Very Gouda Bacon & Maple Stuffed Croissants

When The Boy touched down from a week away in Marbella this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was spend the day in the kitchen.

I wanted breakfast to be special, quick and more importantly, bacon flavoured. 

After a rummage around the fridge I had just the ticket. I pinky promise you'll only make these once before they become your luxury breakfast go-to.

Each batch makes six good croissants. My recipe stuffs them with bacon, cheese and maple syrup, but you can substitute this for whatever you like. Cheese and ham? Marmite? A dollop of jam and fresh raspberries? Whatever you darn well crois-want.

You're going to need:

1 tube of ready Jus-Rol ready made croissant dough 

1 pack of streaky bacon, the best quality you can afford

A few glugs of maple syrup 

3 slices of good melting cheese (gouda is my weapon of cheese-oice)

Start off by crisping off your bacon under a hot grill for 8-10 minutes. 

Whilst that's on, grab your can of dough and pop that baby open.

Note to self: this is probably one of the most satisfying experiences a girl can enjoy without taking her clothes off. You are very, very welcome.

Carefully roll out your dough into one long strip and snip along the dotted lines.

You should be left with six deliciously perfect triangles.

 When your bacon's done, remove it from the oven and keep somewhere warm.



Now for the fun part.

One by one, roll up your dough parcels to form crescent shapes. Don't panic - it's much more simple than it looks. Let me walk you through it.

Step 1 -  Grab your dough triangle and pop a bacon rasher on top.

Step 2 - Lay over half a slice of cheese and trim to fit.

Step 3 (and by far my favourite) - Drizzle over a glug of maple syrup.

Step 4 - Roll up your croissant from the base of the triangle to the tip, squashing your fillings down as you go. It doesn't have to look like a masterpiece so don't worry. Everything will puff up in the oven, just make sure it's wrapped up as snug as a bug.

You should be left with a crescent shaped hunk of dough a little bit like this:

Repeat with the rest of your croissants and pop them in the oven for 10 minutes until golden brown and flaky.

What you choose to do with them at this point is totally up to you. 

Personally, I like to sit down in front of the television and play how-many-croissants-can-Charlotte-fit-in-her-mouth, but that's just little lady-like old me.

Baby Nutella Croissant Twirls

By now you should be fully aware of my steamy love affair with brunching.

On my quest to find the ultimate brunch time snack, I happen to have stumbled upon a recipe for a mini pain au chocolat slash buttery croissant stuffed with the holy grail of all breakfast condiments, Nutella.

After a little nip and tuck, I think i've got them just about spot on.

Serve them up on a Sunday afternoon with tea and finger sandwiches or grab a cuddle buddy and dive under the duvets with a plateful on a particularly naughty Saturday morning. No matter how you serve them, these decadent little beauties are sure to win you a bucket full of brownie points.

You know what I do with spare brownie points? I bake brownies. Then I eat them.

You'll need a total of three ingredients and twenty minutes to whip up a batch, so whack the oven up to 160C and get that booty into action. You've got yourself some serious eatin' to do, after all. To make around eighteen twirls, you'll need:

A few large scoops of Nutella (make sure it's at room temperature)

One sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry

One egg, beaten

Roll out your puff pastry on a chopping board and cut it into three long strips.

Then, cut your strips into nine mini rectangles.

Dollop a generous amount of Nutella on each rectangle and spread it out evenly.

When that's done, chop your rectangles diagonally into two long triangles.

Starting with the flat end, roll up your twists to the pointed tip.

Lightly press the point to the pastry and repeat with the rest of your twirls.

In a bowl beat your egg and coat your twists with a little of the liquid. This will help them turn golden brown and crispy, deliciously flaky and 100% drool-worthy.

Pop them in the oven for around 15 minutes, keeping a beady little eye on them throughout. When they're done, they should look a little bit like this.

And don't you dare leave them to cool.

In fact, if you find yourself without a burnt tongue at the end of your feast, consider it a failure on your part issued by none other than myself.

Baby Nutalla Croissant Twirls? Delicious.
Baby Nutalla Croissant Twirls hot from the oven oozing molten Nutella? Priceless.