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!