Name: Nutella Cruffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 1 sheet frozen puff pastry dough (thawed in fridge overnight); 3 tablespoons Nutella hazelnut spread; 1 egg (for egg wash); granulated sugar (for sprinkling); 100 g whipping cream; 1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder; 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

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Swoon over crispy layers of puff pastry and nutella in these simple but impressive-looking nutella cruffins - a cross between a croissant and a muffin!

Plate of nutella cruffins with layers and twists of puff pastry

These half-homemade cruffins broke the internet when Kelsey (@kelsey_thefarmersdaughter) and Kristie (@thesweetandsimplekitchen) posted this tutorial on Kelsey's Instagram a while back. I had to make them for myself with a nutella twist because... I mean, it's nutella. Do I need another reason?

This brilliant method of using store-bought frozen puff pastry is entirely their genius. All credit goes to them! But by overwhelmingly popular demand (and your aggressive messages LOL) every time I post a photo of them, here is officially how I made these nutella cruffins.

Plate of four nutella cruffins topped with dollops of whipped cream and nutella

How to make nutella cruffins

Thaw your frozen puff pastry in the fridge overnight. I find it easiest to work with when it's still cold so try not to thaw by leaving it out on the counter.
Gently unroll your puff pastry sheet and remove the paper backing. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough in one direction slightly, until it has elongated by a few inches to make a rectangular sheet. You can make the dough as thick or thin as you like.
With an offset spatula, gently spread a thin layer of nutella (about 2-3 tablespoons) on the surface of the dough.
Starting from one long end of the dough, use your fingers to gently roll it up until you end up with a long log.
Use a knife to cut the log straight down the middle down the entire length of the log (as if unzipping a zipper). Then, cut each piece in half crosswise to make 4 shorter pieces of dough. Each piece will become one cruffin.
Take each piece of dough, with the layers facing upwards, and roll it into a snail spiral. Tuck the end underneath itself and place into a greased muffin pan. Experiment with different spirals and tucks! They all turn out slightly different and unique in the end.
Brush cruffins with egg wash. Bake your cruffins at 375F for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and cooked through the middle.
I sprinkled mine with a bit of sugar and topped them with a dollop of nutella and coffee whipped cream.

Notes and tips on this recipe

Store-bought puff pastry is generally easy to find in your local supermarket. They'll be in the freezer aisle, probably next to the premade pie doughs. Make sure it says puff pastry and it comes in a rolled up sheet, usually two sheets per package. One sheet of dough makes 4 cruffins.
The puff pastry dough is much easier to work with when it's cold. Work with it on a cutting board or marble slab so that it's easy to pop it back into the fridge at any time it starts to feel too soft (eg. after spreading with nutella and before rolling it up, before or after cutting it in half)
The cruffins rise and poof out to fill the muffin pan quite a bit while baking so don't worry if the dough looks small in the tin at first. Don't make your cruffins too big otherwise they will overflow out of the muffin tin, unless that's the look you're going for.
A thin layer of nutella is enough. Less is more with this one. If your nutella layer is too thick, it will ooze out all over the cruffin while baking and burn as well as covering up all those beautiful layers that you want to see!
Don't be afraid to overbake these. The middle takes a little longer to cook through and you want to make sure it's done. The outside will just get crispier as you bake for longer.

Nutella cruffin on top of parchment paper

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