Maybe you baked too many. Maybe you had a cancelled event or order and got stuck with too many. Or maybe some just aren't perfect enough for your display case. Whatever the reason you find yourself with day-old croissants, don't throw them out. A little reworking can economically transform your unsold day-old pastry into something special. Here are eight of the best uses giving day-old croissants new profitability on your menu.
1. Waffle it
Also known as the "croffle", made famous by Pastry Chef Louise Lennox in 2017, it's a hybrid of two brunch favorites. Croissant, meet Waffle. Slice day-old croissants in half, dip in French toast batter, throw on a hot waffle iron and voila: croffles. Also makes for an expected version of a croissant breakfast sandwich.
2. Bread Pudding
A classic way to repurpose breakfast as dessert. Rip stale croissants into bite-sized pieces. Swap in for regular bread to soak up vanilla-doused cream in your favorite sweet pudding. Even better served warm with a scoop of icecream on top.
3. French Toast
The easiest way to take leftovers somewhere fancy. Slice, dunk in egg and milk, fry up in a pan until crispy. Top with whipped cream and fresh berries.
4. Panini
For the same reasons a croissant in a waffle iron works, croissants do great in a panini press. They can stand up to the squishing without losing the flakey goodness. And gooey, melty cheese always goes well with flaky, buttery pastry.
5. Croissant Casserole
There are breakfast casseroles and then there are croissant breakfast casseroles. Slice croissants in half length wise and layer into a casserole dish, cut side up topped with ham and cheese. Top with remaining croissant halves, cut side down. Sprinkle with cheese and drown everything in an milk/egg mixture. Set aside for 20 minutes to let croissants soak. Then sprinkle with more cheese and bake in a pre-heated oven until puffy at 325 degrees.
6. Croissant aux Amandes
The French pâtissier's way of dealing with day-old croissants. Hinge-slice croissants and slather inside with amaretto syrup and frangipane. Smear the top of each croissant with more frangipane and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Then re-bake on parchment until until the tops are golden brown. After cooling, sprinkle each filled almond croissant with powdered sugar.
7. Croutons
Embrace the stale and bump it up a notch. Cut stale croissant into uniform pieces, pop onto a baking sheet and into a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container and add buttery, crunchy croutons to salads and soups.
8. Eclairs
Swap stale croissants for the pâte à chou for quick work of chocolate eclairs. Fill croissants with whipped cream using a pastry bag. Ice tops of croissants by dipping into melted chocolate and let firm.
