Butter Croissants Recipe with Cranberry and Chévre

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Making croissants is all about about the process. Learn how to make this goat butter croissants recipe with cranberry and chévre.

-by Marissa Ames I’m very competitive, but mostly with myself. When I learn a new skill, such as making butter from my goat’s milk, I start thinking, “What else can I do?” All those legacy treats, created before industrialization, have to be something I can do at home. The trick is finding the best way to do them.

When I wanted to make croissants, I searched online for the best recipe. Many were complicated. But a blog called Sally’s Baking Addiction showed me some simple, foolproof steps for achieving that beautiful lamination that makes croissants puff up with flaky layers.

I learned that making croissants was less about the croissants recipe and more about the process. And probably the best tip I learned from the blog was to invest in silicone baking mats. They make the process so much easier!

Goat Butter Croissants Recipe with Cranberry and Chévre

Though inspired by that blog’s recipe and techniques, I’ve now made this my own. It’s still so involved that I only bake my croissants recipe twice a year: when I have time at night to make the dough and start the lamination, plus additional time in the morning to rise and bake them.

For a full explanation of lamination and why it works, visit SallysBakingAddiction.com/ Homemade-Croissants/.

Croissants Recipe Ingredients

The Dough

• 2/3 cup freshly made and unsalted goat butter
• 6 cups all-purpose flour ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 packets active dry yeast (4½ teaspoons)
• 2 cups cold goat milk

The Butter Layer

• 2 cups freshly made and unsalted goat butter, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons flour

The Chèvre Filling

• 1 pound chèvre, salted or unsalted
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped dried cranberries

Icing Drizzle (optional)

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 1 tablespoon water (adjust as needed)

EQUIPMENT

• 2 or 4 silicone baking mats OR parchment paper
• Stand mixer
• Silicon spatulas
• Rolling pin
• Pizza cutter or sharp knife
• Cookie tray or baking stone — unless you want to bake directly on the silicone mats.

MAKING THE DOUGH

The evening before (I start at 5 p.m. so I can go to bed on time), chop up the cold butter and place it in the bowl of a stand mixer with the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.  

• Mix on low for about a minute to combine the ingredients, then slowly add the milk while the mixer is still running.  
• Then use a dough hook or paddle attachment and mix on medium for about five minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Be sure the milk is cold so the dough doesn’t rise. It’s not time yet! If the dough is too sticky, add a few tablespoons more flour.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and work into a ball, then cut the ball into equal halves. Roll each half on a lightly floured silicone baking mat, then cover with plastic and refrigerate for a half hour.

TIP: If you don’t have mats, then cut parchment paper into equal sizes and flour lightly before rolling out dough.

THE BUTTER LAYER

During the dough’s first rest:

• Place 2 cups butter into a clean bowl of the stand mixer. Beat the flour and butter until well combined. Then, divide in half and scoop onto two more baking mats.  
• Gently spread the butter into a rectangle that takes up HALF of the mat’s area, leaving at least one inch at the top and bottom and at least two inches to either side. (See photo for reference.)  
• Shape into the best rectangle you can, then cover with plastic and place in the fridge to chill at least 30 minutes.

TIP: When I’m feeling ambitious, I churn the butter and wash it right before this step.

TIP: I use the top part of a broiler pan to “scoop” the baking mat off the counter. Or I set the baking mat on a cookie sheet so I can stack them as they chill.

TIP: If you can’t spread the butter into the right shape, trim the edges with a pizza cutter after it chills.

LAMINATION

Remove the dough from the fridge:

• Use a rolling pin to shape it to match the baking mat. (A little overhang is okay.)  
• Place back in the fridge until the butter has chilled for at least 30 minutes.
• Now, working quickly, roll the dough out until it’s a little larger than the baking mat.  
• Carefully peel one sheet of butter off its mat and place it in the dough’s center.  
• Fold the sides into the middle, using your fingers to pinch seams in the middle and on the sides.  
• Sprinkle with flour and roll into a rectangle a little larger than the baking mat, making sure the seams stay intact.  
• Then tri-fold the dough (like a letter) into the middle of the mat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for another half hour.
• Repeat with the other half of the dough and butter.

This will leave you with two empty, buttery baking mats. Wash those to use in the morning.

After it has chilled at least 30 minutes:

• Remove the dough, rotate it ¼ turn, roll it out and tri-fold it again.
• Rotate, roll it out, and tri-fold it again.  

You will notice that the dough holds its shape way better right out of the fridge. Cover with plastic and place in the fridge. Repeat with the other half.

Work quickly. Only remove the dough from the fridge right before you roll it out, leaving the other dough and butter in the fridge until its turn.  

If the layered dough won’t hold its shape, place it in the fridge for 15 to 30 additional minutes.

Leave both layered pieces in the fridge for at least 4 hours. This is when I go to bed!

THE NEXT DAY

Begin the final part of the process.

• Beat together the chèvre, sugar, and vanilla extract until well incorporated.
• Add the chopped cranberries. Set filling aside.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a large rectangle.
• Using a pizza cutter, slice down the middle and then across the sides to make eight small, rectangular pieces.  
• Roll each piece flatter and wider, giving yourself more surface area.
• Place a heaping tablespoon of chèvre filling onto a shorter end of one small rectangle, leaving room on the sides.
• Gently roll up. Lay the roll on a clean baking mat, seam-side down.
• Repeat with the other 7 pieces.  
• Then repeat with the other layered half of the dough.
• Cover the croissants loosely with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for one hour.  

Then place all croissants back into the refrigerator for at least an hour but up to 12 hours. (This is when I milk the goats and do morning chores.)

RISING AND BAKING

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• If desired, make an egg wash of one whole egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of goat milk. Brush croissants with egg wash.
• Leave unbaked croissants in the refrigerator until you place them in the hot oven to keep the butter from spreading.
• Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. If your oven is too hot, reduce to 375 degrees F. Remove baked croissants from the oven and cool to room temperature.

TIP: Baking mats can go directly onto the oven rack! I use a pizza peel to “scoop” the mats directly onto the rack and  remove the mat once the croissants are done.

If desired, drizzle cooled croissants with icing and sprinkle with chopped cranberries.

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Marissa Ames manages a large sustainable farm at the edge of Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge in southern Georgia. She and her husband travel to Zambia to assist with sustainability and continuing education. She spends her free time eating lunch.

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Originally published in the January/February 2024 issue of Goat Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.