Easy Crescent Roll Churros With Dulce de Leche
Crescent roll churros are a baked shortcut to churro flavor. A can of crescent dough gets wrapped around a spoonful of dulce de leche, then brushed with butter and coated in cinnamon sugar before and after baking.
These churro crescent rolls need just five ingredients and one baking sheet, and they bake in 10 to 12 minutes. Like other baked churros, they skip the frying. They’re an easy pick for a weekend treat, a dessert after taco night, or something warm next to a mug of hot chocolate.
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A Quick Look At The Recipe
- π₯ Makes: 8 filled rolls from one can of crescent dough
- π Ingredients: 5 (plus a little extra dulce de leche for drizzling)
- β±οΈ Time: 10 minutes prep, 10β12 minutes baking, 5 minutes cooling
- π₯ Oven: 375Β°F, one parchment-lined baking sheet
- π― Filling: about 1 tablespoon dulce de leche per roll
- π‘ Key step: leave bare dough around the filling so each roll seals
Ingredients for Crescent Roll Churros
Crescent roll dough: use one 8-ounce can of refrigerated crescent rolls with 8 triangles. Pillsbury or a store brand both work. If you only find a crescent dough sheet, see the substitutions below.
Dulce de leche: a thick, spoonable milk caramel. Look for it in jars or cans in the Hispanic aisle or near the sweetened condensed milk. You’ll need a little more than Β½ cup in total, including the drizzle.
Cinnamon sugar: granulated sugar mixed with ground cinnamon. It’s used twice, once before baking and again right after. Add more cinnamon if you like it stronger (see the recipe notes).
Unsalted butter: melted and brushed on twice. It helps the cinnamon sugar stick and gives the tops a golden finish.
Full amounts are in the recipe card below.
How to Make Crescent Roll Churros
1. Mix the cinnamon sugar
Heat the oven to 375Β°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
2. Add the filling
Unroll the dough and separate it into 8 triangles. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of dulce de leche onto the wide end of each one, leaving a little bare dough around the edges so you can seal it.
3. Roll and pinch
Roll each triangle up from the wide end toward the point. Pinch the sides closed so the filling stays inside. Set the rolls on the baking sheet with the point tucked underneath.
4. Butter and sugar the tops
Melt the butter and brush about half of it over the rolls. Sprinkle them lightly with cinnamon sugar, and save the rest for after baking.
5. Bake
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Ovens and dough brands vary, so start checking at 10 minutes.
6. Butter and sugar again
Right out of the oven, brush the rolls with the rest of the butter and sprinkle on more cinnamon sugar. The warm butter helps the sugar stick.
7. Drizzle and cool
Warm the extra dulce de leche until it’s loose enough to drizzle, then drizzle it over the rolls. Let them cool for about 5 minutes before serving, because the filling is very hot straight from the oven.
Tips for Keeping the Filling Inside
The filling is the part most likely to give you trouble. A few simple habits help:
- Keep the filling on the wide end. Spread it no closer than about Β½ inch from the edges, so there’s bare dough to seal with.
- Pinch the sides, not just the seam. Most leaks start at the open ends of the roll. Press the dough together there after rolling.
- Put the point underneath. Setting each roll on its tip keeps it from unrolling as the dough puffs.
- Don’t overfill. If a triangle is hard to close, use a little less than 1 tablespoon. A small leak is fine, and the parchment catches it.
- Use parchment. Any filling that does escape won’t glue the rolls to the pan.
Easy Swaps
These are common pantry swaps for this kind of recipe. They haven’t been tested with this exact recipe, so treat them as alternatives.
- Cajeta instead of dulce de leche: cajeta is a similar caramel made with goat’s milk. Use the same amount.
- Thick caramel or chocolate hazelnut spread (like Nutella): use the same amount for the filling. Pick a thick, spreadable kind. Thin ice cream topping-style caramel is more likely to run out of the rolls.
- Crescent dough sheet: if your store only has the seamless sheet, cut it into 8 triangles and follow the recipe as written.
- Salted butter: works fine if that’s what you have. The rolls will taste a little saltier.
Serving Ideas for Churro Crescent Rolls
These are best served warm, a few minutes after they come out of the oven. Add a small bowl of extra dulce de leche for dipping, or serve them with vanilla ice cream. They’re also an easy sweet finish after a taco charcuterie board, or as a dunkable treat next to a hot chocolate bar.
Storing and Reheating
- Best fresh: like most crescent roll treats, these have the best texture the day they’re baked.
- Leftovers: once they’ve cooled, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Opened dulce de leche needs to be refrigerated, so the filled rolls go in the fridge too. The pastry will soften as it sits.
- Reheating: warm them on a baking sheet in a 350Β°F oven for a few minutes, or in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds. Be careful, because the filling heats up faster than the dough.
- Make ahead: mix the cinnamon sugar ahead of time. Bake the dough soon after you open the can, and check the package directions for your brand.
FAQs
Can you make churros with crescent rolls?
You can make a churro-style treat. Crescent dough is a flaky pastry, not fried choux-style churro dough, so the texture is different. Coating it in butter and cinnamon sugar gives it the familiar churro flavor without frying.
What’s the difference between dulce de leche and caramel?
Dulce de leche is made by slowly cooking milk and sugar until thick and golden. Caramel starts with sugar cooked until it browns, often with butter or cream added. Dulce de leche is usually thicker and more milky in flavor, which helps it stay put inside the rolls.
How many churros does one can of crescent rolls make?
One 8-ounce can makes 8 churros, one per triangle. For 16, use 2 cans and 1 cup of dulce de leche for the filling.
More Easy Cinnamon Treats
- Copycat Crumbl churro cookies with cinnamon frosting
- Small cinnamon swirl bundt cake
- Cinnamon Cap’n Crunch French toast
- 30+ sweet tooth dessert recipes
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Easy Crescent Roll Churros With Dulce de Leche
Equipment
- Small bowl
- Small microwave-safe bowl
Ingredients
For the rolls
- 1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough 8 oz / 226 g, 8 count
- Β½ cup dulce de leche about 150 g
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter 28 g, melted
For the cinnamon sugar
- ΒΌ cup granulated sugar 50 g
- Β½ tsp ground cinnamon about 1.3 g
For the drizzle (optional)
- 3 tbsp dulce de leche about 57 g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375Β°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Unroll the crescent dough and separate it into 8 triangles.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of dulce de leche onto the wide end of each triangle, leaving a little bare dough around the edges.
- Roll up each triangle from the wide end. Pinch the sides closed so the filling doesn’t leak, then place the rolls point side down on the baking sheet.
- Brush the rolls with about half of the melted butter and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar.
- Bake for 10β12 minutes, until golden brown.
- Right away, brush with the remaining butter and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar.
- Optional: warm the drizzle dulce de leche in the microwave for about 10β15 seconds, stir, and drizzle over the rolls. If it’s still too thick, stir in milk Β½ teaspoon at a time.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
