I spent an entire weekend last fall trying to make chocolate croissants from scratch, and by Sunday night, I had a kitchen covered in butter, a trash can full of failed attempts, and Emma asking if we could "please just go to the bakery like normal people." My first batch came out flat and dense basically chocolate-filled Breakfast rolls. The second batch burned on the outside while staying raw inside. The third? The butter leaked everywhere and I ended up with greasy, deflated pastries that looked nothing like the beautiful pain au chocolat I'd had in Paris years ago.
Why You'll Love This Chocolate Croissant Recipe
Back making these chocolate-filled chocolate croissants every Saturday for the past eight months, I can tell you exactly why they've become our weekend ritual. When you pull them out of the oven, the kitchen fills with this incredible buttery aroma mixed with melting dark chocolate croissants that makes everyone appear in the kitchen like magic. The pastry itself shatters into a thousand flaky layers when you bite into it golden and crispy on the outside, with soft buttery layers inside that practically melt on your tongue.
What really makes this pain au chocolat recipe special is how achievable it is without spending two days laminating dough or needing professional pastry skills. Using quality store-bought puff pastry means you get those beautiful flaky layers without the stress, and the whole process from start to finish takes maybe an hour most of that is hands-off baking time. They look incredibly impressive, like something from a French bakery, but the actual technique is simple enough that Emma helps me roll them. We've made them for brunches, teacher appreciation week, and random Sunday mornings when we just want the house to smell amazing.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Chocolate Croissant Recipe
- Ingredients for Chocolate Croissant
- How To Make Chocolate Croissant Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Chocolate Croissant
- Chocolate Croissants Variations
- Equipment For Chocolate Croissants
- Storage Tips
- Top Tip
- FAQ
- French Bakery Magic at Home!
- Related
- Pairing
- Chocolate Croissants
Ingredients for Chocolate Croissant
The Pastry Base:
- Store-bought puff pastry
- Dark chocolate bars or baking chocolate
- Egg
- Granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
Chocolate Options:
- Dark chocolate
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Chocolate batons
- Milk chocolate
For Finishing:
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy cream or milk
- Coarse sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Chocolate Croissant Step By Step
Prepare Your Workspace
- Remove puff pastry from fridge and let sit 5-10 minutes until just pliable
- Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in center position
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper
- Lightly flour your work surface
Roll and Cut the Pastry
- Unfold puff pastry sheet on floured surface
- Roll gently to smooth out fold lines
- Cut into rectangles about 4x5 inches using sharp knife
- You should get 6-8 rectangles per sheet
Add the Chocolate
- Place 2 pieces of chocolate bar at one short end of each rectangle
- Leave small border at edges for sealing
- Don't overfill or chocolate will leak during baking
- Break chocolate into strips about 3 inches long
Roll the Croissants
- Starting from chocolate end, roll pastry tightly over chocolate
- Roll all the way to opposite end, creating log shape
- Place seam-side down on prepared baking sheet
- Space them 2 inches apart
Apply Egg Wash and Bake
- Beat egg with 1 tablespoon milk or cream in small bowl
- Brush egg wash generously over tops and sides of each croissant
- Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired
- Bake 18-22 minutes until deep golden brown and puffed
Cool and Serve
- Dust with powdered sugar if feeling fancy
- Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes
- Transfer to wire rack to cool slightly
- Serve warm when chocolate is still melty
Smart Swaps for Chocolate Croissant
Pastry Alternatives:
- Butter puff pastry → Margarine-based (less flaky but works)
- Store-bought → Homemade laminated dough (2-day process)
- Regular puff → Crescent roll dough (easier, less authentic)
- Standard → Gluten-free puff pastry (different texture)
Chocolate Options:
- Dark chocolate → Milk chocolate (sweeter, kid-friendly)
- Bars → Chocolate chips (easier but can leak more)
- Standard → Nutella (completely different but delicious)
- Dark → White chocolate (very sweet)
Filling Variations:
- Plain chocolate → Chocolate with sea salt (adult favorite)
- Standard → Almond paste plus chocolate (almond croissant hybrid)
- Regular → Chocolate hazelnut spread
- Classic → Caramel plus chocolate (dulce de leche works)
Egg Wash Substitutes:
- Standard → Plant milk (vegan option, less shine)
- Whole egg → Just egg yolk (richer color)
- Egg wash → Heavy cream only (for dairy-rich shine)
- Regular → Maple syrup (vegan, gives nice color)
Chocolate Croissants Variations
Almond Chocolate Croissant:
- Spread almond paste inside before adding chocolate
- Sprinkle sliced almonds on top before baking
- Dust with powdered sugar after cooling
- Tastes like pain au chocolat met an almond croissant
Double Chocolate Version:
- Use chocolate puff pastry if you can find it
- Add chocolate chips plus chocolate bar pieces
- Drizzle with melted chocolate after baking
- Emma's ultimate chocolate overload
Nutella Croissant:
- Replace chocolate bars with Nutella
- Spread thin layer, don't overfill
- Seal edges really well (it leaks easily)
- Kids go crazy for these
Salted Caramel Chocolate:
- Add thin caramel layer with chocolate
- Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top before baking
- Sweet and salty perfection
- My personal favorite variation
Berry Chocolate Croissants:
- Add fresh raspberries or strawberry slices with chocolate
- Use slightly less chocolate to balance
- Fruit adds tartness
- Beautiful when you cut them open
Mini Chocolate Croissants:
- Cut pastry into smaller rectangles
- Use less chocolate per piece
- Bake 12-15 minutes instead
- Perfect for brunch parties
Equipment For Chocolate Croissants
- Rolling pin
- Sharp knife or pizza cutter
- Baking sheet (preferably light-colored)
- Parchment paper or silicone mat
- Pastry brush
- Small bowl for egg wash
- Wire cooling rack
Storage Tips
Same Day Storage (Best Option):
- Cool completely on wire rack
- Store in airtight container at room temperature
- Best eaten within 4-6 hours of baking
- Reheat in 300°F oven for 5 minutes to refresh
Next Day Storage (2 days Max):
- Keep in sealed container at room temperature
- Don't refrigerate (makes pastry soggy)
- Warm in oven before serving
- They lose crispness but still taste good
Freezing Baked Croissants (1 month):
- Cool completely before freezing
- Wrap individually in plastic wrap
- Store in freezer bag with date
- Reheat from frozen at 350°F for 10-12 minutes
Freezing Unbaked (Best Make-Ahead):
- Assemble croissants completely
- Freeze on baking sheet until solid
- Transfer to freezer bag
- Bake directly from frozen, add 5 minutes to time
Top Tip
- My friend who trained at a pastry school in Lyon showed me something about chocolate croissants that completely changed my success rate. For weeks, my croissants kept unrolling during baking the pastry would puff up and the whole thing would basically spring open, leaving the chocolate croissants exposed and the pastry looking like a mess. I thought maybe I wasn't rolling them tight enough, so I'd roll them super tight, but that just made them dense and compact instead of flaky.
- She watched me make a batch one Saturday and immediately spotted my mistake. After rolling the pastry around the chocolate, I was just placing them seam-side down and hoping for the best. She taught me to gently press the seam with my fingertip to seal it, then and this is the key part tuck the ends underneath slightly before placing them on the baking sheet. Those tucked ends act like little anchors that keep everything in place as the pastry puffs up in the oven.
- But her real game-changer was the freezer trick. After assembling the pain au chocolat, she puts them in the freezer for 15 minutes before applying the egg wash and baking. The cold pastry holds its shape better in the hot oven, giving the layers time to puff up properly before the butter starts melting everywhere. Since I started doing this, I haven't had a single croissant unroll or leak excessively.
FAQ
What is a croissant with chocolate called?
A croissant with chocolate is called "pain au chocolat" in French, which translates to "chocolate bread." In some regions of France, it's also called "chocolatine." It's technically not a croissant shape but a rectangular pastry made with the same laminated dough filled with chocolate croissants bars.
What kind of chocolate is in a croissant?
Traditional pain au chocolat uses dark chocolate bars or chocolate batons thin sticks of dark chocolate specifically made for baking. Most French bakeries use chocolate with 60-70% cacao content. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate croissants, milk chocolate, or even chocolate chips, though bars create cleaner layers than chips.
What's the difference between chocolate croissant and pain au chocolat?
They're essentially the same thing pain au chocolat is the proper French name. The term "chocolate croissant" is more commonly used in English-speaking countries. Technically, pain au chocolat is rectangular while chocolate croissants are crescent-shaped, but both use the same buttery laminated dough with chocolate filling inside.
Does Starbucks sell chocolate croissants?
Yes, Starbucks sells chocolate croissants at most locations, though availability varies. They're usually pre-made and reheated. Homemade versions taste significantly better since you control the chocolate quality and can serve them fresh from the oven when the pastry is crispiest and chocolate is still melty.
French Bakery Magic at Home!
Now you've got all the secrets to making perfect chocolate croissants from choosing the right chocolate to that freezer trick that keeps them from unrolling. These buttery pastries prove that fancy French baking doesn't have to be complicated or require professional training. Just good ingredients, a few smart techniques, and your kitchen can smell like a Parisian bakery on Saturday morning.
Craving more breakfast treats that impress? Try our Delicious Crème Brûlée French Toast Recipe for a show-stopping brunch dish with that signature caramelized sugar top. Our Best Cinnamon Swirl Apple Fritter Bread Recipe brings bakery-style flavor in an easy loaf format perfect for weekend mornings. And if you're feeling adventurous, The Best Scrapple Recipe is a traditional breakfast classic that's worth trying at least once!
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Chocolate Croissants
Chocolate Croissants
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin (For smoothing puff pastry)
- 1 Sharp knife or pizza cutter (To cut rectangles)
- 1 Baking sheet (Preferably light-colored)
- 1 Parchment paper (To line baking sheet)
- 1 Pastry brush (For egg wash)
- 1 Small bowl (For mixing egg wash)
- 1 Wire cooling rack (For cooling croissants)
Ingredients
- 1 Sheet Store-bought puff pastry - Thawed ready to roll
- 12 Pieces Dark chocolate bars - About 2 pieces per croissant 3-inch strips
- 1 Large Egg - For egg wash
- 1 tablespoon Milk or heavy cream - To mix with egg for wash
- 1 Pinch Salt - Optional enhances flavor
- 1 tablespoon Granulated sugar - Optional sprinkle on top
- — To taste Powdered sugar - For dusting after baking
Instructions
- Remove puff pastry from fridge and prep workspace
- Roll out dough gently and cut into rectangles
- Place two pieces of chocolate on each rectangle
- Roll pastry tightly over the chocolate pieces
- Seal the seam and tuck ends underneath before baking
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