Cheater Kouign Amann Recipe
A delicate French pastry made in a hurry! This Cheater Kouign Amann Recipe captures the essence of traditional crusty sugar-crusted rolls, without all the time and effort.
Cheater Kouign Amann Recipe
Every now and again I like to share a “cheater” recipe… A quick simplified version of a wonderful classic recipe that takes a lot of time and effort to make.
I believe there are certain dishes worth spending hours to cook. However, most of us don’t have hours (or in some cases days) to spend on a single dish.
It’s just not practical.
In some cases there are ways to mimic the best qualities of said time-consuming dishes so we can all enjoy them.
Ergo the cheater recipe.
(These are mini Kouign Amann called Kouignette in Paris.)
French Kouign Amann Recipe
A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Paris cooking and eating. While in Paris, I sampled french pastries on a daily basis, including the famed Kouign Amann. A sugar-coated croissant variation that is usually rolled or folded into little circular crowns.
After taking a croissant-making class (which was very fun, by the way) I felt I fully understood why hardly anyone makes croissants at home.
Fresh hot croissants straight out of the oven are amazing. Uh. May. Zing.
Yet the classic preparation would take a total of three days to complete.
- You make the dough on the evening of the first day, and chill overnight.
- Fold in butter sheets and rest on the second day. Cut and roll the croissants on the evening of the second day.
- Then bake on the third day after they’ve had time to rise.
See? Who has time to do that?!
Making Kouign Amann from scratch would require the same kind of dedication.
I just can’t fathom setting aside the time to do it, especially this time of year.
Yet hot sticky Kouign Amann would make a marvelous treat on Christmas morning!
What to do… What to do.
Make a Cheater Kouign Amann Recipe instead!
How To Make Cheater Kouign Amann
Start by cutting thawed puff pastry sheets in half. Cut one-half into squares and the other half into strips.
Dip the squares in melted butter and then press one side in sugar. Lay the squares sugar-side-up on little pieces of parchment paper.
Dip the strips in butter, then dip in sugar. Roll the strip loosely into spirals, and place them in the center of the puff pastry squares.
Then pick up the parchment paper squares and place them in the wells of a muffin tin.
Press the pastry sheets down to fill in the wells. Don’t worry about messing them up…
Puff pastry has a way of fixing itself in the oven.
Then bake!
As the puff pastry rises, the butter and sugar create sticky layers on the inside and crusty folds on the outside.
Heaven. Pure heaven. Even without the 3 day process.
Get the Full (Printable) Cheater Kouign Amann Recipe Below
Authentic Kouign Amann Recipe?
Let me be clear, my Cheater Kouign Amann Recipe can’t compete with Fresh from-scratch authentic Kouing Amann with its seemingly endless sugar folds.
Yet, they do capture the taste and texture of real Kouign Amann, and are always welcomed at my house.
With just 3 ingredients, it’s worth giving this Cheater Kouign Amann Recipe a try!
They are a marvelous addition to Christmas or New Years Day breakfast.
Happy Holidays!
More Breakfast Treat Recipes
- Tiramisu Baked French Toast
- Dark Chocolate Gravy and Cinnamon Biscuits
- Peach Pina Colada Stuffed French Toast
- Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Maple Syrup
- Arnold Palmer Sweet Rolls
Cheater Kouign Amann Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box frozen puff pastry, 2 sheets thawed
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut out sixteen 5-inch parchment paper squares. Flour a work surface, lay the puff pastry sheets out, and roll the puff pastry sheets to remove the fold lines.
- Cut a puff pastry sheet in half. With one half, cut eight even strips. With the other half, cut eight equal squares. Repeat with the second puff pastry sheet.
- Dip the squares in the melted butter. Press one side of each square in sugar and lay each square sugar-side-up on its own parchment paper square. Then dip each strip in butter. Press one side of each strip in sugar and roll into a loose spiral. Place a spiral on top of each square.
- Lower the parchment paper squares into the wells of a muffin tin. Press each piece down to fill out the wells. Then bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Nutrition
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I loved this recipe. Made them today and they are just as easy to make as she states. I made them exactly as the recipe calls, but the last two I added some ground cinnamon to the sugar and they were good too. I love the original the best!!! Thank you for providing such a delicious and easy way to make Kouign Amann.
I have to try it, sounds delicious. Gunny of Géo’s Cuisine
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I first tried this delicious pastries at Peets Coffee. They sold out immediately. Although there is truly nothing like the real Kouign Amann, these have an amazing presentation and who doesn’t like those three ingredients together! Super Yummy and thank you so much for sharing. We really enjoyed! 👩🍳
Do you think that you could do this cheater trick with avhomemade rough puff pastry dough?
Hi Sherry,
Yes, absolutely! :)
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I haven’t had the real thing so I have nothing to compare to. I just liked the way this looked. My family likes cinnamon so I used cinnamon sugar with both granulated sugar and some brown sugar. I brushed the butter on all of the pieces rather than dipping so they wouldn’t get too soaked and I left the strips loosely rolled standing up in the square so it would cook in the center. I added an egg wash and a sprinkling of colored sugar crystals on top for fun. They were a hit! Gone in seconds! Next time I would use paper cups rather than the squares of parchment paper just to make clean up OC the pan easier. I was surprised no one else tried adding cinnamon in the comments so I can only assume I am violating the essence of the original recipe but it worked out great for my cinnamon loving family! Thanks!
Butter, sugar and puff pastry are a match made in heaven and I’m here for it. Once I put them in the muffin tin, I brushed them with more melted butter and sprinkled turbinado sugar before baking. HELLO!!! Next time, I’m going to add some to the square and strips before putting them all together.
I did run into the issue of the center not being fully cooked, but I’ll trial and error it and hopefully figure out. All in all, a fantastic cheater recipe that I’ll for sure make again.
The original recipes all call for some salt. Where and when might I add some salt to this wonderful recipe?
Hi Susan!
You could add a little salt to the sugar, then use as directed. :)
So delish! I have a convection oven. I’m going to turn the temp down next time so the center can cook a bit longer. I think it was a tad undercooked while the top was brown.
It was a hit with my crew and a will definitely make again
Delicious! I will try again maybe making them bigger! Great recipe!
Hi,
Thanks for this interesting alternative! My question to you: Would it be possible to add more layers to this, ie more squares? Maybe roll the squares a bit thinner also…?
Hi Jack,
Sure! Feel free to play with the layers as much as you like. This is just a simplified recipe created for quick baking.
puff pastry sheets are 10 x 15 inch. what size squares and strips are cut from these sheets. the use of 8 of each to a sheet doesn’t make sense.
Hi Richard,
We are probably just buying a different brand of puff pastry. Ours always come in squares. You can do one of two things… 1) You can roll the rectangle into squares. 2) You can cut 8 3-inch squares out of each sheet, then cut longer strips with the rest of the dough, for the centers.
Hard to go wrong with sugar and puff pastry – they will always be a winning combo. But this is like trying to make a croissant with puff pastry. Both kouign amamnn & croissants are made with a yeasted dough so the flavor is different.
I make these every few months or so to share with coworkers, I always mix cardamom with the sugar to scratch my kardemummabullar itch.
Can’t recommend this enough, with or without spices :)
Mmmm Cardamom! I love it! I do this to my Cream puffs. Deeelishhhh!
I am assuming you could take one sheet of pastry and cut into strips and cut the other into squares, correct?
Absolutely! That would work. :)
Do these keep well, for making in advance, or do they have to be eaten right away? I’m not familiar with the pastry that this is a cheater for, but I love cheater recipes, and these look lovely.
Hi Daisywulf,
As with most pastry, they are best fresh. However, they are will still taste good on day two. :)
After baking. I drizzled them with strawberry drizzle and it took it up a notch. Also a lite drizzle of a glaze would be nice too. I will be doing this again but next time I will try it with a teaspoon of blueberry pie filling.
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Thank you for these delicious little treats.Just making my second batch. Great hit with the family and friends.
These were so good and surprisingly so easy to make. Definitely a winner recipe.
I love how quick and easy this is to make!
Oh, my Lord!! You will NEVER know how happy I am to see you offering this cheater version!! We live in Brittany (Bretagne) half of the year and Kouign Amann is the traditional dessert of the region. It is soooo decadently wonderful, but it is too involved for me to make at home. So I just wait until we are in Brittany and hit the boulangerie/patisserie for a whole box! Now, I am going to feel like a master and I’m not going to tell my husband how easy you made it for me! haha Thank you!
I love working with puff pastry! These are so easy, delicious and pretty enough for a special occasion.
Just Wow
Looks yummy
I’ve made puff pastry, but it is a daunting recipe. I’d much rather have a shortcut before attempting anything like that again and your kouign amann recipe is perfect.
had no idea that the classic prep takes 3 days! wow, I’ll take the shortcut, so thank you for creating this version
Please tell me, how does it take 3 days for the classic “Queen Aman”? I ca’t seem to get it! Regards, Sally
REally Fun to make this “Cheater” Kouign Aman.Does exactly like the recipe is supposed to be the wondrful Crunch of sugar and the buttery taste…I found they seemed to be much better day 2. Definitely will make again!
Easy & lovely pastries..Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe .
Just tried this recipe…….YUUUM Thanks for posting…I know I will be making these again & again.
I made these and filled them with fresh lemon curd. delicious. Only suggestion: freeze lemon curd into little rounds or plugs first to prevent boil out
I made these! Very easy. Not as good as homemade of course, or the ones Trader Joe’s used to sell. But pretty darn good and very decadent. I did find that the sugar tended to clump a little (again, still darn good!)
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OMG! You are fabulous! You have transformed a 3-Day tedious recipe into a 45 minutes ‘Fast & Furiously’ delicious piece of cake! I love it! Thank you!
Has anyone tried this? Results? Comparison? I’m addicted to the real thing – need something to hold me over until i can get it again…
I love these! They look like little roses!
So easy and so GOOD!!! It really helped to have photos showing how to cut the puff pastry, etc. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I made these for breakfast today and they were delicious! I used 1 teaspoon of maple syrup poured over the buttered pastry in the muffin tin instead of the sugar, though. It worked perfectly! Not quite as crispy, but the maple syrup helped to create the caramel layer at the bottom. Thank you for a recipe that I will definitely make again!
I made these today. Lovely. Next time I can picture them with some marzipan spread on the rolled up strips. Yum!
Bet these would be great with Cinnamon Sugar !!! Goin to try it myself this weekend. 😁
Ma sha allah, Nice easy and yummy,in sha allah I will try this recipe as soon as possible.
I love puff pastry…but there’s no way to get 8 small strips from one side and then 8 large aquares from the other side of equal size. It doesn’t make sense. When you slice the puff pastry in half….one side isn’t going to be bigger than the other side. It’s just not possible, sorry.
Never mind, the rest of the pictures finally loaded showing how the sheet was cut. Now I get it. Can wait to try these!
These look amazing! Would cupcake papers work? Or is parchment paper necessary? Thank you!
what size muffin pan did you use,,,,regular or mini?……thank you for your response
This is my kind of pastry. And now easy too. Yummy.
Brilliant!
love the concept of a “cheater” recipe. and these look pretty too!
You had me at crusty sugar-crusted rolls!
I love how these look like roses!! Gotta try!
Can’t wait to try these! Happy holidays to you and your family!
I’ve never seen these before, they are beautiful.
Just wondering; can the prep be done the night before? I’d love to make these for my residential clients, but would not have time Christmas morning to do much more than pop into the oven…
Hi Cathy, Yes! Just cover them and pop them in the fridge until morning. They may take a few more minutes in the oven, since they’ll be cold. I’d say 30-35.
Those look so good and sound so nice and easy!
AHHH I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! I was just in Paris last month and had a kouign amann and I read online how long it takes to make and said, no way! I LOVE this cheater recipe!!