Pain au Chocolat is warm, flaky, and filled with deliciously rich chocolate that’ll rock your world! You don’t need to be a pastry chef to make these yummy homemade chocolate croissants — this French pastry is just as easy to make as they are to enjoy!
Chocolate Croissants Recipe
Making your own chocolate croissants may sound intimidating, but this easy pain au chocolat recipe is anything but! You just have to be patient, as the yeasted puff pastry dough will need time to rise and chill a few times.
But trust me, the results are so worth it. You’ll have beautiful crescent-shaped, chocolate-filled croissants that are super soft and wonderfully sweet.
Why You’ll Love this Pain au Chocolat Recipe:
- Super Chocolatey: Each of these croissants is stuffed with a sweetened piece of chocolate that’ll melt in your mouth. Yum!
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Because the croissant dough needs to rise and chill a few times, they are perfect for making ahead!
- Classic Pastry: This classic French pastry is a bakehouse staple, and it’s a great breakfast to pair with your morning coffee.
Email This Recipe
Enter your email and we’ll send the recipe directly to you!
How to Make Chocolate Croissants from Scratch
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Make the Dough: Follow instructions in the recipe card to make the croissant dough and let it rise.
- Fold in the Butter: To get those fluffy, crispy croissant layers, you’ll need to fold flattened layers of butter into the dough multiple times, and let it chill.
- Fill with Chocolate: Cut dough into rectangles, then fill them with pieces of chocolate and roll.
- Let them Rise: Brush each croissant with an egg wash, then let them rise in a warm area.
- Bake: Bake the croissants and let them cool.
“Pain au chocolat” (pan oh sho-coh-la) is French for “bread with chocolate.” Pain au chocolat is sweet croissant dough wrapped around sweetened chocolate pieces and shaped into a rectangle.
The only real difference between the two pastries is their shape. Pain au chocolat is folded into a rectangular shape, whereas croissants are rolled into a crescent shape. Oftentimes, in the U.S., pain au chocolat and chocolate croissant are used interchangeably to refer to the same pastry.
You want to use a really good quality sweetened chocolate. I usually recommend Ghirardelli baking bars.
Don’t fret! Making croissants is tough, and it usually takes 3 or 4 tries before you get it right. Bready croissants can be caused by pressing too hard on the dough when rolling it out and incorporating warm butter. Try to work in a cool environment, handle the dough gently, and don’t be afraid to chill the dough and butter if they seem too warm.
More than likely, this was caused by under-proofing. Be sure to let the croissants proof in step 14 until puffy and visibly larger. When gently poked with a knuckle, the dough should spring back slowly. If it springs back too quickly, it needs more time to proof.
Flat pain au chocolat are usually caused by over-proofing. Just as you have to be careful not to under-proof them, you also need to take care not to over-proof them. You want the dough puffy and risen, but it should still spring back when pressed. If the dough remains indented when pressed, it is over-proofed. If the dough is over-proofed, punch it down, reshape it, and let it proof again.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Make sure that your dough remains cold. If it warms up too much, place the dough back in the refrigerator to cool for 20 minutes.
- Pop any air bubbles you see in your dough with your fingers or a toothpick. Then, lightly flour where you popped the air bubble.
Make Ahead Instructions
This is a great make-ahead. After step 10, you can leave the dough to rest overnight in the refrigerator, then continue working with it the next day. You can also freeze the dough at this point for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before continuing.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover pain au chocolat in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Enjoy room temperature or gently warmed in the microwave.
Freezing Instructions
Freeze baked pain au chocolat in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet until solid, about 1-2 hours. Transfer to an airtight container or Ziplock bag to store for up to 3 months. Let thaw at room temperature for 1 hour before enjoying.
Variations
- Shape: You can make these into a classic croissant shape by slicing each rectangle in half diagonally in step 11. Add a bit of chocolate and roll, starting from the wide end, to form a crescent.
- Filling: You can fill these croissants with dark, milk, or white chocolate instead! You could also fill these with jam, nut butter, or cinnamon and sugar.
- Add-ins: Feel free to add chopped nuts, candy pieces, or dried fruits.
Tips for the Best Pain au Chocolat
- Keep the dough as cold as possible while working with it. Warm dough will absorb the butter, ruining the flaky layers.
- If at any point the dough feels too warm, pop it back into the refrigerator to chill for 15-20 minutes.
- Flour your hands, the work surface, and the rolling pin to prevent sticking.
- If you notice any air bubbles in the dough, gently pop them with your fingers or a toothpick and lightly flour where the bubbles were.
- If you’re nervous about making the dough yourself or short on time, you can use store-bought puff pastry dough instead of making your own.
Who knew making chocolate croissants was this fun and easy? We hope you enjoyed making this pain au chocolat just as much as you did eating them!
Tell us about your experience in the comments below. We’d love to hear all about it!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!
Chocolate Croissants Recipe (Pain au Chocolat)
Ingredients
- ½ cup water warm (105-110°F)
- 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature and cut into pieces (⅜ stick)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼ cups unsalted butter cold and cut into ½-inch thick slices (2½ sticks)
- 8 ounces sweetened chocolate bars (2 bars)
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- Stand Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Pizza Cutter
- 2 Baking Sheet
Instructions
- Place the warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Whisk in the yeast and let it dissolve and bloom for 10 minutes.½ cup water, 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- Add the flour, 3 tablespoons of butter, sugar, and salt. Mix on low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed until a rough dough is formed. Turn up the speed to medium and knead for 3-4 minutes until a smooth dough ball forms.1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- With floured hands, gather up the dough and mold it into a semi-smooth ball. Place the dough back in the mixer bowl, cover it with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours, until it has doubled in size.
- Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured work surface and press down to deflate it. Stretch it into a 12×8-inch rectangle. Fold it into thirds, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it on a baking sheet in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Cut the 1¼ cups of butter into ½-inch slices (lengthwise if using stick butter). Place the pieces slightly apart from each other on a large piece of parchment paper. Lay another piece of parchment over the butter. Press the butter down with a rolling pin into an even layer, then roll it into an 8×8-inch square. Trim any jagged edges and place the trimmings back on top of the butter and continue to roll into a square. Refrigerate until a little chilled and just barely flexible, 10 or 15 minutes.1¼ cups unsalted butter
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 17×9-inch rectangle.
- Place the butter layer on one half of the dough, leaving about 1 inch margin from the edge of the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over the butter, and roll the rolling pin over to seal the edges, dusting your work surface and the dough with flour as needed.
- Press the rolling pin down on the dough to create ridges, then roll them out. Repeat as needed until you again have a 12×8-inch rectangle.
- Starting from the short side, fold one-third of the dough over the middle third. Then fold the other end over to form a small rectangle. Flatten it out slightly with the rolling pin, then transfer it back to the baking sheet. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Repeat steps 8 and 9 two more times, chilling the dough for 1 hour between each turn, or overnight after the third turn.
- Place the dough on a lightly dusted work surface. Cut the rectangle in half and return one of the halves to the refrigerator to chill while you work the other. Roll the dough to a 16×8-inch rectangle, using as little flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking, then use a pizza cutter to cut it into 4 pieces, about ¼-inch thick.
- Pull the corners of one piece gently, stretching the ends out to a slight taper. Line 1-2 tablespoons of chocolate about 1 inch parallel to the bottom edge, and another 1-2 tablespoons 1 more inch ahead, about in the middle of the rectangle.8 ounces sweetened chocolate bars
- Roll the dough up over the chocolate toward the other edge to form a cylinder. Place the rolled croissants on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets with the seam at the bottom.
- Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water and brush the croissants twice with the egg wash. Place the pans in a warm area to rise for 1-2 hours. Place the remaining egg wash in the refrigerator.1 large egg
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush the proofed croissants gently with the rest of the egg wash. Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning the pans once, until dark golden brown. Allow them to cool a bit before serving.
Notes
- You can make these into a classic croissant shape by slicing each rectangle in half diagonally in step 11. Add a bit of chocolate and roll, starting from the wide end, to form a crescent.
- You can fill these croissants with dark, milk, or white chocolate instead! You could also fill these with jam, nut butter, or cinnamon and sugar.
- Feel free to add chopped nuts, candy pieces, or dried fruits.
- Keep the dough as cold as possible while working with it. Warm dough will absorb the butter, ruining the flaky layers.
- If at any point the dough feels too warm, pop it back into the refrigerator to chill for 15-20 minutes.
- Flour your hands, the work surface, and the rolling pin to prevent sticking.
- If you notice any air bubbles in the dough, gently pop them with your fingers or a toothpick and lightly flour where the bubbles were.
- If you’re nervous about making the dough yourself or short on time, you can use store-bought puff pastry dough instead of making your own.
Leave a Review