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Family-friendly meals made easy!
Make everyday family moments count, with easy recipes that everyone will love. Join our email community to receive tested recipes and tips.
Make everyday family moments count, with easy recipes that everyone will love. Join our email community to receive tested recipes and tips.
Inspired by cuernitos de azúcar (or little sugar croissants), this crescent-shaped pan dulce (sweet bread) has a delicate crunch and subtle sweetness. This recipe captures the essence of that beloved panadería treat in a fraction of the time. We use Pillsbury™ Original Crescent Rolls dough as a shortcut to recreate the tender, yeasted dough and include a recipe for a cookie-like sugar paste for the filling. Enjoy these quick cuernitos with café de olla or your favorite tea.
Here's a look at the few simple ingredients it takes to make Easy Cuernitos de Azúcar (Little Sugar Croissants).
Pillsbury™ Original Crescent Rolls: Soft, flaky, and ready-to-roll, crescents are the shortcut dough that stands in for traditional sweet bread dough made from scratch.
All-Purpose Flour: Along with the powdered sugar, flour forms the base of the filling that mimics the sugar paste used in the classic version.
Powdered Sugar: Adds sweetness and blends easily with the flour and butter to create the paste filling.
Salted Butter: Butter binds the sugar paste and gives it richness and tenderness. The salt lends lots of flavor and balances the sweetness of the filling.
Egg Yolk: Adds color, structure, and richness to the filling. Use a yolk from any size egg.
Granulated Sugar (optional): For coating, it gives that signature cuernito sparkle and crunch.
Here’s a quick preview of how to make Easy Cuernitos de Azúcar (Little Sugar Croissants). Follow the recipe for more details!
Mix the flour, powdered sugar, butter, and egg yolk until a smooth filling forms.
Separate the crescent dough triangles and add about 1 tablespoon of filling to each one. Spread the filling to cover the dough. Flip the triangle over and roll up the crescents.
Place half the rolled cuernitos on the prepared baking pan and bake until golden. While warm, roll in granulated sugar if desired. Repeat with the remaining 8 cuernitos.
Serve cuernitos warm or at room temperature.
This recipe makes 16 cuernitos, so you may have leftovers. Here’s how to store and reheat them.
Store cooled cuernitos in an airtight food storage container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Transfer cuernitos to a baking sheet and heat in a 325°F oven for about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly before enjoying.
You can make the filling up to 2 days in advance. Make as directed, then transfer to an airtight food storage container and store in the fridge. Let filling sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before using, so it’s easier to spread.
Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix 3/4 cup flour, powdered sugar, butter, and egg yolk until a smooth paste forms. Set filling aside.
Open and unroll both cans of crescent roll dough; separate into 16 triangles.
Place a dough triangle on a surface that's been lightly dusted with flour, and spread about 1 tablespoon of filling evenly over it using lightly oiled hands, a pastry roller, offset spatula, or the back of a spoon. Flip the triangle filling-side down. Starting from the wide base, roll the triangle into a crescent shape, and place it seam-side down on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 15 triangles.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until crescents are baked through and golden brown. Remove from the oven and while still warm, roll in granulated sugar if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
If your filling feels too sticky, place in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes until it becomes slightly firmer and easier to work with.
These cuernitos are perfect served with traditional café de olla, a coffee drink sweetened with raw cane sugar and spiced with cinnamon and other aromatics. Try a quick version by adding a pinch of cinnamon and a teaspoon of brown sugar to your coffee grounds before brewing.
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