A Southern Grace: embrace the laziness

June 2, 2010

embrace the laziness

Yum

It takes a special kind of diligence and dedication to make croissants from scratch. This unique quality is one that, woefully, I have not yet obtained.


Yes, until that magically occurs (and I'm certain it will...eventually), I must be content to buy my croissants in an pre-made form, whether they be already baked...

This fabulous fluffiness comes from the WildFlour Bakery & Cafe, a stellar eatery also responsible for these pinnacles of cinnamon roll perfection.

...or awaiting some oven action. For this particular batch of canned croissants, I doused each square with some cinnamon sugar before rolling them up and baking them. I then topped each one with that all-too-addictive maple-coffee frosting introduced to me by the Pioneer Woman.


Awesome--an only-slightly-less-than-perfect treat complete in 20 minutes. Hard. To. Beat.

75 comments:

Amy @ cookbookmaniac said...

I've never heard of canned croissonts. ooh I can smell the cinnamon and maple from here! Yum

dinneersanddreams said...

I don't particularly care for canned croissants but they sure do look amazing in this picture.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

I have never seen canned croissants... That icing looks so good...

Cheers,

Rosa

♥peachkins♥ said...

look at that flaky croissant!

The Peach Kitchen
blowing peachkisses
peach and things

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Hey they look like some damn fine croissants I have to say! :D And topping them with maple coffee frosting is genius-all the best breakfasts in one! :)

Faith said...

Wow Grace, what a great idea! The convenience of canned croissants is wonderful...and the cinnamon sugar and maple glaze are fantastic additions!

Barbara said...

Must admit I wish the WildFlower bakery was around here...absolute croissant heaven.
But you have done the second best thing...put your own twist on the packaged kind. You can't beat that maple frosting!

pam said...

I am all for embracing the laziness. And I can honestly say with 100% certainty that homemade croissants will never come out of my kitchen. I know my limits.

tasteofbeirut said...

I have used canned croissants as well to fill them with zaatar, which is my favorite way to eat them; however I must say, mine did not look as good as yours!

Peter M said...

This, my dear Grace is a fine example of food porn. It's lusty, creamy, dreamy and before I go on...get your mind out of the gutter!

foodhoe said...

I love the sound of the spiral can popping open! Peter M has said it and that wildflower cafe fluff is true porn! what a closeup though. And if you cracked open that can, rolled the dough up and baked it, that is not lazy. Lazy is going to the cafe...

Lisa | Authentic Suburban Gourmet said...

Now that looks divine! Cinnamon, frosting and fluffy goodness - what could be better. Not sure if you have a Trader Joe's where you live, but they sell frozen croissants that you let proof overnight and then bake. Even have chocolate filled and mini ones. :)

laura said...

Warm buttery croissants are a real treat - topped with maple coffee icing sounds out of this world!

Lindsey @ pickyeatings said...

I always talk a big game about wanting to try puff pastry, but never actually do anything about it. I'm glad to know I'm not alone.

MaryMoh said...

I didn't know there's such a thing as canned croissant. That will make life so easy. Love that texture there.

kat said...

I've never thought to make the canned croissants into a sweet!

Emily said...

Gorgeous photos! I've also never been brave enough to make them from scratch, in fact you can't beat just heating up the Costco bakery croissants for about 10 minutes in the oven. And now I'll give the canned version a try, with that delicious looking sauce!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Wouldn't I love some of these for breakfast. It would be hard to stop at one.

Pam said...

I am drooling! My kids would really love this for an after school snack or breakfast or lunch or dinner. Actually, so would I. Looks great Grace!

Anonymous said...

I live to embrace the laziness... and I would very much like to embrace one of these croissants. Brilliant idea, Grace!

Hungry Dog said...

There's no shame in taking some help from the store, as they say. Your croissants look fabulous to me.

Julie said...

Looks like perfection to me!

D. @ Outside Oslo said...

They look wonderful. Homemade puff pastry is on my list of (ambitious) things to try making. When I have a free day that I feel like just spending in the kitchen, I'll give it a try. Not with high hopes, but with a sense of adventure. That way, it's sure to be fun rather than (potentially) frustrating!

Mimi said...

I have to admit that I have never looked for canned croissants, but I will now.
Mimi

Ingrid_3Bs said...

LOL, lazy is just fine when it leads to this yumminess.

I actually make crescent rolls like that ALL the time. You can stuff them with anything sweet or savory. My kids gobble them down like there's no tomorrow, which is nice because sometimes that's as homemade as it's getting for them. :)
~ingrid

vanillasugarblog said...

croissants, from scratch are very scary for me. i don't know why, one of these days i need to get over that fear. that is one very drool worthy photo--wish we had some good bakeries around these parts, just annoying tourists.

La Bella Cooks said...

Oh good lord that frosting must have been fabulous. What a great simple yet amazingly scrumptious recipe, Grace. You always have something wonderful going on.

lisa is cooking said...

The maple coffee frosting just sounds like such a good way to start the day! And, with a cinnamon sugar dusted croissant underneath it, it's even better.

Deborah said...

That is my kind of shortcut!

FOODESSA said...

Yes Grace...fantastic idea. Great for breakfast by Hubby. I think I deserve a lazy day once and a while ;o)
Great close-up shots. I'd have one right now. Wait...I'll get the coffee turned on!
Have a great day, Claudia

tamilyn said...

Sometimes there is satisfaction from making something you never thought you could-for me, it isn't crossiants, it was pie crust that always turns out! I love smacking that can on the counter :)

The Blonde Duck said...

I haven't had crossiants in forever! Oh, I used to love those! I always loved the sandwich at Marie Callenders with the roasted turkey and cheese on a crossaint...

kimberleyblue said...

That first photo is just fantastic! It's enough to make a canned-croissant convert out of me!

That slow drip of icing is heavenly.

Lori said...

I use to buy these purely decadent-oh-so-wonderful,cream-cheese-stuffed-croissants. Oh my God they were oh so exquisite. Talk about heart attacks.

And I think Grace, if you put your mind to it, you could surely pound out some amazing croissants. I h ave faith in you. Rah rah,

signed,
your blogville friend, foodie, cheerleader

Unknown said...

It's nice to make things from scratch. It's also nice to build upon pre-made things too. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. The only thing wrong her is not SHARING. Where are my croissants missy?!!!

CC11 said...

I also highly doubt I will ever make them from scratch - but there's something to be said about taking something awesome and making it even awesome-r

Velva said...

Cheers to canned croissants! Love it.

Amy I. said...

Oh I SO wish we lived closer so we could tackle the croissants-from-scratch thing together! Maybe we could do a long-distance challenge someday :) Until then, these look amazing.. I loved baked goods in cans.. it's so satisfying to make the can pop when it opens, you know?

scrambledhenfruit said...

My kids have a nickname for the canned ones- they call them "whumps" which goes to show that they've shown up in my kitchen more than once. :) I would have never thought of using PW's frosting on them though- Genius! Let me know when you bake croissants from scratch- I've never attempted them either!

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said...

I have fantasies of making croissants from scratch. I've even checked out a handful of books from the library to help me. I've never done it and probably never will. the more I research the process the more I'm inclined to back down.

Instead, I end up spending way too much money at the bakery down the street.

Kate at Serendipity said...

Oh, Grace, I would never think of making croissants from scratch. But then I have a gen-yew-ine french bakery down the street... heh, heh.

I'm thinking, though, that this frosting may make them even better!

sweetlife said...

your crossiants look great, really from a can? their perfect and that frosting take them over the top

sweetlife

Joanne said...

I haven't yet taken on croissants either. The dough kind of scares me.

But. I believe that since you put maple-coffee heaven frosting on them. It so counts as baking. These look awesome!

Von said...

I didn't know you could get canned crossaints!! =O Although I'm pretty sure you can't get that here in Aust. The croissant looks so light and fluffy.....I haven't had a good croissant for ages!

Dewi said...

That dripping icing easily make one drool like crazy!

TKW said...

That picture is drool-worthy!

Lucie said...

As long as it's yummy, nobody will care that they're not from scratch :)

Erica said...

Now you have me craving croissants at 2:30 in the afternoon! They look delicious.Must…navigate…away….

Marjie said...

Isn't there a very good reason that the Pillsbury doughboy has more money than G*d, or maybe than Bill Gates? One word. Croissants.

Melanie said...

Amen, sister. You just gotta embrace the laziness sometimes and these looks decadent and perfect.

Anonymous said...

These sound great with cinnamon sugar and I love that they are easy to make!

Mrs. L said...

I buy my croissants through mail order from Williams Sonoma. They are frozen, you keep them in your freezer until you want to bake them and just pull out how many you want. You do need to let them rise overnight (8 hours) before sticking them in the oven. AWESOME croissants. Worth the price for me to have croissants on a Sunday morning without a lot of work.

oneordinaryday said...

"Embrace the laziness?" Okay, twist my arm! Sounds good to me and these croissants look even better.

Robin said...

Good I am glad I am not the only one who uses the canned kind once in a while. I always embrace laziness! That is my problem...

Carolyn Jung said...

I've yet to acquire that special diligence, too. Hah. But we're in good comopany. This is a big club. ;)

eatme_delicious said...

Oo do those ever look good! With the coffee maple glaze that sounds so very perfect. You should definitely try making your own croissants! They're not as difficult as they seem - just require you to be around for a while (kind of like bread but you have to roll the dough every once in a while instead of punching down dough).

DutchBakerGirl said...

Trader Joe's has the BEST frozen/bake-it-yourself chocolate croissants, but I don't think I could take a picture quite as nice as yours. It truly is drool worthy!

Gloria Baker said...

I love croissanrs and this look awesome! gloria

Trissa said...

I love croissants from the french bakery near my home, but the canned croissants idea is great - I can imagine using the dough not only for freshly baked croissants but also other neat savoury dishes!

cookies and cups said...

Oh gurrlll ~ I have made these before too (and fully embraced the laziness).
They are awesome, and easy which is perfection in my house!

Sandie {Inn Cuisine} said...

"Yum!" This looks pretty darn appealing at 8 in the morning!

Going to have to check into Pdubs maple-coffee icing too, it sounds dangerously delicious to my hips ;)

PS Love the new site layout!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

20 minutes is hard to beat. But having it be that easy is not good for my figure! That icing looks like I could slurp it up by the spoonful.

Lisa said...

Croissants from scratch take a lot of time, not to mention, work too! And, I have to say, you really can't beat 20 minutes for beauties like these. That icing is amazing!

~~louise~~ said...

I feel so empowered, Grace. I bet I could make these if I could only find them in a can cause, I'm more than certain croissants will never EVER emerge from my oven but perhaps with sheer laziness on my side, they will!!!

Thanks for sharing, Grace. They look heavenly. Gee, I never pictured you as being lazy:) You whip up so many amazing dishes. Amazing is more like it!!!

Lisa-Marie said...

Grace, even though homemade ones taste amazing, the time it takes t make the dough, much like making puff pastry, is just not worth it.

I very much like your additions to the mix though - I might do this with a mix of cinnamon and brown sugar, like in cinnamon buns! mmmmmmm!

Livin Local said...

Dolling up a canned croissant? Perfect!

pierre said...

the photo is mouthwatering !! Pierre

Abby said...

I make a croissant-ish kind of bread; shaped like a croissant but not as fluffy. But it's so time-consuming. I'll go this route next time!

Angie's Recipes said...

Croissants...one of best breakfast treat!

Kerstin said...

I love that first picture! I haven't attempted croissants yet either, and am perfectly content to buy them :)

Barb said...

I'm not usually a fan of canned croissants but those pictures sure did look fantastic!

Ms. Meanie said...

Fast and delicious! Doesn't get much better than that. I must try that frosting recipe. Everyone raves about it.

Lisa said...

I bake bread at times but I'm not at all sure I possess the power to produce home made croissants. Those embellished ones from the can, however, those I can do. They look fabulous and would be gone in a second, hot from the oven!

www.dhaleb.com said...

scrumdidilyumtious

This is almost cruel and unusual punishment to post this ooey gooey goodness. Seriously.

Nic said...

This is lick the screen quality photos! Drooling into the keyboard here, must try that soon!