Crescent roll recipes took me an embarrassingly long time to take seriously. One of my kids has bread as his favorite food on earth, real bread, preferably with Kerrygold on it, so a tube of refrigerated dough always struck me as a so so stand-in for the actual thing. Then I started cooking with it properly and got completely shown up. That can does danishes, braided cheesesteak, stromboli, churros, apple dumplings, pinwheels, baklava and a pecan pie bar with a crust you never have to roll out. Most of them are under thirty minutes, and almost all of them start the same way: unroll, fill the wide end, roll toward the point. The lemon cherry cheese danish is still my favorite, though the Nutella s’mores rolls are hard to stop thinking about. Perfect for breakfast, a last minute appetizer, a weeknight dinner, or a dessert you decided on twenty minutes ago.
1. Homemade Crescent Rolls From Scratch
Start the list at the source, because once you have made these you will know exactly what the can is imitating. Yeast, milk, sugar, butter, one egg and about four cups of flour, worked with a dough hook until the dough is smooth, then left to double. They are best warm, straight out of the oven, with almost any spread you put near them. Worth one slow Saturday.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
2. Chocolate Almond Croissant
Almond paste beaten smooth with a little cream, dark chocolate folded in, spooned onto the wide end of each triangle and rolled to the point. Egg wash, sliced almonds, fifteen minutes at 350, then powdered sugar once they cool. It is pain au chocolat without the two days of laminating dough, and it makes eight. The almond paste is the whole trick, so do not swap it for extract.
Get the full tutorial at Your Homebased Mom.
3. S'mores Crescent Rolls
A teaspoon of Nutella on each triangle, then eight mini marshmallows, five chocolate chips and a quarter of a graham cracker broken over the top. Roll from the wide end, bake ten minutes at 375, then drizzle the rest of the Nutella over while they are warm. Fifteen minutes start to finish and no fire pit involved. The marshmallow count matters more than you would think.
Get the full tutorial at Lemon Tree Dwelling.
4. Baked Deep Fried Oreos
Slice the cylinder of dough into sixteen rounds and press each one slightly wider than an Oreo. Dunk a cookie in milk fast, set it on a round, press a second round over the top and pinch the edges shut. Ten to twelve minutes at 375, powdered sugar straight out of the oven. Fair warning on the milk: quick means quick, or the cookie turns to mush before it is sealed.
Get the full tutorial at Something Swanky.
5. Lemon Cherry Cheese Danish
This is the one I keep coming back to on this list. A seamless crescent sheet, eight ounces of cream cheese beaten with sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract down the middle, cherry pie filling over that, then two inch cuts an inch apart down both long sides and folded across into a braid. Fifteen to twenty minutes at 375. Let it cool fully before the lemon glaze or you will have soup.
Get the full tutorial at Sweet and Savory Meals.
6. Crescent Bacon Breakfast Ring
Our own, and it is the one to make when people are staying over. Crescent triangles laid in a sunburst on a sheet pan, scrambled eggs with chopped bell pepper, eight strips of bacon and a cup of cheddar piled into the middle, then the points folded back over the filling. Twenty minutes at 375. Ham or leftover chicken works just as well, and it slices into wedges like a pie.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
7. Pumpkin Pie Twists
Lay the dough out as four rectangles, spread pumpkin puree on two of them, top with the other two and seal the edges. Brush with melted butter, dust with pumpkin pie spice, then cut into six strips with a pizza cutter and twist each one. Eight to ten minutes at 375, cream cheese icing after. Twelve twists, twenty minutes, and they are lighter than an actual slice of pie.
Get the full tutorial at Deliciously Sprinkled.
8. Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Danish
Ours, and the trick in it is worth stealing for any filled pastry. Cut the dough into six pieces and flatten each one with the rounded bottom of a small bowl, wiggling it so the center goes thinner than the rim. That lip is what holds the filling. Whipped cream cheese with an egg yolk, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla, a spoonful of marmalade on top, twelve to fourteen minutes at 375.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
9. Easy Cronuts
The only recipe here that involves a pot of oil, and it earns it. Fold a seamless crescent sheet in half twice to build layers, cut three inch rounds, punch out a one inch center, and fry about ninety seconds a side at 350. Cool, split, fill with vanilla pudding and glaze. Makes four. Gather the scraps and you will get a fifth out of it.
Get the full tutorial at Mom Foodie.
10. Cream Cheese And Dill Veggie Pizza
A crescent sheet pressed into a sheet pan with the edges rolled up, baked thirteen to seventeen minutes, then cooled all the way. Cream cheese whipped with sour cream, dried dill and a little garlic powder goes over it, then raw broccoli, cherry tomatoes, cabbage and bell pepper on top. Cold, crisp, cuts into squares. The cooling step is not optional, or the topping slides.
Get the full tutorial at The Love Nerds.
11. Strawberry Cream Crescent Rolls
Four ounces of cream cheese softened in the microwave for fifteen seconds, beaten with a third of a cup of powdered sugar, spread on each triangle with a single layer of sliced strawberries over it. Twelve to fifteen minutes at 375. Hold the berries in place with a finger as you roll, because they do not want to stay. Let them cool fully, the filling comes out volcanic.
Get the full tutorial at Simple Hacks Living.
12. Ham And Cheese Crescent Sticks
One of ours, and the poppy seed glaze is the reason. Crescent sheets cut into strips, two or three slices of deli ham on each, a whole cheddar cheese stick down the middle, rolled up tight. Then melted butter mixed with Worcestershire, Dijon, dried minced onion and poppy seeds brushed over everything before it bakes. Twelve to fifteen minutes at 350, and lunch is handled.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
13. Philly Cheesesteak Crescent Braid
Green pepper and sweet onion softened for five to seven minutes, half a pound of good deli roast beef, four slices of provolone, all of it laid down the middle of the dough rolled out to about eight by twelve. Cut one inch slits an inch apart down each side and cross them over. Egg wash, oregano, twenty minutes at 375. Seal the perforations first or it splits.
Get the full tutorial at Mother Thyme.
14. Quick Crescent Baklava
Two cans of dough pressed into a nine by thirteen, bottom and half an inch up the sides, baked five minutes on its own first. Three cups of finely chopped walnuts with sugar and cinnamon go in, more dough over the top, then a honey syrup with butter and lemon juice poured over the whole thing. It is not phyllo and it does not pretend to be, but the syrup is the real thing.
Get the full tutorial at Lady Behind The Curtain.
15. Mississippi Sin Crescents
Ours, and it is the pan that vanishes at a tailgate. A pound of chopped deli ham crisped in a skillet, then folded into cream cheese with cheddar, Swiss, green onion, Worcestershire and smoked paprika. That goes on the wide end of the triangles, rolled up, packed into a dish, and finished with a brown sugar and Dijon poppy seed glaze. Two cans of dough, and it feeds a crowd.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
16. Monte Cristo Crescent Roll Ups
Pinch two crescents together into a rectangle, spread a thin layer of berry jam, then two slices of provolone and two of turkey, and roll it up seam down. Twenty to twenty-five minutes at 350. Let them sit ten or fifteen minutes, then cut each roll into three and dust with powdered sugar. Sweet and salty in one bite, five ingredients, twelve servings.
Get the full tutorial at Picky Palate.
17. Apple Pie Bites
One Granny Smith cut into eight half inch slices, each one tossed in melted butter and wrapped in a triangle loaded with brown sugar, apple pie spice and chopped pecans. Ten to twelve minutes at 375, cool five. Eight bites, under thirty minutes, and they taste like a whole pie did the work. Granny Smith on purpose, a soft apple turns to sauce in there.
Get the full tutorial at The Blond Cook.
18. Chicken Cordon Bleu Crescent Rolls
Worth knowing before you start: this one makes its own dough from yeast and flour rather than opening a can, so it is the long afternoon of the list. Sixteen chicken tenderloins, sixteen slices of Swiss and sixteen of Black Forest ham, each set rolled into a wedge of that homemade dough. Sixteen rolls, and dinner and the bread are the same thing.
Get the full tutorial at Love Bakes Good Cakes.
19. Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings
Two Granny Smiths peeled and cut into eight, each wedge rolled up in a triangle and packed into a buttered nine by thirteen. Melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla poured over the top, then a can of 7Up or Mountain Dew poured between the rolls and not over them. Thirty-five to forty-five minutes at 350. The soda does something to the syrup that I cannot explain and will not argue with.
Get the full tutorial at Sugar Apron.
20. Mini Quiche With Crescent Roll Crust
Ours, and it solves the real problem with quiche, which is the crust. Press crescent triangles into a buttered muffin tin, spoon in thawed spinach with the water squeezed out, then pour over four eggs beaten with half and half and grated parmesan. Twenty-five minutes at 365. Bacon, sauteed onion or feta go in if you want them. They reheat beautifully, which is the whole point.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
21. Spicy Italian Crescent Roll Stromboli
Press the perforations shut, then layer ten slices of salami, six of ham, twenty-four pepperoni, six slices of provolone and as many pickled banana pepper rings as you like. Roll it lengthwise, bake fifteen to seventeen minutes at 350, then hit it with melted butter, parmesan and dried oregano. Serves eight, travels well, and the banana peppers are what keep it from tasting like a cold cut sandwich.
Get the full tutorial at Graceful Little Honey Bee.
22. Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
Shredded chicken tossed in buffalo sauce with cream cheese, spread over the dough, rolled into a log and sliced into rounds before baking. They come out looking like somebody fussed and they took about ten minutes to put together. Good warm, good at room temperature, and the ranch or blue cheese on the side is not optional in this house.
Get the full tutorial at Awesome On 20.
23. Mozzarella Pepperoni Croissants
Half a mozzarella stick on the wide end of each triangle, pepperoni laid along the length, rolled to the point. Egg wash, then garlic powder, oregano and basil over the top and parmesan after they come out. Fifteen minutes at 375, makes sixteen. Warm marinara on the side turns them into the after school snack that ends the negotiation.
Get the full tutorial at Small Town Woman.
24. Churros With Crescent Rolls
Ours, and it is four ingredients. Cut the can into four rectangles and pinch the perforations shut, brush with melted butter and dust with cinnamon sugar, then stack two of them cinnamon sides facing in. Cut that stack into six strips and twist each one three times. Nine to eleven minutes at 375. Crisp on the outside, and no thermometer or pot of oil anywhere.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
25. Pulled Pork Crescent Cups
Ours, and four ingredients is the entire honest count. Pinch a crescent sheet into one solid piece, cut it into twelve squares and press them into a muffin tin, then fill each with pulled pork mixed with barbecue sauce. Fourteen to eighteen minutes at 375, a spoonful of coleslaw on top out of the tub. Dinner on a night when nothing else was going to happen.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
26. Bacon, Egg And Cheese Crescent Roll Ups
Ours, and this is the one for a morning when you are running out the door. A slice of American cheese on the wide end of each triangle, a piece of scrambled egg on that, half a strip of cooked bacon on top, rolled and stretched so the tip tucks underneath. Twelve to fifteen minutes at 350. Four eggs, four slices of bacon, one can, and breakfast is portable.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
27. Cheesy Spinach Crescents
Two cups of chopped spinach worked into eight ounces of Neufchatel and a cup and a half of mozzarella, a heaping tablespoon on the wide end of each triangle, rolled up and brushed with egg wash. Fifteen to twenty minutes at 350, sixteen of them, served straight away while the cheese is still molten. Neufchatel rather than regular cream cheese keeps the filling from going greasy.
Get the full tutorial at Yummi Haus.
28. Chili Cheese Crescent Dogs
Hot dogs with a little shredded cheese rolled inside the dough and packed into an eight by eight dish so they hold each other up. Eighteen to twenty-two minutes at 375, then hot dog chili and more cheese over the top and back in until it melts. Check the middle ones are actually cooked through. Diced onion and jalapeno on top, and the kids stop asking what is for dinner.
Get the full tutorial at Diary Of A Recipe Collector.
29. Easy Pecan Pie Bars
The crust is two rectangles of crescent dough pressed into a thirteen by nine and half an inch up the sides, baked eight minutes on its own. Then corn syrup, sugar, an egg, vanilla and three quarters of a cup of pecans over the top, eighteen to twenty-two more minutes at 350. Cool a full hour before cutting. Line the pan with foil and lift the whole slab out.
Get the full tutorial at Sugar Apron.
30. Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls
Roll the dough flat, brush with melted butter, cover with a quarter cup of sugar mixed with half a tablespoon of cinnamon, then mini chocolate chips over all of it. Roll up, cut into eight, arrange in an eight inch round pan and bake twelve to fourteen minutes at 375. The glaze gets warmed in a saucepan and brushed on the second they come out, which is the part that matters.
Get the full tutorial at Persnickety Plates.
31. Spinach Artichoke Crescent Ring
Ours, and it is the thirty minute answer when you are the one bringing an appetizer. Two cups of prepared spinach dip mixed with chopped canned artichokes, two cups of shredded cooked chicken, mozzarella, pimientos and garlic powder, spooned onto crescent triangles arranged in a ring on a pizza pan with the wide ends to the center. Fold the points over and bake at 375. Leftover chicken is the intended shortcut.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
