Apple Butter Cruffins are crescent roll dough smothered in homemade apple butter, rolled, cut, and baked in a muffin tin, topped with cinnamon and sugar. The entire recipe is made with just four ingredients! And, you get all the apple flavor without peeling or dicing any apples! I also have Cinnamon Sugar Cruffins you will love!
What Is A Cruffin?
A cruffin is a pastry that’s a mix of two tasty treats: a croissant and a muffin. Imagine if a croissant, which is a flaky and buttery bread, and a muffin, which is like a soft and round cake, decided to become best friends. They’d create a cruffin! But, this recipe uses crescent roll dough in place of croissant dough to make this an easy recipe that anyone can make (no homemade dough required). I have been on a cruffin kick lately from Blueberry Cruffins to Carrot Cake Cruffins to Chocolate Peppermint Cruffins!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Dough: I used storebought crescent roll dough that came in sheets (no perforations). But, you could still use the original dough that does have perforations, just pinch the seams together. If you want to make your own dough for cruffins, there are a couple of options. You could check out the New York Times Croissant recipe. Or, use the dough that I make for my Pumpkin Puff Pastry.
Apple Butter: Apple butter is a delicious apple-flavored spread that is wonderful on bread or used as a condiment. The name can be confusing since it isn’t made with butter but is more like jams and jellies. For the best flavor, make homemade apple butter! Or, you can buy a jar at the store.
Topping: The warm, freshly baked cruffins are rolled in a cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Can I Make the Dough From Scratch?
Sure! If you want to make your own dough for these blueberry cruffins, there are a couple of options. You could check out my from-scratch Cruffin Recipe. Or, use the dough that I make for my Pumpkin Puff Pastry .
Can I Make Cruffins with Puff Pastry?
Yes! You could use 3 sheets of puff pastry (1 1/2 boxes), thawed according to package instructions, to make 12 cruffins. However, the baking instructions are a little different. If using a puff pastry sheet, follow the instructions for filling, rolling, and cutting. Place in the prepared muffin tin and bake for 24 minutes at 400°F. (Notice the baking temperature is different when compared to making the cruffins with crescent roll sheets.)
How To Store Apple Butter Cruffins
You can store apple butter cruffins at room temperature or freeze them.
Room Temperature: After they have baked and rolled in the cinnamon and sugar mixture, store the cruffins in an airtight container. They will last up to 3 days at room temperature (but I doubt they will last that long; they are so good)!
To Freeze: If you are not going to enjoy the cruffins within three days, it’s best to freeze them. First, let them cool completely. Then, store in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. When ready to enjoy, let the cruffins thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for a few hours.
Apple Butter Cruffins
Ingredients
Cruffins
- 3 tubes (8 ounces each) crescent roll sheets
- 1 ½ cups (360 g) apple butter, divided
Topping
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Set it aside.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, roll out each tube of dough into a 12×16-inch rectangle. If using perforated crescent roll dough, be sure to pinch the seams to seal them.
- Spread ½ cup of apple butter evenly over the top of each sheet of dough.
- Starting on the long end of the dough sheet, tightly roll it up into a log.
- Cut the log in half, creating two shorter logs.
- Cut each of those shorter logs in half lengthwise, giving you four sections of dough.
- Repeat these steps with the remaining two sheets of dough, resulting in 12 sections of dough.
- Working with one section of dough at a time, with the layered side facing up, roll it tightly into a cinnamon roll shape, tucking in the end piece of dough.
- Place each roll into the prepared muffin tin.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes or until the cruffins are golden brown.
Topping
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Remove rolls from the oven and immediately roll each cruffin in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Enjoy!
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What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Autumn
Apple butter is such a unique flavor. It brings me back to my childhood, although I don't think I appreciated it as much when I was younger. Paired with these simple cruffins, you just cant go wrong!
Elizabeth
This is another cruffin I am 'luffin'…get it?!? I love to peel off each layer, making the treat last as long as I can! The apple butter spread is so flavorful in this, which I was not surprised about since I love it on a slice of bread, too!
Rachael
Yummm, such an easy variation of cruffins with apple butter. Very easy to assemble and the flavor of the apple butter is so delicious!
Bella
Delicious! Flaky, buttery, and sweet. The apple butter is spread out evenly throughout the roll, so you get a flavorful bite each time!
Selena
So moist and flavorful! They were extra gooey in just the right way. My family devoured these!
My 14 year old son gives these 11 out of 10. They are so easy to make and delicious
If I make the Pumpkin Puff Pastry do I have to make three of them?
Can I use frozen pie dough instead of crescent rolls?
Pie dough is going to bake hard… it would be yummy but not soft and flakey like a cruffin
SCRUMPTDILLYICIOUS!!!!!!!
350 or 400 degrees??
The recipe is writer for the oven, which states 350°F. The other directions in the post are for alternative ingredients.
Thank you for sharing your recipe’s my family is liking this
These look absolutely amazing! Is it possible to use something like pumpkin butter? I may have jumped the gun and not looked at what you wrote… 🤦🏻♀️😂 Although I DO love apple butter, just wondering about variations!
Yes, of course! 🙂
I hate when I see a yummy recipe and can’t make it because in New Zealand we don’t have Crescent rolls so many easy recipes that use it and it not fair 😭
You can substitute puff pastry! I just might try making it with that instead ☺️
Here is a from-scratch version! https://iambaker.net/cruffins/
I used Puff Pastry!!
Sounds like a wonderful business opportunity!
What’s the difference between this and a morning bun??
Oh so YUMMY! I added chopped walnuts and minced apples. Took them out of the oven, spread some butter on top, sprinkled cinnamon sugar mixture on them back in the oven for another minute and Mmm Mmm good!
I made them this morning. But mine didn’t get done in the middle. Still mushy. I used muffin cups bc I don’t like the non stick surface – was that what made them not get all the way done?
I split them open and put them back in the oven to finish cooking. Then sprinkled more cinnamon sugar on top.
Easy and delicious! And my house smells wonderful!