Croffle to crookie to flat croissant, 3 trendy croissants and how to make them at home

Who knew croissant dough had so many uses? The origin stories of the croffle, crookie and flat croissant – and how you can bake them at home

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Crookies, a traditional French croissant mixed with cookie dough, in the pastry shop of French pastry chef Stephane Louvard in Paris, who is credited with inventing them. Along with the croffle and flat croissant, they have become trendy alternatives to the croissant. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:15am, 29 Aug 2024

Is there anything you cannot do with croissant dough? To the French, this question might sound outrageous, even offensive, but it is one that everyone is asking – especially in Korea, where the trendy “flat croissant” was created.

In general, the French like their traditions kept as pure as possible, and this extends to their pastries. They even have unofficial rules that mandate the shape of a croissant: only ones that use 100 per cent butter can be straight, and any others must be crescent shaped. This rule is generally followed by pastry chefs throughout France.

Croissant lovers around the world, on the other hand, have been doing much more than changing the degrees to which the pastries bend.

Here are a few croissant variations that have become popular around the world in recent years. They all have interesting origin stories and can easily be made at home with frozen, ready-made croissant dough.

Sourdough croissants fresh from the oven at a Bakehouse bakery in Hong Kong. Variations on the traditional French pastry have been going viral on social media. Photo: Bloomberg

1. Flat croissant

The flat croissant was created by South Korean mother Goh Ah-ra, who was looking for something that she could make with her daughter.

The Baker & The Bottleman’s take on the “flat croissant” trend. Photo: The Baker & The Bottleman