and it was worth every moment of effort. They are delicious!! Flaky, pillowy dough with the incredible filling (we browned the butter, so good!). I did realize after cutting that I rolled the dough in the wrong direction after I spread the filling, but even with less spiral of cinnamon they’re delicious. When I was working on them my daughter said “oh! This is a buttermilk by sam recipe? They’re going to be amazing then, I love all of her recipes”.
Ditto!
Hello can rolls be refrigerated for a couple days beofe baking? I’m only baking for 1 and don’t want to cook them all at once.
Afraid not as the yeast will overprove in the fridge. You can try freezing the dough which is a little tricky as you want to get the rising times right. Alternatively, make the full batch and bake it, then divide and wrap them separately to freeze. That way you can just take one out and warm it up to eat whenever you like.
Hello can rolls be frozen or refrigrated for a few days beofre baking?
I made this recipe for Xmas last year, friends raved! So I’m doing again this year. Any idea if/hoe I can replace the packet of active yeast w/ sourdough discard? Thank you!
So you wouldn’t be able to replace it entirely but you can reduce it to about 2 or 1.5 teaspoons (depending on how long you’re willing to wait for it to rise). You’ll also want to subtract the amount of flour and water in the recipe to equal however much discard you’re adding. So, if you want to use 100g discard, subtract 50g of flour and 50g of water from the dough.
So delicious! My wife and I had a croissant cinnamon roll in Italy and it was next level. Since then I’ve wanted to try and make some at home. This recipe was easy to follow and the results were awesome. The texture, flavor, and look were perfect and I don’t think I’ll be using any other recipe from here on out. (I do love brown butter so I used that inside the dough as well as in the sugar mixture.)
Absolutely incredible!!
oh my heavens these are absolutely wonderful. pillowy, crispy, flaky, buttery, flavorful, ugh. couldn’t suggest making them enough. since we’re already elevating traditional cinnamon rolls by including the croissant aspect, I thought, why not go even further by browning the butter in the filling and butter block? so I did. also I added some additional cinnamon and other spices. wow. the brown sugar seeped out (totally my fault, as I used a rather dull knife to cut the rolls and not unflavored dental floss) and stuck to the bottom of the casserole dish I used, which allowed for a lovely sweet crunch. maybe next time i’ll sprinkle a bit more brown sugar / cinnamon on top before baking. the glaze is the perfect finishing touch. love the generous amount of vanilla extract. among all your recipes i’ve tried, this is definitely a favorite of mine. I enjoyed them with my daily homemade matcha latte.
these are incredible. My husband said the best cinnamon buns I’ve ever made. They are light, yet buttery and so incredibly delicious
Ahhh, i’m so happy to hear you two loved them – thank you alison!
These cinnamon rolls are perfectly flaky and delicious! I was pretty sure I was messing this up when the butter was trying to escape, but I would say trust the process and make sure to chill your dough longer if your butter is too soft. This recipe is so good!
the perfect soft flakey cinnamon bun, would maybe add a bit more filling next time for a bit of extra good but they are perfect as they are!
I haven’t tried this yet…about too. My family is in town and we just made the brown butter cinnamon rolls- a fav for sure!! My SIL even said they were the best she has ever had. My question before I try these: would you consider doing the heavy cream in the pan before baking? Or would that mess these up?
Glad you liked the bb rolls! I don’t use the heavy cream for these as that will soften the crispy layers we’re trying to achieve with the lamination
I had really high hopes for these but was a bit disappointed. I should have used salted butter in the filling…I used unsalted with a pinch of salt as recommended but probably needed more than a pinch. Glaze was a bit lackluster as well. May try these again with salted butter and do a heavier laminate for better layers next time. My layers were visible and the buns came out fluffy but didn’t have a lot of the “croissant” feel I hoped for.
I made these Christmas Eve to have for Christmas morning – I followed the recipe to a tee and they turned out perfectly. Absolutely delicious! Light and buttery. On par with my fave store bought cinnamon rolls. This is my new fave go-to and will be our Christmas morning cinnamon scrolls from now on. So glad I found this recipe – thank you so much!
WOW!!
Me and my Daughter are in LOVE.
The best recipe ever!!
Bunch of butter but all is worth it!!
We made it like 3x per week already.
Thank you fir sharing !!
oh my gosh, this is so wonderful to hear!!
These are FANTASTIC! I am already a huge fan of sam’s brown butter buttermilk cinnamon rolls, but I am so glad I decided to try these as well! Instead of pure gooey, plush dough, you get delicious and flaky layers. These are truly next-level!
I made these for Christmas morning and they were next level! Won’t make another recipe again.
Now, do you think you could freeze them at the final step instead of in the fridge overnight? For future use
Loved this! Recipe is perfect.
this was such an easy recipe and the best cinnamon rolls i’ve ever had. put them in a muffin tin (and adjust the baking time) and you’ll get a soft center with incredible caramelized edges. one of the keys of this recipe is mixing the filling before putting it on the dough, rather than buttering the dough and covering it in dry filling. this way, the butter doesn’t absorb into the dough and leave you with those dry cinnamon outsides. the filling also stays in place rather than dusting everywhere, so you can get a really good swirl. absolutely love this recipe.
Forgot to add stars 🙂
You’ll want to try out this recipe, it’s next level. I just made them for coffee hour and they were a smash hit. I think next time I might try grating frozen butter to make the butter layer, because it stuck horribly to my parchment when I went to use it and was just not an ideal way to do it for me. I also went for the spaced out approach, for extra crispy goodness, and baked them for about 35 minutes, so judging from the other comments the spacing doesn’t seem to affect the baking time. The filling melted out from the spiral a good deal, that might be my fault as I added some extra molasses. However, it caramelized onto the bottom so that might be a feature more than a bug, because it tastes amazing and gives the bottom an incredible appearance. These are so delicious and the golden flake is so beautiful I don’t think they need glaze at all, especially if you’re washing it down with a nice coffee. The contrast between crisp outside and fluffy, flakey inside is just perfection.
Thank you Sam! Can’t wait to make these again.
Gavin, thanks for such a thoughtful review! It really does tend to stick to the parchment, especially if the butter isn’t cold. Also, molasses in the filling?? I must try this, love the idea.
Omg. These are phenomenal. I don’t know if I’ll ever make standard cinnamon rolls again! I followed the recipe to a T. The only difference was my rolls took about 35 minutes at 350 but all ovens vary. These are flakey perfection with tons of layers and just enough sweetness and they reheat beautifully in the oven for that just-baked texture and taste. Thanks for a great recipe!
Tori, THANK YOU so much for the glowing review – so happy you loved them =)
These are so good, and really simpler to make than they look! The filling becomes a lovely texture when baked, and I think I might just prefer laminated dough in cinnamon rolls versus the convention. I did have a hard time rolling out the dough as thin, so I gave it some extra rest time before filling/rolling/cutting.