Croissant cereal is the latest take on the tiny breakfast trend all over TikTok

• From pancakes and muffins to bacon and French toast, people have loved turning breakfast items into cereal.
• Now croissants have joined the tiny trend, and they're the cutest version yet.
• ChefSteps — a website dedicated to creating new recipes and cooking techniques by combining food and science — is behind these mini treats.
• Co-founder Grant Crilly told Insider that he wanted to see if he could turn one of the most challenging pastries into cereal — and he succeeded.

If we've learned one thing in the kitchen recently, it's that you can transform anything into cereal — even French toast and pancakes.

Now croissants have joined the tiny trend, and they're the cutest version yet.

ChefSteps — a Seattle-based website dedicated to creating new recipes and cooking techniques by combining food and science — is behind these mini sweet treats.

Co-founder Grant Crilly told Insider that he was inspired to make the croissants after watching his pastry chef friends embrace the tiny cereal trend.

"I thought to myself, 'What is the ChefSteps version of this?'" he said. "Part of our thinking is that anything worth doing is worth overdoing, so I wanted to make the most challenging pastry into cereal. To me, that was croissants."

At first, Crily and his team thought their croissant cereal would just be a fun response to the social-media trend. But the bite-sized pastries were such a hit with followers and fans that they decided to create a demo video and full recipe.

Making tiny croissants isn't as easy as whipping up cookie cereal, but the recipe comes packed with plenty of helpful tips to help you create your own mini pastries.

The key to transforming fluffy croissants into crunchy cereal is the cinnamon syrup glaze. It helps prevent the milk from soaking into the croissants too quickly, and also gives them their sweetness and shine.

All you need to make the simple syrup are cinnamon sticks, sugar, and water. After crushing your sticks, combine them with sugar and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Then strain and cool your syrup before pouring it into a spray bottle.

If you want the cinnamon taste to be even stronger, you can infuse your syrup overnight and strain it the next day for even more flavor.

Popping your tiny croissants into a food dehydrator will also help maintain that perfect crunch. It dries out the miniature pastries, preventing your leftovers from going stale.

But don't worry if you don't have a dehydrator of your own. Crilly said you can easily achieve the same effect with your oven.

"Most home ovens can go as low as 170 degrees Fahrenheit," he said. "This is plenty low. Leave the oven door ajar as you dry them out so that the humidity can escape more easily."

And while the ChefSteps recipe calls for homemade dough, Crilly said you can still use store-bought puff pastry or pie dough "in a pinch."

No matter what you use, Crilly said it's important to take your time and roll your dough thinner than you think you need.

"And do not overcook or overheat the croissants," he added. "Or they can easily turn bitter."

If all goes well, you'll get a bowl of croissant cereal that tastes "very buttery and cinnamon-y," Crilly said.

"I like a croissant that has more robust, cultured butter and loads of umami from the fermentation," he added. "This cereal has that, but it's cut with a bit more sweetness. Then, when you add milk, it all comes together very well."

Crilly has enjoyed watching the trend grow, and said he can't wait to see even more creative cereals pop up on social media.

"It's nice to see the world having a bit of fun in their homes right now," he added. "I'd love to see other foods, like 'Brioche Bunches of Oats' and 'Honey Cornbread Crunch.' Anything made of refined carbohydrates should make a great cereal."

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