Croffle (Croissant Waffle) Recipe

While "croffle" may sound like an obscure British dessert, it's actually a portmanteau of "croissant" and "waffle," similar to (and surely inspired by) the cronut of 20-teens fame. And yes, as you've probably guessed, the croffle is a food fad that owes its worldwide popularity to TikTok, after trending in South Korea. The croffle appears to have been a byproduct of pandemic boredom, but, unlike sourdough bread baking, recipe developer Jaime Shelbert says it likely because popular due to "its ease of preparation and the foolproof, tasty outcome."

This recipe starts off with frozen croissant dough (not a freshly baked croissant) which is then cooked in a waffle iron. Despite the dough being squished as it bakes, Shelbert says that you still get those flaky layers, albeit in a denser, more compact package. You can eat your croffle as is, use it to make a sandwich, or, as Shelbert suggests, "dress [it] up from sweet to savory."

To make these croffles, you'll be using unbaked croissants (which you can purchase frozen and thaw yourself). The only other ingredient needed — if you could count it as such — is the cooking spray used to grease your waffle maker. For something even richer, though, you could try brushing the grates with melted butter instead.

Shelbert does say that you can use thawed puff pastry in place of croissant dough if you can't find the latter. She says in that case, you should "just fold the puff pastry over on itself a few times and cut [it] to fit the waffle maker."

Preheat the waffle maker, then grease it with cooking spray or brushed on butter. Shelbert uses a mini, single-serve waffle iron, but a larger model would also work. In that case, you may want to consider using additional dough to fill out the machine.

Place the dough in the center of the waffle iron and close the lid. Bake the dough for about 2 minutes, then check the croffle to make sure it is cooked throughout. Cook it longer if necessary. As yummy as croissants are, biting into unbaked croissant dough is not a pleasant experience.

If you want a sweet croffle, Shelbert suggests pairing these with "fruit and cream, yogurt and berries, [or] nut butter and honey." You could also use preserves, powdered sugar, melted chocolate, whipped cream, or even ice cream. If you'd prefer a savory croffle, Shelbert recommends "herbed butter [or] avocado mash." You could also serve the croffle with ham, cheese, and an egg for a decadent breakfast.