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Orange Pistachio Cruffins. A buttery and flaky dough, filled with a sweet orange, pistachio filling and topped with orange glaze and pistachio bits.
Travel and childhood help to determine the different recipes we create, and this week’s recipe is no different. When we visited New York City last March, we came across this delicious bakery that sold the most delicious orange pistachio muffin. It was so delicious, and we’ve been dreaming about it ever since.
We wanted to take those delicious flavors and add our own spin to it. We may have been a bit ambitious on this one, but we don’t regret it. This is going down as one of our top three favorite recipes we’ve ever created!
These Orange Pistachio Rolls are the perfect treat for a cozy, fall morning inside or as a delicious, sweet dessert at night. Curl up on the sofa with a blanket, a cup of coffee and a cruffin as you watch Harry Potter or your favorite rom-com. Once you have one, you’ll definitely want another!
This post is all about orange pistachio cruffins.
Orange Pistachio Cruffins
What are cruffins?
A cruffin is a cross between a croissant and a muffin. You make your croissant dough just as you normally would, however they are baked in muffin tins to create that classic muffin shape.
They are tedious to make and the prep time to actually bake them is longer, but they are SO worth it! Cruffins have quickly become a favorite treat in our home.
What does a cruffin taste like?
A cruffin tastes just like a classic croissant, and is traditionally filled and rolled in cinnamon sugar.
These Orange Pistachio Cruffins are filled with extra, unique flavor that comes from the freshly grated orange peel, finely crushed pistachios, and cardamom spice. There are no rules to the different flavors you add to a cruffin. You can play with sweet or savory flavors as well!
Cruffin Flavor Ideas
There are so many different flavor profiles you can add to a traditional cruffin dough. Although sweet cruffins are most common, you can totally add savory flavors to cruffins as well. The possibilities are endless!
Sweet Cruffin Flavors:
- Cinnamon Sugar
- Organe Pistachio
- Cardamom
- Blueberry Jam
- Lemon
Savory Cruffin Flavors:
- Bacon Cheddar
- Bacon Cheddar Jalapeno
- Cheddar and Thyme
- Garlic Parmesan
- Pesto
- Pepperoni and Cheese
Equipment You’ll Need for This Recipe…
Orange Pistachio Cruffins
- Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 cruffins 1x
Description
A buttery and flaky dough, filled with a sweet orange, pistachio filling and topped with orange glaze and pistachio bits.
Ingredients
Cruffin Dough
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp +1 tsp quick rise yeast
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 1/4 cups flour
- 1 cup +6 tbsp butter
Filling:
- 8 tbsp butter melted
- 2/3 cup Finley chopped pistachios
- 3 tbsp orange zest
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup regular sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cardamom
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tbsp milk
- Orange zest
- Chopped pistachios
Instructions
Cruffin Dough
- In a small mixing bowl, add yeast and warm milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- While the yeast milk mixture sits, attach dough hook to stand mixer. Combine flour, sugar and salt until incorporated.
- Then add the yeast milk mixture on low speed. Mix on slow until the flour is combined, then increase the speed to medium speed for 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 1 hour. Then, place in fridge overnight or if you’re short on time, refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.
- After the dough has refrigerated, it’s time to press the butter. Cut your butter sticks in half (length wise) and set it our for 5-10 minutes to slightly soften. On a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle flour and and lay your cold (but not super firm) butter on the floured surface, flour the top of the butter and place the other piece of parchment paper on top. Use a rolling pin to press the butter into a 8”x8” square. Set aside while you roll out your dough.
- Flour a surface or your countertop and roll out your dough into a 10”x10” square. Place the butter at an angle on top of the dough and fold the dough over the butter.
- Gently roll the dough into an 18”x10” rectangle. Fold one end into the center of the dough and the other end over the previous fold. You’re essentially folding the dough like a letter. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll, fold and refrigerate the dough 2 more times. This creates the butter layers for the croissant.
Cruffin Filling
- As the cruffins are refrigerating to the final time, it’s time to make the filling and preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a small mixing bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, sugar, cardamom, salt, orange peel and crushed pistachio into the bowl. Mix with a spatula until fully combined.
- Roll the cruffin dough out into an 8”x15” rectangle. Spread the filling over the top of the dough, making sure to spread it all the way to the edges. Using a pizza cutter, cut 8 even 15” long dough strips. Roll each strip into a spiral and wrap the end over the top and tuck under the bottom.
- Place the cruffin roll into a muffin tin and repeat for the following dough strips. Cover the muffin tin with plastic wrap for 20 more minutes. Remove plastic wrap and bake on 425°F for 5 minutes, lower the temperature to 375°F for the remaining 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow them to cool for about 10-15 minutes before adding the orange glaze.
Cruffin Glaze and Topping
- In a small mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and orange peel. Use a spin to drizzle the glaze over the top of the cruffin and top with crushed pistachios.
- Enjoy with a hot cup of tea or cappuccino. 🙂
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Dessert
- Cuisine: American
This post is all about orange pistachio cruffins.
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