Ridiculously easy to make and not eating up too many ingredients from the pantry, crescent rolls are an ideal treat and could serve as a base ingredient for a lot of interesting recipes.
You can make crescent rolls using ingredients that you already have lying around the house and, when you want to get creative, you can make snack, desserts, and even full-on meals using them. Today, we’re going to teach you how to make the perfect crescent rolls.
How to Roll Crescent Rolls Properly
Making crescent rolls isn’t all that complicated once you understood that part of the beauty of homemade crescent rolls lies in the little imperfections. If you’re determined to roll crescent rolls to perfection, here are some tips that might help:
- Cut the dough into equal pieces using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, just like you would with a pizza.
- Start rolling each triangle by stretching the two corners a little. Ensure that you roll it firmly all the way to the end.
- Place the rolls, tips facing down, on a special cookie sheet or a normal greased sheet to prevent them from unrolling while they cook. To make a good crescent moon shape, you can lightly bed the ends.
How to Make Pigs in a Blanket with Crescent Rolls
One of the most common recipes using crescent rolls is pigs in a blanket, a snack loved by adults and children alike. This recipe is very easy to make:
- Heat your over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut each hot dog in half lengthwise almost all the way through by using a sharp knife.
- To make 24 strips, each slice of cheese needs to be cut in 6 narrow strips.
- Place 3 cheese strips in each hot dog.
- Wrap each hot dog in triangles made from crescent dough: Begin with the long end of the triangle, stretching the dough slightly to cover the hot dog fully.
- You can make egg brush and add it over the tops of each pig in a blanket. Sesame or poppy seeds can be sparingly sprinkled on top.
- Place the covered hot dogs on a baking sheet coated with parchment paper or foil. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 9 to 12 minutes.
What Goes Well with Crescent Rolls
There are endless crescent roll recipes that you can try out because they pair well with a lot of different types of food. For crescent roll desserts, you can try mixing them with bits of chocolate and marshmallows. You can also make mini cakes that look like cinnamon buns. If you want a delicious snack, make crescent rolls with strips of bacon, garlic, or even ham and cheese. They can be used to make small apple pies, faux cronuts, taco pops, chicken empanadas, and more.
Equipment:
- Large bowl
- Electric mixer with a dough hook
- Towel
- 9 x 13 baking dish
- Dough or bench scraper
- Rolling pin
- Pastry brush
Ingredients to make the Crescent Rolls:
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed
- 2 ½ teaspoon yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 egg, whisked
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon flour
How to Make Crescent Rolls: Step By Step Preparation
Step 1: Preparing the ingredients
One of the most important rules when preparing a recipe is to always have the ingredients nearby and never put yourself in a situation where you have to rummage through the fridge or pantry to find them. Measure all of the ingredients needed to make crescent rolls and place them in bowls and cups of appropriate sizes.
Step 2: Mixing the base
For this recipe, you will have to create a mixture using warm milk, sugar, and yeast. After mixing them, set them aside for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Making the dough
After 10 minutes, place the mixture you made in the previous step in a large bowl and add a whisked egg, a 1/3-cup of sugar, 3 ¼ cups of all-purpose flour, and salt. Connect the hook attachment to the electric mixer. Place this bowl under the electric mixer and start kneading the dough.
When everything is well incorporated, add a tablespoon of flour and a ¼-cup of butter and continue to mix for about 15 minutes. When everything is properly mixed, it should form a more solid ball, that looks something like this:
If your dough doesn’t look like this when the 15 minutes of mixing are up, you will have to knead the dough by hand. Sprinkle some flour over a clean table surface, place the dough on top of it, and knead it for about 5 minutes or until it’s smooth.
Step 4: Let the dough rise
When you’re dough ball is ready, place it into a large bowl that’s been lightly oiled, cover it with a clean tower or a cloth, and put it in a warm place, allowing it to rise for about an hour.
Step 5: Rolling the dough
After one hour, sprinkle some flour on a clean tabletop and place the dough ball on top of the floured surface. Grab a rolling pin and roll it over the dough ball to create a large circle. The size of the circle will determine how many slices you’ll be able to roll (the more, the merrier).
Step 6: Cutting the dough
Using a bench scraper, a pizza cutter, or a sharp knife, cut the dough into triangles (similarly to how you would cut a pizza). You should have about 12 to 16 triangles after cutting.
Step 7: Rolling the dough
Grab the larger end of each triangle and roll it in a circle. When done correctly, it should look as shown in the photo above.
Step 8: Growing the rolls
When all the crescent rolls are prepared, lightly oil a baking dish and place them inside, one next to another. Cover the baking dish using a towel or a cloth and allow them to rise for another half an hour in a warm place.
Step 9: Brushing the rolls
When the 30 minutes are up, mix one tablespoon of water with an egg to create an egg wash. Grab your pastry brush and rub egg wash on the surface of each crescent roll. Place them inside the oven for about 30 minutes or until you notice they have a nice golden brown color.
After they’re baked, you can use melted butter or honey butter to brush them again, for a more distinct and delicious flavor.
One serving suggestion is together with a honey butter sauce which is super-simple to make. But melt 3 tablespoons of butter with 1 or 2 tablespoons of honey in the microwave. Use your pastry brush to add the sauce on the rolls before enjoying them.
