Glazed Croissants
Glazed Croissants are a great way to refresh older store-bought croissants, turning them into a sweet, donut-like treat.
The grocery store closest to my house sells “croissant donuts”. In reality, I suspect these are just day-old (or older) croissants quickly deep-fried, then dunked in sweet glaze and drizzled with chocolate. But they are SO good! My family and I love them, and I have been buying them at the same grocery store chain in various locations for at least 15 years.
But for a long time, they disappeared from the grocery store’s shelves for some reason. I wasn’t sure if they were just super popular and selling out every time I checked, or if the bakery had stopped making them. Then, maybe about 1-2 years ago, they reappeared. This led my family to buy them every time we saw them (which was pretty much every time we checked) because we weren’t sure if they would suddenly disappear again. Maybe that was the strategy all along.
Anyway, while these mouthwatering Glazed Croissants no longer seem to be in short supply, I wanted to see if a homemade version would work out. And since I happened to have a couple of croissants hanging out in my freezer, I had the perfect opportunity. I crisped (and warmed) up the croissants in the air-fryer, whisked up a quick glaze, and gave the warm croissants a dip.
The donut-like dessert was delicious. It wasn’t exactly the same as the grocery store version, but I think that was just because the croissants were different. Using the croissants from the same grocery store likely would have resulted in a more similar “croissant donut”.
If you like your croissants to come in a dessert version, and/or you have some croissants that are bordering on stale hanging around, I highly recommend trying this easy recipe.
How to Make Glazed Croissants
The easiest way to make your own scrumptious glazed croissants starts with day-old (or older) store-bought croissants. Of course, you could use freshly baked croissants too, in which case, you should follow the baking instructions for baked croissants and glaze them when they’re freshly baked.
Otherwise, you’ll be using the air-fryer to crisp up the exteriors and warm up the interiors of your croissants. Alternatively, use a convection oven and a baking sheet with a wire rack to heat them up. While the croissants are cooking, whisk up a simple glaze of powdered sugar, water, and vanilla.
When the croissants come out of the air fryer (and while they’re still warm), dip, drizzle, or brush them all over with the glaze. Then place them on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to set. Once they’re set, you can mix some cocoa powder into any leftover glaze and drizzle this over the croissants, if desired (or you can use melted chocolate). Enjoy the croissants warm or at room temperature.
Glazed Croissants Ingredients
- Medium croissants – while this recipe is a great way to “revive” croissants that are on the older side, you can also use fresh-baked croissants.
- Powdered sugar – Aka icing or confectioner’s sugar. Don’t substitute any other kind of sugar here.
- Water – Use whatever water you normally drink. Cold tap water is fine.
- Vanilla extract – This will give the glaze a subtle vanilla flavor. Feel free to skip it if you don’t have any or don’t like vanilla.
- Cocoa powder – This is optional, and is used to make a thicker chocolate-flavored glaze to drizzle over the glazed croissants. Alternatively, you can use melted chocolate, or skip it altogether if you don’t want the chocolate drizzle.
Want more donut-like recipes?
Glazed Croissants Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one glazed croissant. Note that the nutrition information will vary based on the size of your croissants.
The nutrition calculations assume that you use all of the glaze (I used almost all of it in my recipe testing, but my croissants were quite large). If you have glaze left over that you don’t use, the nutrition information will vary accordingly (your croissants will be lower in sugar and calories).
Note that the nutrition information does include the optional chocolate drizzle.
Glazed Croissants
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place 4 medium croissants in the basket or tray of your air fryer (if using a traditional convection oven, place them on a wire rack inserted into a baking sheet). Air fry (or bake) at 350°F for 7 minutes or until the edges feel crisp and the croissant is heated through.
- While the croissants are air-frying, whisk together 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons water, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
- When the croissants are done cooking, immediately transfer them to a wire rack over a baking sheet. While the croissants are still warm, brush, drizzle, or dip them into the prepared glaze, allowing any excess to drip onto the baking sheet below. Try to coat all sides of the croissant with the glaze. Place the glazed croissants back onto the wire rack, and let them set for 5-10 minutes, in which time the glaze will harden.
- If desired, mix up to 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder into any leftover glaze, and pipe or drizzle this thicker chocolate glaze over the croissants (alternatively, use melted chocolate if desired). Enjoy the glazed croissants still slightly warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
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