If Costco's Out Of Fresh Croissants, Here's How To Amp Up The Frozen Ones

If you're craving tasty treats, your local Costco Wholesale may be the perfect stop. The bakery section in each Costco store features a wide spread of treats, including cookies, cupcakes, bagels, and more. One popular item that can be found for purchase in most Costco stores is the package of croissants.

Costco's Kirkland Signature buttery croissants are baked fresh in each store's bakery daily and are sold by the dozen for $5.99. The pastries ranked highly in Mashed's survey of the best Costco bakery items, coming in second only to the store's blueberry muffins. They can be sliced and used to make sandwiches, cut up into croutons, or just enjoyed by themselves.

Although Costco sells pre-baked croissants in its bakery, they may sell out, or you may be worried about eating an entire dozen before they get stale. Fortunately, there's an easy trick to making the frozen alternative taste just as good. 

If you get to Costco craving a pack of buttery, flaky croissants and find the bakery display disappointingly empty, don't panic — you may be able to find a package of frozen croissants to save the day. Lifestyle blogger Camille Styles recommends buying the Au Pain Doré brand from the wholesale club. Each box contains 30 ready-to-bake frozen croissants from a Montreal, Canada-based bakery.

While frozen foods might not always achieve that fresh-baked feeling, you can make some modifications while baking to make them slightly more delicious. The Au Pain Doré website suggests thawing your croissants for 20 minutes. Then, bake them six to a tray for 18 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, Styles suggests a different method. She says to brush each croissant with an egg wash before baking them in the air fryer. This will ensure that each croissant achieves that flaky, golden-brown exterior.

TikTok user @anguswannnn posted a video testing out the air fryer trick for himself. The vlogger allowed two croissants to rest out of the freezer for half an hour, then brushed some egg white on each. He set his air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and baked the croissants for only "half the time" recommended on the box.

He noted that they came out "a tad dark," but he enjoyed the crispy exterior contrasted with the fluffy, buttery interior. He even said that this method is a great alternative to purchasing an entire 12-pack of croissants from Costco, ideal for when you are only craving a few at a time.

The Au Pain Doré croissants don't feature air fryer instructions on the box, and its website only shares oven-baked instructions. To achieve the perfect croissant in the air fryer, it may take a little extra experimentation when it comes to baking time. But the resulting warm, flaky pastry will make it all worth it.