Mini King Cake Bites

Fat Tuesday is right around the corner, which can only mean one thing…Mardi Gras! There is also only one thing you truly need to celebrate Mardi Gras…King Cake! Instead of making a big cake to pass around, we decided to create bite sized versions of this heavenly treat. You’re welcome. 🙂

A ball was our go-to shape for these because the cream cheese mixture and cinnamon stays put inside the dough, allowing you to not lose any of that sugary goodness during the baking process. Not only does it make it extremely easy to eat (again, your welcome…), but the ball shape also makes it extremely easy to dunk each one into the glaze topping, followed by the sugar topping. We are all about easy and quick recipes, and this one is no exception. 🙂 So, go on and get your carnivale on with these delicious Mini King Cake Bites!

NOTE: I know everyone expects a “baby” in King Cake, and you can definitely add a very small one on top of these Mini King Cake Bites to continue tradition. But, we would recommend placing it on top (not inside) for all to see before they pop it in their mouths (these bite sized treats will most likely be consumed in one bite!).

What You Need

King Cake Bites

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 cup Powdered Sugar

5 Tbsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Lemon Juice (or you could substitute for Vanilla Extract)

1 package (8 oz.) of cream cheese

Glaze Topping

1 cup Powdered Sugar

2 Tbsp Milk

Purple, Yellow and Green sugar crystals for topping (I used the Wilton Primary Sugar Crystals and Wilton Bright Sugar Crystals for this)

Step by Step

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

3. In a medium sized bowl, cream together your cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice. Mix until well blended. Set aside.

4. Open your cans of crescent rolls, and separate at the perforated lines that make triangles. Take each triangle one at a time and form a ball using your hands. Then, break that ball into two smaller balls. Using your palms, flatten each ball out into a circle (see below) and then place the flattened dough onto your parchment lined baking sheet.  Form the rest of your dough and place on the baking sheet.

5. Sprinkle each dough circle with a generous amount of cinnamon (I freehanded this by just sprinkling it on top of each dough circle until I was satisfied. If you need an amount, I would suggest about 1/4 of a tsp on each dough circle). Then, top with about a 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp of the cream cheese mixture.

6. Stretch your dough up and over the mixture to form a ball (start with two sides to form a taco-like shape, then pinch the other two ends together in the middle to close it off). Flip the ball over so that the seams are down (see picture below).

7. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, until the tops of the dough are golden brown. Let the dough cool for at least 2-3 minutes until you glaze them.

8. Mix together your powdered sugar and milk to create your glaze.

9. Dip each dough ball into your glaze mixture, followed by dipping each into your sprinkle topping.