{how to} Easy Homemade Cronuts

Have you heard about the cronut craze that’s sweeping the nation? Here’s the story in a nutshell: some guy in New York took the fried, glazed goodness of a donut and introduced it to the flaky layers of a croissant. They had a baby and behold, the cronut was born. And people are out of their minds over it. Like, spending $40 to buy one black market cronut out of their minds.

Now if you’re like me, all this has you thinking: I MUST POSSESS A CRONUT AND PUT IT IN MY MOUTH. But being 3,000 miles from New York (and far too lazy to stand in a long line anyway) I figured the only way to get a cronut was to make a cronut. So here we are.

I have now concluded that it is easier and faster to make cronuts at home than to stand in line and buy one. In fact, they are so easy to make that I might have to start making them all the time.

This is not really a recipe, but more of a how-to, because the secret to easy homemade cronuts is buying frozen croissants. Trader Joe’s has excellent frozen croissants so that is what I used. They are made by the same chef who makes the bazillion dollar Williams-Sonoma croissants. They make great cronuts. I opted for an orange vanilla glaze on these, which was fantastic, but you can top them with any glaze you like. Next time I’m trying chocolate!

How To: Easy Homemade Cronuts (with pictures!)
makes 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package Trader Joe’s frozen croissants
• oil for frying – vegetable or grapeseed
• about 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 orange or lemon
• vanilla paste or extract

HOW TO:

• The night before, prepare a pan with parchment paper and cooking spray and place the frozen croissants on it, well spaced. They will grow a lot! Leave out overnight to rise, 7-10 hours. 

• After rising, the croissants should already be roughly in a circle shape but if you would like them to be more perfect, gently shape the dough into an even round.
• Use a cookie cutter or other implement (I used the business end of an icing tip) to cut holes in the middle. Save the holes to use as testers for the oil.

• Prepare a plate or pan with paper towels and place it next to the stove.
• Heat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot over high heat. When oil is shimmery, add a hole to test it. The croissant dough will cook and brown incredibly quickly if the oil is hot enough – literally 10 or 20 seconds to done.
• When it’s hot enough, carefully lower the cronuts into the oil in batches. Don’t overcrowd the pan.

• Keep a close eye on them as they may brown very quickly. Mine were browned on each side in about 5-10 seconds. When deep golden brown on one side, flip over to brown on the other side to brown.

• Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels. Repeat until all are cooked.

• Make a glaze: Put the zest and juice of the orange, and the vanilla into a bowl. Add powdered sugar and stir until it’s the consistency of Elmer’s glue.
• Dip warm cronuts into the glaze.

• GET IN MY MOUTH.

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• Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
• Blueberry Breakfast Cake
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