Description
Homemade Chocolate Croissants are beautifully flaky, buttery pastries filled with warm, rich chocolate—a rewarding, bakery-style treat made right at home.
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cups warm milk (110 °F / 43 °C)
- 1 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter (for lamination, about 2 sticks)
- 8–12 chocolate batons or dark chocolate bars
- 1 large egg (for egg wash)
Instructions
- Activate yeast: combine warm milk, sugar, and yeast; let sit 5–10 minutes until frothy.
- Make dough: mix flour and salt in a bowl, add melted butter and yeast mixture until a rough dough forms.
- Knead lightly until smooth, shape into a rectangle, cover and let rise until doubled (~1–1½ hours).
- Prepare butter block: pound cold butter between parchment into ~7×10″ rectangle, chill until firm.
- Encapsulate: roll dough into ~10×15″ rectangle, place butter slab in center, fold edges to encase.
- Lamination: roll to ~10×20″, perform a letter fold, chill 30 minutes. Repeat roll-fold-chill two more times (3 turns total).
- Final chill: after last turn, chill dough ≥1 hour or overnight.
- Shape croissants: roll dough to ~8×24″, cut into 3×4″ rectangles, place a chocolate baton at one end and roll tightly. Arrange seam-side down on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Proof: let shaped croissants rise until puffy and slightly jiggly (~1–2 hours).
- Bake: preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Brush with beaten egg, bake 15 minutes, then reduce to 375 °F (190 °C) and bake another 10–12 minutes until deep golden.
- Cool slightly and serve—enjoy buttery, flaky layers with gooey chocolate inside.
Notes
- Swap chocolate with Nutella or caramel-stuffed chocolate for variation.
- Brush tops with honey or simple syrup right after baking for shine.
- Add sliced almonds on top before baking for crunch.
- Roll in cinnamon sugar after baking for a sweet crust.
- Include a smear of raspberry jam with the chocolate for a fruity twist.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 croissant
- Calories: 330
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 65mg
