Many are unaware of the difference between a crostini and bruschetta (pronounced brooshketa). The difference is mainly in size, the crostini being the smaller one. Typically, a bruschetta is not as crispy as a crostini. There are endless toppings you can use on both. In this recipe, I am giving crostini’s a different twist. 
Instead of the more common thin slices of baguettes, I am using stale croissants. These come out lighter than air and their crispy buttery finish goes great with any topping you decide to use.
For this recipe, I made four different kinds, three savory and one sweet. The base is the same for each crostini, a whipped goat cheese. You can also do the same with feta or cream cheese. You can see how I topped mine but use your imagination and create whatever topping you desire.
INGREDIENTS:
Crostini’s
Buy croissants wherever you can find them the least expensive. I get a huge box of them from Costco’s. Take them out of the container so they can dry and get a little stale. At least overnight.
- For the base:
- 8 Oz. goat cheese
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 Cup sour cream
- For the toppings:
- Topping 1:
- Finely diced English cucumber, seeded and mixed with one tablespoon of your favorite dressing. I used my vinaigrette in this recipe.
- Slice black kalamata olives
- Lemon Cucumber balsamic vinegar
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Topping 2:
- Grape tomatoes sliced on the diagonal.
- Crispy bacon crumbles
- Balsamic vinegar
- Topping 3:
- Caramelized onions and peppers sautéed in a bit of olive oil
- White balsamic vinegar
- Topping 4:
- Fig/Orange jam
- Chopped roasted salted cashews
- Sweet balsamic glaze.
INSTRUCTIONS:
For the crostini’s:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Slice the croissants in 1/4 inch slices and place on a foil lined cookie sheet
- Bake for 6 to 7 minutes.
- Remove them from the oven and let them sit on the cookie sheet until totally cooled and crisp.
For the base:
- In a food processor, puree the goat cheese, olive oil, and sour cream until very smooth. Place the cheese in a bowl and add a touch of kosher salt.
Assembling the croissant:
- The cheese is your base to spread on each crostini. For the ones pictured in this recipe I topped one with the diced cucumbers and black olives and drizzled the olive oil.
- The sweet crostini was layered with an orang/fig jam, topped with chopped cashews and drizzled with a sweet balsamic glaze.
- The third was topped with sliced grape tomatoes, crispy bacon bits and drizzled with the vinegar.
- The fourth was topped with caramelized onions and pepper (I used red bell peppers and seeded sliced jalapenos), then drizzled with the balsamic vinegar.
- Use your imagination and create a myriad of toppings, both savory and sweet.