You are going to fall in love with these decadent Gluten Free Cruffins. They are a delicious pastry hybrid, combining the flaky, buttery layers of a croissant or crescent roll with the shape and sweetness of a muffin. They have a distinctive spiral-like appearance, and I share several yummy flavor combinations to try.
Allergen Information:
These gluten-free muffins are gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, and soy-free. I have not tested a dairy-free alternative. See the Substitution section for a gum-free version.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – As of now, I have only tested this recipe with Cup4Cup. Not all gluten-free flour blends work with yeast! Please read which flour blends work in what types of recipes for more gluten-free flour blends that work with yeast.
- Sugar – I use cane sugar.
- Xanthan Gum – Add one teaspoon if your gluten-free flour blend doesn’t contain a binder like xanthan or guar gum.
- Salt
- Ground Cinnamon
- Butter – Use unsalted butter
- Milk – I tested this recipe with whole milk. Low-fat milk should also work. I have not tested plant-based milk brands yet.
- Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract.
Tips For Success
1. Freeze the butter overnight. It will grate in a large grater much better and help build flaky layers in the dough.
2. Use a gluten-free flour blend that works with yeast. Many 1:1 blends, including Bob’s Red Mill 1:1, King Arthur Measure for Measure, and Pamela’s GF Baking Mix, do NOT work in yeast recipes. See the article in the Ingredient Notes section on gluten-free flour blends that work in yeast recipes.
- GET YOUR COOKBOOK
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Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Warm milk to 110º F in the microwave. Add one tablespoon of sugar and the active dry yeast. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until it is frothy. Preheat the oven to 200º F and then turn it off.
Step 2: Add the flour, sugar, and salt to a large
Step 3: Use a large cheese grater to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture. Stir as you go so the flour coats the butter shreds.
Step 4: Pour the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix carefully.
Step 5: This is what your dough will look like. If you need to add extra flour to work the dough, do this 1 TBSP at a time. Every gluten-free flour blend has a different grain-to-starch ratio, which means you may need more or less flour to get a workable dough.
Step 6: Dust a silicone mat with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl onto the mat. Dust the top of the dough with flour if needed.
Step 7: Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to a rectangular shape with 1/4 inch thickness. Mix the sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
Step 8: Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter over the dough. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the butter. Use a knife to cut the dough into strips.
Step 9: Roll each strip of dough carefully so the sugar mixture doesn’t spill out. Place in a greased muffin pan. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and put it in the warm oven to rise for 45 minutes.
Step 10: Remove the muffins from the oven and remove the plastic. Preheat the oven to 375º F. Your cruffins should be double in size.
Step 11: Brush melted butter over the tops of the cruffins. This will help them get golden and slightly crisp on the outside.
Step 12: Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
Step 13: Roll the cruffin in a bowl of cinnamon sugar while it is still warm. If you want more sugar to stick, brush the cruffin with melted butter first. I find when the cruffin is warm, the sugar sticks easily.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Gluten-free muffins are a little different from regular cruffins because you can’t simulate the crispiness of flaky thin layers of a croissant with gluten-free flour. These gf cruffins are flaky and have buttery layers from the spirals with crisp outsides, but they lack the thin layers.
Using salted butter will not change anything except the flavor of the cruffins. Salted vs. unsalted butter is more of a personal preference.
Store your gluten-free muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Gluten-free tends to spoil quickly, so freeze any cruffins you don’t finish in the next 3 days. I freeze them in a freezer-safe zip-style bag.
- GET YOUR COOKBOOK
Ingredients
Yeast Mix
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast Or one packet. See note.
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup milk * See notes
Rolls
- 3 cups gluten-free flour blend * See note!
- ½ cup sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter frozen
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar layer
- ½ cup cane sugar * See note.
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Sugar Mix for Rolling Baked Cruffis In
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Yeast Mixture
- Warm milk to 110º F in the microwave. Add one tablespoon of sugar and the active dry yeast. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until it is frothy. Preheat the oven to 200º F and then turn it off.
Cruffins
- Add the flour, sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend.
- Use a large cheese grater to grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture. Stir as you go so the flour coats the butter shreds.
- Pour the yeast mixture and vanilla extract into the dry ingredients. Mix carefully.
- If you need to add extra flour to work the dough, do this 1 TBSP at a time. Every gluten-free flour blend has a different grain-to-starch ratio, which means you may need more or less flour to get a workable dough.
- Dust a silicone mat with flour. Remove the dough from the bowl onto the mat. Dust the top of the dough with flour if needed.
- NOTE: You only get one good rise with gluten-free dough, so it is important to shape the gluten-free cruffins before rising!
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to a rectangular shape with 1/4 inch thickness. Melt the butter in one bowl for 20 seconds in the microwave. Mix the sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter over the dough. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture over the butter. Use a knife to cut the dough into strips.
- Roll each strip of dough carefully so the sugar mixture doesn't spill out. Place in a greased muffin pan. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and put it in the warm oven to rise for 45 minutes.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and remove the plastic. Preheat the oven to 375º F. Your cruffins should be double in size.
- Brush melted butter over the tops of the cruffins. This will help them get golden and slightly crisp on the outside.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
- Roll the cruffin in a bowl of cinnamon sugar while it is still warm. If you want more sugar to stick, you can brush the cruffin with melted butter first. I find when the cruffin is warm; the sugar sticks easily.
Notes
- I have only tested this recipe with Cup4Cup so far. Other blends should work, BUT it is critical to use a blend that works with yeast. Many 1:1 blends don’t, so you need to check the back of the 1:1 bag and the website to ensure it is an okay flour.
- Note: every gluten-free flour blend has a different grain-to-starch ratio. You may need to add more flour, milk, etc., to make the dough workable. This is normal, so be prepared to adjust your amounts if needed.
- Add one teaspoon if your blend doesn’t contain xanthan or guar gum.
- Yeast – I used Fleischman’s Active Dry Yeast. Double-check that the brand you use is gluten-free. Red Star “Platinum” is NOT gluten-free!
- I have not tested this recipe with any dairy-free ingredients. If you try this, please leave a comment or message me and let me know how it worked out.
- You can also use brown sugar in the “swirl” instead of sugar if you prefer.
- Store leftover gluten-free muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep fresh for up to 3 days. Freeze room-temperature cruffins in a freezer bag.
Flavor Variations:
- Orange – To make orange-flavored cruffins, use 3/4 cup of milk, and 1/4 cup of orange juice, and add 2 TBSP orange zest to the sugar that is spread over the flat dough.
- Nutella – Instead of sugar in the spiral, spread Nutella over the flat dough.
- Pumpkin Spice – Add 2 tsp. of pumpkin spice to the sugar mix you spread over the flat dough.
- Cinnamon Apple – Add finely diced apples (peeled) on top of the sugar and cinnamon that is spread over the dough.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust the moisture levels in your baked goods.
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