Beyond the Cronut: 15 Frankenpastries to Make at Home

Cupcakes are old news. The newest sugary sensation to sweep our fair city is the Cronut -- the croissant-doughnut hybrid created by Dominque Ansel at his SoHo bakery last month. With production of the pastry limited to 300 a day, Cronut mania has created long lines and even given rise to a seedy underworld of Cronut scalping. As executive food director Lucinda Scala Quinn says, "It just shows, if you're clever you can cook up the next cupcake."

 

No time to wait in line? Try one of these other delectable dessert hybrids instead.

Before the Cronut came the Brookie (more recently dubbed “The Brookster”), the genius invention of Matt Lewis, owner of Baked. A brownie embraces a chocolate chip cookie for the ultimate experience in down-home dessert bliss.

A bowl of cereal, s'more, and cookie all rolled into one -- this creation from Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar will make your head spin (in a good way).

What’s your favorite kind of pie, coconut cream or Key lime? We couldn't decide either, so this pie rolls the flavors of both into every creamy, tangy bite.

If a Rolo aspired to be a breakfast food, these caramel-filled chocolate doughnut bites would be its dream come true.

Eat your after-dinner drink in the form of chewy blondies enriched with freshly ground coffee and Irish whiskey.

When Brownie met Cheesecake, sparks flew, and this is the swoonworthy result.

NOT like Grandma used to bake, these cupcakes reinterpret the snickerdoodle cookie with cinnamon in the batter and a dusting of cinnamon sugar on top. Caps of seven-minute frosting are the perfect flourish.

These bars take their inspiration from both Cracker Jacks and Rice Krispies treats. Marshmallows add chew and caramel adds richness to the squarely delectable snacks.

Croissants aren't just posing as doughnuts these days, they're also standing in for ordinary bread in homey desserts like this one.

Pizza dough delivers on dessert when you roll it into bite-size balls, deep-fry, and roll in sugar. See Lucinda Scala Quinn make this recipe from her book "Lucinda's Rustic Italian Kitchen."