With warm spices and shredded carrot baked in ribbons throughout buttery crescent dough, topped with a cream cheese icing, walnuts and carrot, these Carrot Cake Cruffins are a sweet spring breakfast treat.
Put a Spring in Your Step
Carrot cake for breakfast? Yes, please! Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger spice up the insides of these sweet, buttery Carrot Cake Cruffins all rolled up with chopped walnuts and shredded carrot. Finish it off with a dollop of cream cheese frosting, chopped walnuts and shredded carrots in a breakfast treat fit for spring.
Soft and Sweet
From the very first bite you’re going to be head over heels for these cruffins. The spiced sugar, the crunchy walnuts and sweet carrot all wrapped up in butter crescent roll dough. And they’re so easy. Store-bought dough makes them a breeze to make.
And if you love all things carrot cake (like carrot cake cupcakes or carrot cake cookies!), you’re going to want to add these to your spring baking rotation.
FAQ: What is a Cruffin?
What’s a cruffin? A cruffin is a cross between a croissant (or crescent roll) and a muffin. Not to be mistaken for a puffin, a puff pastry muffin combo (also an adorable sea bird), or a biffin, a muffin made with biscuit dough. Though, both of those sound delicious!
What’s the difference between crescent roll and puff pastry? Great question! They’re both laminated doughs, but crescent roll dough contains yeast that makes them bake up puffy and light. Which is the texture we’re going for!
Why are you using store-bought dough? We actually made cruffins years ago with homemade dough (to replicate the famous ones at Dominique Ansel Bakery in NYC), but that was way too much work for every day baking. So, I created a quick recipe using canned crescent roll dough and here we are! Some of my favorites include Easy Cinnamon Sugar Cruffins, Raspberry Cream Cheese Cruffins and Pumpkin Spice Cruffins.
Ingredients and Supplies
- Canned crescent roll dough
- Completely softened butter
- Granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground ginger
- Finely shredded carrots
- Finely chopped walnuts
- Softened cream cheese, softened
- Powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
- Vanilla extract
- Coarsely chopped walnuts, for garnishing
Supplies:
- Veggie Grater
- 12-cup muffin pan
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Rolling pin
- Small mixing bowl
- Whisk
How to Make Carrot Cake Cruffins
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out each sheet of crescent roll dough and pinch together the perforated lines.
- Then use a floured rolling pin to roll each sheet of dough out until you have 3 larger rectangles that are slightly larger than what you started with and the perforated lines are well blended back together.
- Spread a thin layer of the softened butter onto each sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
- Divide the spiced sugar mixture amongst the three buttered sheets by sprinkling each sheet so it is covered completely in spiced sugar.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon of shredded carrot for garnishing the cruffins before serving. Sprinkle each buttered sheet of crescent dough with 1/3 cup of the remaining shredded carrot.
- Sprinkle the carrots on each crescent sheet with 1/4 cup of the finely chopped walnuts.
- Starting on the long end of the rectangle, roll up the dough into a tight log. Cut the log in half, giving you two shorter logs.
- Then cut each of those logs in half, lengthwise, to expose the layers within.
- Repeat with the other two rolled up sheets. When you’re finished, you should have 12 pieces.
- Take each piece and wrap it around your finger to form the shape of a muffin, with the layered side facing out. Place each wrapped piece in the greased muffin pan.
- Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for about 20-22 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the cruffins are golden brown and crisp on top.
- Remove from the oven and let the cruffins set in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on low speed until just combined and then medium speed until well combined and smooth. Add the vanilla and whisk until well incorporated. The frosting should be thick enough to pipe onto the cruffins. If it’s too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until of piping thickness.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and pipe a layer of it onto the tops of each cooled cruffin.
- Sprinkle the frosting with some coarsely chopped walnuts and a pinch of the reserved shredded carrot. Enjoy!
Storage
Store leftover cruffins in an airtight container on the counter for three days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. Allow to set out for 10-15 minutes before serving.
To freeze cruffins, I recommend wrapping unfrosted cruffins individually in plastic wrap then putting in a freezer-safe container or in individual freezer-safe baggies.
To defrost, let them set at room temperature, uncovered, so they don’t absorb too much of the moisture. Unfrosted cruffins should maintain great quality if frozen for 2-3 months. When ready to enjoy, follow the directions for making the frosting and garnishing.
More Delicious and Simple Cruffin Recipes
Sweet or savory, it’s hard to deny the appeal of the cruffin! My Delicious and Simple Cruffin Recipes bake up easy with store bought crescent rolls and simple ingredients.
If you make these Carrot Cake Cruffins, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to join my Friends of The BakerMama group to connect and share all the fun and yummy recipes of mine that you make! 😍 I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Carrot Cake Cruffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 12 cruffins
Description
With warm spices and shredded carrot baked in ribbons throughout buttery crescent dough, topped with a cream cheese icing, walnuts and carrot, these Carrot Cake Cruffins are a sweet spring breakfast treat.
Ingredients
- 3 (8 ounce) cans of crescent roll dough
- 1/2 cup butter, completely softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon finely shredded carrot, divided
- 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
Icing:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out each sheet of crescent roll dough and pinch together the perforated lines. Use a floured rolling pin to roll each sheet of dough out until you have 3 larger rectangles that are slightly larger than what you started with and the perforated lines are well blended back together.
- Spread a thin layer of the softened butter onto each sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Divide the spiced sugar mixture amongst the three buttered sheets by sprinkling each sheet so it is covered completely in spiced sugar.
- Reserve 1 tablespoon of shredded carrot for garnishing the cruffins before serving. Sprinkle each buttered sheet of crescent dough with 1/3 cup of the remaining shredded carrot.
- Sprinkle the carrots on each crescent sheet with 1/4 cup of the finely chopped walnuts.
- Starting on the long end of the rectangle, roll up the dough into a tight log. Cut the log in half, giving you two shorter logs. Then cut each of those logs in half, lengthwise, to expose the layers within.
- Repeat with the other two rolled up sheets. When you’re finished, you should have 12 pieces.
- Take each piece and wrap it around your finger to form the shape of a muffin, with the layered side facing out. Place each wrapped piece in the greased muffin pan.
- Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for about 20-22 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the cruffins are golden brown and crisp on top.
- Remove from the oven and let the cruffins set in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and placing on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on low speed until just combined and then medium speed until well combined and smooth.Add the vanilla and whisk until well incorporated. The frosting should be thick enough to pipe onto the cruffins. If it’s too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until of piping thickness.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and pipe a layer of it onto the tops of each cooled cruffin. Sprinkle the frosting with some coarsely chopped walnuts and a pinch of the reserved shredded carrot. Enjoy!
