My house will now be permanently stocked with croissants.
Croissants feel a little sacred. They’re airy, buttery, unapologetically flaky, and best eaten at a tiny cafe with a too-small cup of coffee and nowhere to be. In my mind, they’re permanently tethered to Paris mornings: a paper-wrapped croissant, a smear of good butter, maybe a streak of apricot jam, and the delightful sense that something nice is about to happen.
I’ve made croissants a handful of times, which is enough times to know two things. One, they’re a labor of love. And two, I do not currently have the schedule for that kind of love. So when social media started serving me videos of perfectly good croissants being flattened and cooked until crisp, I had a brief moment of reverence-turned-horror.
And then, as it usually does, curiosity got the better of me.
Because once you get past the initial shock, it starts to make a certain kind of sense. Why not turn it into glorified toast and pile on toppings? For the sake of thorough, deeply serious journalism (and absolutely no other reason), I set out to test it myself.
What are smashed croissants?
Smashed croissants are baked croissants that have been gently but firmly pressed into submission, sweetened with a little honey, then cooked until crisp and golden.
The method is simple. You take a croissant—store-bought works just fine—flatten it, drizzle with honey, then cook it in a pan with a little butter and some weight on top so it crisps evenly. The layers compress, the butter redistributes, and what you’re left with is deeply golden, lightly sweet, shatteringly crisp and sturdy enough to hold toppings without falling apart.
How to Make Smashed Croissants
Start by placing your croissant on a cutting board and flattening it with a rolling pin. You’re not trying to obliterate it, just flatten it into an even layer so it cooks evenly.
Melt a bit of butter in a skillet over medium heat, place the croissant on top, and drizzle it with a bit of honey. Cover the croissant with a piece of parchment, then press it down with something heavy (I used a cast iron skillet).
Cook the croissant for two to four minutes or until the bottom is crisp and deeply golden. Flip it and repeat on the second side until both sides are equally crisp.
At that point, you’ve got a buttery, crackly base that’s ready for toppings.
Topping Variations
Savory
It was lunchtime when I tested this, so I went the savory route: mascarpone cheese, prosciutto, arugula and a few pepitas for added texture. The mascarpone softens into the warm croissant, the prosciutto stays delicate and salty, and the arugula provides a peppery bite that pairs beautifully with the honey-sweet crisp of the pastry.
Sweet
If you want a sweet smashed croissant, skip the honey and press a buttered croissant into a cinnamon-sugar coating before it hits the pan. As it cooks, the sugar will caramelize into a crisp, crackly shell. From there, it doesn’t take much; vanilla ice cream and berries, a drizzle of chocolate, or even just a little whipped cream would make an incredibly decadent dessert.
Swicy
A smashed croissant also plays nicely in that sweet-savory middle ground. Try topping it with ricotta, hot honey and flaky sea salt, or Brie with apricot jam for a little more indulgence. The base is sturdy and rich enough to carry bold flavors without tipping too far in any one direction.
Final Verdict
I will be making a smashed croissant for lunch every single day for the foreseeable future—possibly for the rest of my life.
It’s fast, it’s flexible, and it somehow makes croissants feel magically new again without taking away what makes them so special in the first place. The texture alone is reason enough to try it, but it will quickly become the kind of thing you’ll want again before you’ve even finished. I can’t rave about this one enough. I am fully, completely obsessed.
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