The Best Pillsbury Hacks You Can Make Right Now

Biscuit donuts -- Thrillist Recipes
Drew Swantak/Thrillist
Drew Swantak/Thrillist

Pillsbury doughs are the Sorcerer's Stone for lazy cooks: they won't make you live forever, but they will make you feel unnaturally powerful because you're able to whip up incredible caramelized-on-the-outside, warm-and-soft on-the-inside cinnamon rolls when you're hungover on a Saturday morning. But when you start hacking those tubes of refrigerated crescents, biscuits, and crusts for entirely different recipes, you really become a masterful presence. Not in a bad way, like Voldemort, but in a great, all-knowing way because you can whip up your own salted caramel Cronuts in less time than it takes to read one HP chapter. These are the 15 best ways you need to start using Pillsbury.

Croissant muffins -- Thrillist Recipes
Perry Santanachote/Thrillist

They’re like bloated chocolate croissants, which just means there’s more to love. Get the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury crescents
  • Chocolate

 

Homemade gnocchi is no easy task, unless you cut corners and use refrigerated bread dough instead. The 30-minute recipe right here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury crusty French loaf
  • Chicken
  • Alfredo sauce
Biscuit donuts -- Thrillist Recipes
Drew Swantak/Thrillist

As long as you have biscuit dough, hot oil, and a desire to fatten up for the winter, you can make delicious donuts, quickly. Find the steps here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury Grands! biscuits
  • Powdered sugar
  • Milk

 

This recipe takes donuts one step further, using flaky crescent dough to make cronuts. Oh, and there’s salted caramel, too. Get the hack here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury crescents
  • Vanilla pudding
  • Caramel sauce
Pizza pot pie -- Thrillist Recipes
Drew Swantak/Thrillist

Individual pizza pot pies are stuffed with spicy sausage, peppers, and mozzarella, then topped with mini pepperoni pizzas. Get the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury Grands! biscuits
  • Italian sausage
  • Tomato sauce

 

The crust finally gets to be the star. Mixed with salty peanuts and sweet toffee bits, these bite size treats will give your favorite pie a run for its money. The recipe here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury pie crust
  • Peanuts
  • Toffee
Garlic knot bread bowl -- Thrillist Recipes
Drew Swantak/Thrillist

These buttery, garlicky bites taste just as good as the pizzeria variety, and making them is almost easier than calling for delivery. Plus, it bakes into a bowl shape, which is just waiting to be filled with warm sauce. Recipe here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury Grands! biscuits
  • Butter
  • Tomato sauce

 

When Dominique Ansel invented the chocolate chip cookie shot, he forever changed the way we eat milk and cookies. You don’t need to be in New York to enjoy one though, just make your own with pre-made dough. Instructions here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough
  • Flour
  • Chocolate
Cinnamon roll waffles
<a href="http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/cinnamon-roll-waffles-with-cream-cheese-syrup/" target="_blank">Courtesy of Lady Behind the Curtain</a>

If the crispy outside of the cinnamon roll is your favorite part, then you’ve got to try cinnamon roll waffles. Each bite is caramelized and the ridges perfectly contain the gooey frosting. Learn how to here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury cinnamon rolls

 

The easiest way to make breakfast for a crowd is to bake eight croissant sandwiches at once. It comes out looking like a piece of art, too. Get the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury crescents
  • Bacon
  • Scrambled eggs
  • Cheddar cheese
Cherry danishes
<a href="http://bakingbytes.com/2013/10/14/easy-cream-cheese-danishes/" target="_blank">Courtesy of Baking Bytes</a>

Who wants a muffin when there are danishes in the room? No one. It’s like a handheld pie for breakfast! Bonus: these are easier to make than muffins. The recipe is right here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury Grands! crescents
  • Cream cheese
  • Pie filling

 

Honestly, this looks better than a cobbler made from scratch, and it’s so much quicker to make. Get the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury Grands! biscuits
  • Peaches
  • Blueberries
Funfetti puppy chow
Laura Murray/Thrillist

Sure, you can use funfetti cake mix to make cake, but why be so predictable? Test out this puppy chow or any of these nine other recipes that use cake mix to make a rainbow of sweets.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix
  • Other fun stuff

 

Pigs in a blanket perfected. Each crescent is filled with cream cheese, creamed corn, and a mini dog. Nobody can eat just one... or two, probably. Find the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury crescents
  • Cocktail franks
  • Creamed corn
Cheater bao buns
<a href="http://www.foodgal.com/2010/03/cheaters-baos/" target="_blank">Courtesy of Carolyn Jung/FoodGal</a>

Imagine having fluffy, steamed Asian buns at the drop of a chopstick. It’s possible if you use refrigerated biscuit dough, proving once again that cheaters always win. Get the recipe here.

Key ingredients:

  • Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits


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Perry Santanachote is the recipes editor at Thrillist and has always wondered if there's a Pillsbury Doughgirl. Follow her @perrysant.