Gingerbread Croissants

Gingerbread croissants are recipe #14 of our “24 Days of Christmas” Holiday series where I share 24 recipes over 24 days as a virtual advent countdown to Christmas. Christmas is my favourite holiday, especially when it comes to baking, and I think there are endless creations that we can come up with to reflect the holidays. All 24 holiday recipes will be shared across instagram, tiktok and here on the blog where you can print off the full recipe for your baking pleasure!

When I shared these gingerbread croissants with my family, their replies were that they were “truly heaven”, and if that doesn’t convince you to give this incredibly easy dessert a try, I don’t know what will!!!

I really wanted to balance out this Christmas dessert series with all sorts of baking challenges for every level of home baker. I firmly believe that making anything with your own two hands, despite aspects or elements of it being store bought, is still a huge win. Don’t let any one tell you any different!! If you don’t already have your Christmas morning breakfast sorted, may I highlighy suggest you consider adding this to your line up?!

Why I Love This Recipe

Why I love this recipe is pretty obvious – It is easy! I am sure we all saw the viral crookie all over social media, and if you didn’t, let me remind you! A bakery in Paris shared their buttery croissant stuffed with cookie dough and then baked to perfection online and the internet went crazy over them, most of us home bakers coming up with a version of our own. These gingerbread cookie croissants are a twist on that delicacy, but with a holiday spin!

I think we can all agree that the holiday season can be pretty hectic, and these gingerbread croissants are sure to provide a little but of calm in that choas. You can make these a day or two ahead of when you plan to eat them, store them in a fridge in an airtight container and then bake them just before you want to eat them.

Alternatives

You can absolutely use your own favourite gingerbread cookie dough in this recipe, or even your own home baked croissants if you are talented like that! If using a homemade gingerbread cookie dough I would recommend letting it sit in the fridge to firm up slightly before using, you don’t want to cookie dough to ooze out of the croissant when baking.

As mentioned above, I would bake these just before you want to eat them, however you could prepare them early and leave them in the fridge until you are ready to bake. Additionally, you could prepare the cookie croissants and then freeze them and pull them out when you are ready to bake them. I would let them thaw and come to room temperature before baking!

The Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 package Pillsbury gingerbread cookie dough in the tube, from the fridge section
• 12 croissants
• 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 1 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions

• Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F and grabbing a parchment lined baking tray.
• Slice your croissants down the middle and then stick them on your baking tray.
• Remove the plastic covering from the ginger bread cookie dough and then slice it in to thin slices. Place 2 slices of cookie dough in the centre of the croissant and push it down slightly; close the croissant and add another slice of dough to the top of the croissant.
• Bake these for about 12 minutes. Let them cool slightly before dusting them with the cinnamon icing sugar mixture.

You almost aren’t going to believe me about how easy this treat is. You only need a couple things; store bought croissants (mini or regular works), Pillsbury gingerbread cookie dough (you know the one, in the fridge at your grocery store wrapped in a tube!), and then just some icing sugar and cinnamon for the dusting on top.

To make these, you are going to slice your croissants in half and then add a couple thin slices of the gingerbread cookie dough in to the center and press down lightly. Close up the croissant and then add another slice or two on the top, I typically like to roll this slice in to a ball and then press it on to the top for a perfectly circular dollop of cookie dough. Stick these in to the oven and bake for about 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees. Once you remove them from the oven dust them with a combination of icing sugar and cinnamon and you have a new family favourite that took you less than 20 minutes to make!