These Puff Pastry Donuts (Cronuts) are amazing and delicious! The best part is they are made out of premade puff pastry. This recipe cuts down on time but not the flavor! Make a batch of these for an easy side or starter dish for breakfast or brunch.
One of the best donut shops around the Cincinnati, OH, area is “Holtman’s Donut Shop.” I am a donut connoisseur and will travel to the ends of the earth to find the best donut. On my first visit to this awesome pastry shop, I saw the last one.
The Cronut.
It was as if it had been waiting for me all morning. I would’ve sworn we made eye contact. I saw a Cronut (Puff Pastry Donut)! I heard about them but never had the honor of trying one until that day. Never mind, it was $4 because it was worth every penny. The donut lasted for about 15 seconds until it was warm and cozy in my belly. I had to figure out how to make them at home and share this easy donut pastry recipe with you!
When I initially looked up a recipe for Cronuts, I found that the original recipe for Cronuts takes 3 days to make! You heard me. 3-FREAKING-DAYS! Maybe I will try them for three days straight when I have nothing to do. Hey, I made croissants from scratch, and that took 2 days. So making Cronuts couldn’t be so bad. Until then, I came across a very satisfactory recipe for cronuts that tastes amazing! Very close to the real Cronut. Even Chef Dominique Ansel owner of the Dominique Ansel Bakery based in New York City would be somewhat proud.
How to make Cronuts with Puff Pastry Sheets
All you do is take pre-made puff pastry sheets and keep the sheet folded. Then, you take a donut cutter and cut the donuts out from the dough. Lastly, you fry them up on both sides and cover them with a simple glaze. There you have it! Homemade Puff Pastry Donuts, AKA The Cronut, didn’t take 3 days to make either.
I won’t lie to you. I think I had about 4 within 30 minutes. I know. I know. Shame on me. But that is how good these Cronuts are. They are super addicting. Unlike regular glazed donuts, which were so last year (not really), these Cronuts have a subtle crispy crunch when you bite into them. Not only that, they are super buttery. Just like a croissant with glaze. Hence the name Cronut. I want to urge all of you to find the nearest shop where you can get one of these babies. But until you can try a 3-day Cronut, this Cronut recipe will do.
Commonly Asked Questions
Cronuts are best enjoyed fresh and eaten immediately; that’s why all bakeries bake them fresh in the morning and sell them at a discount as the store closes! But if you have leftovers, you can place them in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. It will still taste delicious, but the freshness will be gone.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing Cronut glaze! Although the classic sugar glaze is delicious every time, you can try mixing it up and experimenting. I would love to try cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, maple, or lemon glaze!
Keeping them in an air-tight container should last about a week with the best freshness and flavor.
Similar Recipes
If you like puff pastry recipes like this, you will enjoy the recipes below:
- Maple Pecan Puff Pastry Donuts
- Puff Pastry French Toast Recipe
- Bacon & Jalapeno Puff Pastry Bites
- Cream Cheese and Cherry Turnover Bombs
* Recipe adapted from the Kitchy Kitchen
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Puff Pastry Donuts (Cronuts)
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
These Puff Pastry Donuts (Cronuts) are made using puff pastry sheets, deep-fried, and covered in a delicious glaze.
Ingredients
- 2 Sheets Puff Pastry, thawed
- 1 egg, whisked
- vegetable oil for frying
- flour for dusting
GLAZE
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp. milk
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sprinkle flour on a clean flat kitchen surface. Take one puff pastry sheet and place it on the lightly floured surface.
- With a pastry brush, brush the inside of the puff pastry sheet with egg and fold it into thirds (like you would a letter). Repeat the same process with the other puff pastry sheet and place both sheets into the freezer for 15 minutes to set.
- Begin to heat the oil to 350 Degrees in a deep fryer. Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and cut out doughnuts on the puff pastry using a doughnut cutter about 1 1/2-2 inches in width. Keep the puff pastry sheet closed. Save the scraps to make doughnut holes.
- Place the doughnuts in the hot oil and fry for 5 minutes while flipping on each side until golden brown and puffed. Use a slotted spoon and remove from the oil and turn to a plate lined with a paper towel. Repeat the process for all doughnuts.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, salt, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until smooth. Dip each finished doughnut into the glaze and place on a cooling rack until ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Deep Dry
- Cuisine: American
Would these work in an air fryer?
Hmm, I don’t see why not. Let me know how they come out.
How many cronuts does this recipe make ?? They look yummy ????
Nevermind… It makes 6
Awesome Donuts for an amazing Day. Best breakfast treat, delicious and yum. Looks so festive.
Genius idea! I’ve never thought to use puff pastry but what a beautiful donut 😀 It’s almost like homemade cronuts 😀
I love that these use puff pastry, I immediately went to check -and I have all of the ingredients in stock! The kids will be ecstatic to come home to these (if I don’t eat them all first…)
Oh my these look so light and airy!
I didn’t think it was possible to make puff pastry even more delicious, but these donuts are over-the-top tasty-looking! I can’t wait to make these and enjoy them with a big mug of coffee!
Oh girl, these look illegal. I think you should hand them over to me for safe keeping! LOL Man these look scrumptious and definitely addictive!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer recently posted…Weekly Menu
If these were gluten free, I’d eat 4 of them in less than 30 minutes too! I can’t eat them, but my family would LOVE them. Lucky them!!!
Schar makes gluten free puff pasty.
Not sure where you live but I’m making them right now using gluten free puff pastry I found at Wegmans.
I hope they turn out well for you!
Love this idea so much! It makes cronuts doable and my family would devour it!
I just made these last weekend. My family was delighted. Such a lovely recipe. Super easy to make. Thanks for sharing this.
I live near Cincy and have cronuts about 10 minutes away from my front door. Dangerous, I know. Although they lock up when they sell out, so don’t sleep in.
The cronut is all you say and more! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Can these be baked instead of fried?
Yeah. That would be okay.
Can this be baked in an Air Fryer?
It should be fine as long as you follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cooking puff pastry.
Is it possible to bake these with reasonable good results?
It would seem so to me. Thoughts?
I don’t see why not. I would bake them cold on maybe 375.
I’m confused. At the beginning of the post it says you cut the donuts thru folded pastry – later on it instructs to fold in thirds, freeze an then cut the cronuts but leave the pastry open. Am I cutting them out of a tri folded sheet or out of a flat sheet?
The tri-folded sheet.
Omg I can’t wait to try these they look amazing
I have a huge problem with this recipe. It is so delicious and easy. I couldn’t stop eating the donuts! 100% I will make it again.
Yippy yay!!!!
First, the recipe says to keep the pastry folded into thirds, then, it says to keep it open. Which is it?
I see how that can be confusing. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I fixed the recipe.
This was a pleasant surprise, super easy and reasonably close to what you would buy . I’ve made them a couple of times now once with standard glaze and once with lemon glaze.
That sounds great!
These are AMAZING! I always use a simple thick glaze of powdered sugar and French Vanilla coffee creamer (the kind with the red top) to the consistency you like. The creamer has the perfect balance of vanilla in it and it’s been a game changer with powdered sugar. Normally I find powdered sugar with vanilla and some liquid (milk, cream, etc) to have a harsh sugar flavor. You will NOT have that weird twang with the coffee creamer substitute.
I’m so glad you liked them!