Shortcut Chocolate Croissants

I have to confess… I have a chai latte addiction. Whenever I’m at Starbucks, my son doesn’t mind the long line at all. Because he gets a treat too… a chocolate croissant.

This isn’t a copycat of their recipe, although I’d imagine it’s fairly similar.

Chocolate croissants, or sometimes referred to as Pain Au Chocolat, is simply chocolate wrapped up in a delicious pastry dough.

Puff pastry is the dough usually used, and while absolutely delicious, it can be labor-intensive to make at home, not to mention intimidating to newer bakers.

So I’ve used store-bought puff pastry dough to take that intimidation factor out, plus it saves you a ton of time. And they still taste amazing!

I’m working on an easy, shortcut to homemade puff pastry dough, but until then, a box of the frozen dough works wonders.

This chocolate croissant recipe uses just 4 base ingredients, plus the optional powdered sugar dusting, so I promise, it’s super easy! If you have kids, this is a fun recipe to make with them, or have them make themselves.

How to make shortcut chocolate croissants?

This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.

1. Thaw puff pastry. It doesn’t need to be completely thawed, but you need it to be pliable enough to work with.
2. Make egg wash. This is just whisking egg and water together.
3. Assemble croissants. Slice puff pastry into 8 sections, add chocolate in the center, fold puff pastry over the chocolate, then brush with egg wash.
4. Bake. Until golden brown.
5. Dust and serve. Use powdered sugar if desired.

Variations of this recipe

• Larger – as written, these are a mini size, but you can definitely make them larger if you’d like. Just cut larger rectangles/squares and bake a bit longer.
• Different shapes – you can also make these into the classic croissant shape. Slice each rectangle in half diagonally, so get 2 triangles from one rectangle. Add chocolate (a smaller piece), and roll up starting at the wide end and rolling towards the point. Bake as directed.
• Chocolate – you can use any type of chocolate you like best for this recipe. We love dark chocolate (hershey’s special dark, lindt, or ghirardelli are our faves), but semi-sweet, milk, etc are all great options. You can even use chocolate chips if that’s what you have on hand.
• Fillings – feel free to play around with the filling options as well. If you like caramel and chocolate, add some caramel sauce before folding up the croissants. Other options are hazelnut spread (like Nutella), peanut butter, etc.
• Add-ins – you can also add some fun add-ins, like nuts, peppermint pieces, candy pieces, etc.

Making chocolate croissants ahead of time

I find these pastries taste best when made fresh, but they can technically be made entirely ahead of time if you need to.

The good news is, this recipe takes so little time to prep and bake, even when you make them fresh, you won’t be spending too much time in the kitchen!

Storage

Leftover croissants should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To reheat, add croissants to the microwave for about 10 seconds to melt the chocolate inside before serving.

Freezing

For longer storage, you can also freeze baked croissants! Make sure the pastries have cooled completely, then wrap individually in plastic wrap or an environmentally friendly alternative, and then add to a freezer-safe container.

Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.

To have them taste freshly baked again, bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 3-4 minutes.