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If there’s one roll that disappears first, it’s a warm, buttery crescent. These are soft, layered, and genuinely doable—no all-day lamination. We use quick folds and short freezer rests to lock in flaky layers, so they bake up golden and tender for your holiday table or Sunday roast.
**Heads up, there are a ton of step-by-step shots in the post, if you just want the recipe scroll down through them.
Why These Crescents Work
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Quick, approachable lamination (three book folds) builds real layers without traditional croissant timing.
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Freezer rests keep butter cold = flakier, more defined layers.
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Dough is soft but workable; rises once after shaping so you can bake the same day.
Sooo, it’s time we talk about these easy extra flaky homemade crescent rolls.
Cause you know, extra flaky is the best.
When they’re extra flaky, that means extra buttery, a combo that can never be beat.
In my family? Well, we all love our rolls. In my opinion, you can’t do Thanksgiving (or Christmas) without really, really good rolls. Obsessed much? Definitely.
There are a lot of foods that I have always wanted make. I have this list running in my head (that I should really write down because my head is too full of lists as it is) of classic foods that I want to cook/bake. It may seem odd that I have a list of classic foods, since all I tend to do around here is twist the classics into something totally new. But to be totally honest, I think the classics will always be the best. They’re timeless you know? Plus, typically they are simple, full of flavor, and pretty straight forward. And ok, they are mostly all comfort, cozy foods… which you all know I adore.
Last year, I decided to be all crazy and make Croissants. Not sure what the heck I was thinking at the time because wow, those things are a labor of love, BUT it was still worth the effort. AND believe it or not I actually make them regularly now. After the first couple of times, you get the hang of things and now it’s a simple recipe for me to do. We LOVE um. Like I make them for every special occasion and yeah, that does include out twenty + Christmas clan too. You can all call me insane now, I totally am.
But really though, if you have a little time you should try making these Croissants for one of your holiday gatherings. The best.
For this Thanksgiving though, I really wanted to try Crescent Rolls. Way back when I was still in middle school and my family was still living in Ohio, my mom would occasionally buy Pillsbury Crescent rolls for Sunday dinner or her Thanksgiving gathering. They where always the best. I mean, they came from everyone’s favorite dough boy so what do you expect? Always good.
My goal for these rolls was to create a “copy cat” of the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, but to also keep the recipe easy so that everyone can actually make them, and make them with success. I mean, no one wants any failures on Thanksgiving.
That is the worst.
I was actually really surprised at how easy it was to “easify” these crescents rolls. The process of making them is actually very similar to making croissants, but easier and much quicker, using only a few simple steps.
You are still going to have to roll the dough out five different times… which yes, I know, sounds horrible. Sorry, but you need to do this to create those classic flaky layers. I promise, it’s not that hard. You can make these in just a couple of hours AND this dough is super easy to work with. Meaning it is one of those doughs that isn’t hard to roll out. Yes!
Oh, and then, I made some butter.
Well, I didn’t make butter. Like churn it and all that, but I made cranberry toasted coconut butter (winning combo, guys!) to slather all over these rolls.
Obviously.
Really though, can’t you see just how good these are? All warm and buttery and perfect.
Easy Extra Flaky Homemade Crescent Rolls.
Ingredients
Crescent Rolls
- 1/4 cup very warm water, but not boiling water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, one packet
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup warm milk, not boiling
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted or softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 8 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 1 egg, beaten and or melted butter, for brushing
Cranberry Toasted Coconut Butter (OPTIONAL)
- 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel, or more to your taste
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or large glass bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Mix until combined. Let the mixture sit for about five minutes until it smells like bread and is foamy.
- Once the yeast has proofed and is foamy, add the warm milk, egg, butter, salt and flour. Using a dough hook, knead the dough on medium-high speed for about five minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. It will seem sticky at first, but keep mixing (or kneading by hand*) and it will become smooth.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a floured work surface. Knead the dough into a smooth ball. Grease the bowl that you mixed the dough in and set the dough back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove dough from fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a large rectangle that’s about 1/4th inch thick. Spread the softened butter all over dough, leaving an inch around the sides of the rectangle, being careful not to break through dough with butter.
- Fold one half of the rectangle towards the center and fold the other half over as well on top of the first layer so you have three dough layers, cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 10 minutes.
- Roll out dough again to a long rectangle (being careful of the butter—roll gently) and fold dough again into thirds like a book. Place back in freezer for 10 more minutes. Repeat this process two more times for a total of three folds (and 30 minutes in the freezer)
- After the three folds, you can either proceed with the directions or you can wrap your dough tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight or up to three days.
- To proceed, using a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife cut the dough in half lengthwise, and then cut the dough into triangles. Using both hands, roll the crescent up. Place on a baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart, cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Before baking, brush each crescent with the beaten egg wash. Bake rolls for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. If desired brush with melted butter. Serve warm along side the cranberry toasted coconut butter (recipe is below) if desired.
Cranberry Toasted Coconut Butter
- Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Spread coconut in thin layer on an un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 5 to 10 minutes until toasted. Cool 5 minutes. In large bowl, beat butter, maple, and orange peel with electric mixer on medium speed until honey is whipped into butter. Using rubber spatula, fold in cooled toasted coconut and dried cranberries. Transfer to serving bowl and serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate, and use within 1 week.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Sorry Pillsbury dough boy, but you ain’t got nothin’ on that. Nothin’.
These look incredible, can I have the whole batch?! 😉
haha! These are gone so fast. 🙂
Thanks Laura!
Seriously!? How could we not all be bakers with croissant recipes this easy! This is on my baking bucket list! Just curious…what kind of oven do you have? They look like they may have been baked in a professional oven. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Haha! Thank you! Hope you love these crescents!
OH MY! These look amazing! I am so excited to try these. I am loving all things dough at the moment and these look like little rolls of perfection. Beautiful photos as always 😀
Thanks so much! Hope you get to try these and love them! 🙂
I have yet to attempt my first pastry. I’m always drawn to the ‘easy pastry’ recipes while at the same time convinced that if you could get the same result as with a traditional method, the traditional would never be used. These look delectable though (and that is not an adjective I often bring out) the last few photos have my stomach rumbling!
THANK YOU! You have to try these, I think they will be perfect for what you are looking for. 🙂
Oh Tieghan you are amazing!! These look incredible. And of course you would make a awesome butter to go with. WOW!
THANK YOU!
Hah! I totally stick post-it notes all over the house to remind me of things. I also have many notebooks lying around to jot down ideas in case those post-it notes are lost in the mess! Love your step-by-step shots in this post! Crescent rolls are totally the way to go for Thanksgiving!
LOL! I do the same thing, but on my computer!
Thanks Lisa!
These look absolutely amazing… easy? We’ll see I might be able to mess this up! LOL!
You can do it! I swear, and if you mess them up, the will still taste incredible. It is impossible for them not to!
Oh these look wonderful but I don’t think I could stop at one. The pictures are great.
Thank you, Nancy!
These look sooooo totally gorgeous! So flaky and perfect! And that cranberry butter – yes, yes, YES.
Also, I have the same problem where I’m always like, “Oh I can just remember the million things going on in my head.” Except not. :/
Haha! SO glad I am not the only person running around with too many thoughts…it makes me feel semi normal. Ha!
Thanks Alexandra!
Omg how absolutely yummy these look! I want to bite into one right now!
Thank you!
These are officially the definition of perfection! I’m the same way…”Oh I don’t need to write that down, I’ll just do it RIGHT when I get home”. Yea…that only happens like 25% of the time, ha!
Thank you so much, Jennifer!! Glad I am not only in forgetting to write thoughts down…will we ever learn? ha! 🙂
I think my heart skipped a beat when I saw this recipe! I cannot wait to make it for our holiday festivities.
http://www.tasteneapolitan.com/
Haha! Thank you so much! 🙂
Im thinking about making these for Thanksgiving but id like to make the dough ahead of time so its one less thing to do later. Would the rolls come out good if the dough is froze then thawed later for shaping and baking?
Yes, it works great! I have done it many times and will add this tip to my recipe. Thanks for reminding me about it! Enjoy the crescent rolls and let me know if you have any questions.
Ugh, these look so good Tieghan! I love homemade rolls during the holidays, and I love how impressive these look and don’t require an unrealistic amount of work! Awesome job, girl!
THANK YOU! Nothing beats homemade rolls!
I have a huge fear of all recipes with yeast, but these look delicious. I am going to give it a try. Nice photos!
You can handle these!! 🙂
Thanks so much!