Easy Petit Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants)
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If you love Pain au Chocolat, otherwise known as Chocolate Croissants, you will be over the moon with this easy, I mean incredibly easy adaptation on the traditional French Pain au Chocolat.
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What is Pain au Chocolat?
Traditional Pain au Chocolat is a French croissant pastry wrapped around a stick of chocolate. Served warm with melty chocolate oozing from the middle is simply heavenly. Like there are almost no words for chocolate lovers like me.
I’ll never forget the first time I tasted Pain au Chocolat in Paris. It was, as you can imagine, simply divine. And it made such an impression that to this day, years later, it’s still the one indulgence that will elevate any day… to a marvelous day.
I don’t indulge this chocolate croissant passion often. Although I have a few favorite pâtisseries in the Pacific Northwest (one in Lake Oswego, Oregon and another in Bellevue, Washington).
But sometimes… late in the evening, when those pesky chocolate cravings hit, I love to make my own — fresh and warm from the oven, oozing chocolate and making the house smell cozy and delicious.
It’s not so indulgent when you make them into mini’s — portion control!
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Perfect for the holidays — or those late-night cravings — or with a cup of coffee in the morning.
And… they’re incredibly easy, with items you may already have on hand.
Chocolate Croissant RECIPE UPDATE:
(May 1, 2020)
Originally, I used a simple egg wash on these chocolate croissants to give them a beautiful golden brown exterior.
However, a couple of weeks ago, I had a reader ask me what else she could instead of an egg.
I gave her some ideas and began experimenting on what else could give these croissants that beautiful glow.
Guess what? It turns out that plain water gives these chocolate croissants the perfect texture. I’ve updated the recipe accordingly, but if you want to use an egg wash — that’s perfectly delicious, too.
In my experiment, I found a water wash increased the lift of the puff pastry and gave it a deliciously flaky top.
Pain au Chocolate Ingredients
Specific ingredient measurements are in the recipe card below.
Ingredients
- Frozen puff pastry, thawed
- Chocolate chips (in milk, semi-sheet, or dark). You can also substitute a thin chocolate bar broken into 2″ x 1″ pieces.
- Water to seal the pastry
- Sugar for sprinkling over the croissants
DIRECTIONS
Step-by-step directions are in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick overview of both the larger size chocolate croissants and the mini size croissants.
For both, line a baking sheet with parchment and preheat the oven to 400°F.
Unfold the thawed pastry sheets onto a lightly floured surface. With a pastry cutter or pizza wheel, cut each sheet into shapes.
Then divide the chocolate evenly among the shapes and roll securely. Dap a bit of water on the end to seal and place, seam side down, on the baking sheet.
Brush with water (or an egg wash if you prefer) and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for the time listed in the recipe card by size, or until the pain au chocolat is puff and nicely golden.
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Easy Petit Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry thawed and cut into shapes
- 1 cup chocolate chips *(see notes)
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- sugar for dusting
Instructions
Larger Croissants (Makes 12)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Unfold the defrosted pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large square With a pastry cutter or pizza wheel, cut each sheet into 6 squares.
- Divide chocolate evenly among the 12 rectangles (6 from each puff pastry sheet). Place chocolate chips or bars at the edge of each pastry square. Roll tightly, completely encasing the chocolate inside. Seal the top edge of the pastry with a dab of water.
- Place each pastry, seam side down on the baking sheet. This is important to maintain its shape.
- Transfer the pastries to the prepared baking sheet and lay with the sealed edge down. Brush each pastry with water and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
- Bake about 20 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, they are very hot inside. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Mini Croissants (Makes 16)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Unfold the defrosted pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large square. With a pastry cutter or pizza wheel, cut each pastry sheet into fourths. Then cut each fourth in half. This will give you 8 rectangle shapes per puff pastry sheet.
- Divide the chocolate evenly along the short side edge of each rectangle. Roll the pastry tightly around the chocolate to the end of the rectangle. Seal the top pastry edge with a dab of water.
- Transfer the pastries to the prepared baking sheet and lay with the sealed edge down. Brush the pastry with an egg wash and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Could I freeze them after baking and then thaw them the morning I am serving?
Hi Karen! They do freeze but the texture isn’t exactly the same.
To make the mini puffs don’t you need to cut the 1/4’s in half again otherwise there is no way to get 16 puffs from the 2 sheets???
Hi Sue– you are absolutely correct! Thank you for that catch. I’ve updated the recipe!
These are delish!! They turned out flaky and no chocolate Oozed out, which is what I was fearful of.. they are easy to make as well.. wish I could leave a picture❤️
Yay! I’m so glad you liked them! I would LOVE to see your photo — if you ever get a chance, you could email it to me at info@31daily.com. That would be really nice if I could add that feature into the comments!
Can a chocolate drizzle be applied to the tops?
Yes! That’s a great idea!
Is their anything else I could use for the wash other than eggs?
Hi Ivy! You could swap out the egg for melted butter or cream or milk to get a golden color. Even honey can work too.
Stephanie, could you make these the night before and bake them in the morning?
Yes! They can be made up to 1 day in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. They’re so good and easy ?!
Hi Stephanie!
I just made these and some of them look fine, while others exploded/unrolled or turned out kind of deformed! I used chocolate bars for the filling. What can I do to prevent this from happening again?
Thank you for any advice and the super simple recipe!
Hi Bre!
I’ve not had that happen — and I’ve made them a lot! I’m going to make another batch in the morning and see if I can’t replicate what’s happening with yours. Thanks for your comment!!
Ok — I tried to replicate the problem you were having with the croissants losing their shape this morning. And I couldn’t pinpoint the problem. However, puff pastry can be a little finicky and won’t always perform perfectly. Smile. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind and/or try next time.
I like to use an all-butter puff pastry. I know Trader Joe’s has one and Dufour has a good one too. That helps with flavor and flakiness. Once the croissants have been filled and rolled, try popping it into the refrigerator to cool for 15 or 20 minutes before baking.
Also, don’t overfill with chocolate. I actually tried underfilling them this morning and it worked great. Although I missed the extra chocolate. Be sure to brush with egg wash the opposite end of the croissant after rolling it. This will help it seal and keep the filling inside.
Can these be made a day in advance and kept in fridge?
Hi Lindsey!
I wish I could say these are a good candidate for making ahead. But they really are best on the day you bake them!
I don’t leave comments often, but this was so good I had to. I never thought about using puff pastry to make a croissant. Family loved it! Thanks
You’ve made my day! I’m so glad your family loved it. I love it too :)!