Worth the Wait

Summer has been a whirlwind. Trips to plan for and go on, packing to do, camps to get gets kids to, so many fun adventures and weekends away, but very little time to bake and try new things. This recipe has been on my radar for quite a while, printed on my desk staring at me. We had an at home Saturday and wildly got all our yardwork and other chores done in the morning so an afternoon of baking sounded fantastic! I thought this recipe would be harder than it actually was, it honestly was very straight forward and not hard. My measuring was a bit off and I ignored the first tip about cutting a slit in the wide end of the triangle. My first croissant showed my inability to follow directions and it did not fan out very nice, so I went back and cut slits and they all rolled out beautifully and looked just like you'd expect. These croissants are not standard with laminated dough and layers of flakey pastry, they are soft and delicious. Layers of cinnamon and brown sugar filling, with some icing on top. So delicious and they are wonderful as left overs! These were worth the wait!

Cinnamon Roll Croissants
Dough:
3/4 cup (180ml) milk of choice, warmed to 110F
1/2 cup (110g) granulated sugar, divided
2 1/2 tsp (9g) active dry yeast
1/2 cup (120g) Greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, very softened (almost melted)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract
4 1/2 cups (540g) bread flour (substitution: all-purpose flour);
1 tsp (6g) salt
Cinnamon Filling:
1/2 cup (113g) salted butter, softened (not melted)
1 cup (240g) light brown sugar
2 tbsp (12g) cinnamon
1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract
Egg wash: 1 egg + 1 tbsp heavy cream or milk of choice, for brushing on top before baking
Egg Wash (For Brushing on Top Before Baking):
1 egg
1 tbsp (15ml) heavy cream or milk of choice
Cream Cheese Glaze:
4oz (125g; 1/2 a block) cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp (28g) salted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (150g) powdered sugar
2 tbsp (30ml) milk of choice
1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract
Instructions
Activate the yeast for the dough:
Start by activating the yeast for the dough. Pour the warm milk into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Add 1 tbsp (13g) of the granulated sugar and sprinkle the yeast overtop. Stir and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes, until frothy and activated. If using instant yeast, no need to wait for it to bloom; go straight into mixing the dough together!
Continue preparing the dough:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
Once activated, pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if mixing/kneading the dough by hand). Add the rest of the sugar (1/2 cup minus the 1 tbsp that was used to activate the yeast), Greek yogurt or sour cream, butter, eggs, vanilla, and the flour mixture.
With the dough hook attachment (or with a wooden spoon if mixing by hand), mix on low speed for 1 minute, until barely combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes so the flour can soak up the liquids.
Then, mix on medium speed for 5-7 minutes, until the dough is elastic, smooth, and is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems a little too sticky, you can add 1 tbsp more flour at a time, until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Don’t be tempted to add too much, you want the dough to be slightly sticky! I ended up adding about 3 tbsp more flour. If you are mixing and kneading by hand, pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes by hand.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm environment for 30-45 minutes. Don’t let the dough rise for too long, or your cinnamon rolls will turn out a little too airy. NOTE: This dough won't double in size in that timeframe, and that's what we want!
Prepare the cinnamon filling and baking sheets:
While the dough is rising, prepare the cinnamon filling by mixing together the softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla until well combined. Set aside.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Shape and proof the cinnamon roll croissants:
Once the dough is done rising, punch it down and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to a 20x12” rectangle, ~1/4” thickness. Disperse the cinnamon filling all over the surface of the dough, and spread/smooth it out evenly, leaving a very small border around the edges.
On the long end of the dough, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to divide the dough into 5 equal sections (each 4” in width). This should create 5 long rectangles.
Then, cut a straight line diagonally through each rectangle to create 10 triangles. *This is going to make 10 very large cinnamon roll croissants. If you want them smaller, you can cut smaller sections and triangles (i.e., roll the dough out to a 24x12" rectangle; cut into 6, 4" sections; cut a total of 12 triangles from those sections).
Take a triangle (do not stretch it out too much, or the layers won’t be super fluffy) and make a small slit in the middle of the large end. Then, tightly roll it up into a croissant shape. Repeat with the remaining triangles.
Place the cinnamon roll croissants onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2” apart from each other. Loosely cover the baking sheets with a kitchen towel and allow to proof for 25-30 minutes while the oven preheats, until puffy.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Bake:
Once the cinnamon roll croissants are proofed, whisk together the milk and egg for the egg wash. Then brush the egg wash over the tops of the cinnamon roll croissants.
Bake at 350F for 18-22 minutes, or until golden on top. *NOTE: some of the filling is going to spill out just slightly, this is normal. Once they are removed from the oven, it creates a nice gooey and caramelized bottom!
Prepare the cream cheese glaze and serve:
While the cinnamon roll croissants are baking, prepare the cream cheese glaze. In a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese and softened butter until smooth and fluffy. Then whisk in the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until well combined and smooth. If you would like your glaze more runny, whisk in 1 more tbsp of milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Remove the rolls from the oven and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes. Then immediately spoon or drizzle the cream cheese glaze all over the rolls