These insanely flaky Blood Orange Cronuts are so simple and delicious. All you need is your favorite frozen puff pastry dough, a deep fryer and a few pantry staples and you’ll have hot, fresh cronuts on your breakfast table in under 30 minutes.
Did you ever wonder what would happen if you dropped frozen puff pastry dough into a deep fryer? Well, that’s what I asked myself a few weeks ago while I was working on a batch of puff pastry tartlets for the blog. Since I had a little dough left over, I decided to drop it into my fryer and see what would happen. Spoiler Alert: perfectly golden and flaky homemade cronuts were the result.
While working on this post, I quickly realized I wasn’t the first person to ponder the effect of deep frying puff pastry dough. There are lots of other puff pastry doughnut recipes and DIY cronut recipes floating around the Internet using puff pastry also. However, these are cronuts extra delicious because they’re not only dusted with cinnamon and sugar but drizzled with a delicious blood orange glaze too. Are you ready to try making these cronuts now? Okay, here’s how.
How to Make Homemade Cronuts
Step 1: Thaw the Frozen Puff Pastry
The first thing you’ll want to do is completely thaw your puff pastry dough. If you’re planning to make these in the morning as a special breakfast treat, transferring the puff pastry from your freezer to the fridge the night before to thaw should be just the right amount of time.
Step 2: Shape the Dough
Once the dough is completely thawed, open up a sheet of the dough and lay it flat on a cutting board. Next, brush the pastry lightly with a single beaten egg. Then, fold the dough back into thirds (like a brochure). Then, cut out 3-4 doughnuts out of the folded sheet of puff pastry using a doughnut cutter.
Note: If you don’t have a doughnut cutter, use a standard pint glass and a shot glass instead. Just dip the rims in a little flour before using them to cut out the doughnuts.
Step 3: Preheat the Oil
Bring the oil in your fryer up to the proper temperature is essential for frying these cronuts perfectly. If the oil is too hot, the outsides will burn before the center cook through all the way. If the oil is too cool, the doughnuts will absorb the oil as they cook and you’ll be left with icky, greasy cronuts. For this recipe, keep the oil between 345-355 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 4: Fry the Cronuts
Carefully drop 1-2 doughnuts into the hot oil. Don’t overcrowd your fryer as that may cause the oil to drop below the recommended temperature. Let the cronuts fry on one side for 2-3 minutes and then flip and fry for an additional 2-3 minutes. When golden on all sides, remove and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Repeat with remaining puff pastry (even the holes and scraps)
Step 5: Dust & Drizzle
As doughnuts come out of the fryer and begin to cool, drop them into a bowl of cinnamon sugar. Toss to coat the cronuts on all sides and them transfer back to a wire rack to finish cooling. While the doughnuts cool, make the blood orange glaze. Combine the glaze ingredients in a glass mixing bowl and stir until smooth. Then dip or drizzle each cronut with the glaze and garnish with orange zest.
That’s it! These homemade cronuts are one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made and one of my new favorites. They’re a great option to make if you have house guests staying overnight and want to serve them a special treat in the morning with coffee and brunch.
Note: If you are not planning on eating all of the doughnuts in one sitting, then I would hold off on glazing them and just dust them in cinnamon sugar. Glaze any leftover doughnuts just before serving instead. But, let’s be honest, you likely won’t have leftovers.
If you try out these blood Orange Cronuts, please give the recipe a rating and leave me a comment with your thoughts below. You can also tag me in a photo of your homemade cronuts on social media—it’s @frydaeblog and #frydaeblog absolutely everywhere! Feel free to get creative with your own variation on glaze and toppings too. The options are limitless!
Looking to complete your brunch menu? Serve these frozen puff pastry doughnuts with my favorite Buttermilk Peach Pancakes.
Blood Orange Glazed Cronuts
Equipment
- Deep Fryer
Ingredients
- 4 sheets frozen puff pastry dough, thawed (I recommend Pepperidge Farm)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup blood orange juice, about 1 large blood orange
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, about 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon blood orange zest, optional, for garnish
- 4-5 cups vegetable or canola oil, for frying
Method
- Preheat 4-5 cups of canola or vegetable oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees. If you don't own a deep fryer, you may also preheat the oil in a deep frying pan fitted with a candy thermometer.Next, using thawed puff pastry dough, unfold each sheet and lay it flat on a cutting board and brush lightly with beaten egg. Refold the pastry into thirds, like a brochure, and gently press the layers together with your hands.Using a doughnut cutter, cut out 3-4 doughnuts per folded pastry sheet. If the layers seem to be pulling away from each other, use your fingers to gently pinch the seams together.When the oil is preheated, carefully drop 1-2 cronuts into the fryer. Let cook for 2-3 minutes on one side until puffed and golden. Then flip and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove promptly and let drain on a wire cooling rack. Repeat until all of the cronuts are fried.As the remaining cronuts fry, drop the cooked cronuts into a shallow bowl filled with a blend of cinnamon and sugar. Toss to coat and then return to the wire cooling rack.To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, blood orange juice, lemon juice and honey in a medium bowl. Whisk until smooth. If you'd like a thicker glaze, add additional powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.When the cronuts are cool, dip or drizzle each with the blood orange glaze and garnish with the zest of a blood orange. Serve immediately.
Notes
Don’t throw away the holes or the dough scraps. Toss them into the fryer and make some tasty cronut fritters and cronut holes. For the fritters, gently twist and squish together the pastry scraps so they hold their shape and then fry until golden. Waste not!