You've nothing to loose Greg. Just bake em and see.
Wel I did, and my conclusion is that no, Greg, they aren't as good!
I did leave them out on the counter for a while before I rolled them up, and a bit longer after that too, not on purpose but just because that's what I did.
They didn't seem to rise much, if any, before I put them in the oven, nor did they rise much during baking. I ended up with rings, not crescents.
My conclusion is that there is a good reason why they "pop" when you open them. They are packaged in a pressurized atmosphere, perhaps nitrogen or perhaps just plain air, and then enclose them in the can. Inside the can the container keeps them pressurized.
When you open them before cooking the pressurized nitrogen or air expands until it neutralizes with atmospheric pressure, thus adding a sort of "air pressure leavening."
So in my opinion Pillsbury and other brands of crescent rolls and biscuits are purposefully pressurized to add an extra kick to rising, beyond normal baking leavenings, to make them lighter and more fluffy.
Incidentally I had a few crescents left from a few nights earlier (kept them in the fridge) and they were more pleasing and tasty and definitely fluffier than the ones that were left as dough in the refrigerator. My advice is don't bother trying to save the dough -- just bake the entire batch and keep the uneaten ones in your fridge for perhaps up to 2-3 days.
By the way, good to see you posting again. Anything new?
As most know, I'm retired, and lately I have mostly been working on an business project intended to provide me more income and greater financial stability in the future. The transactions have been complex and protracted and have driven me to distraction receiving PDFs, printing them, signing them, scanning them to PDF and sending them back. Travel too is required. I expect to complete the entire project during summer, and then I can kick back and my business will mostly take care of itself, and I'll have more time for fun.
I've been working on some for-fun Internet projects including a coding project where I'm learning to deliver content to mobile devices (iPads and Android tablets) and I have taken on tech admin duties at an open source software project.
Between all that and cooking duties I haven't been doing much posting in any forums.