Easy chocolate-almond croissants

I'm sure you've seen many recipes for making shortcut croissant or pain au chocolat using store-bought puff pastry.  So while this is hardly earth-shattering, I'm actually pretty psyched about it because this almond version has a baton of almond paste tucked into it that makes it a world better (in my opinion, anyway) than those without.  Admittedly, I'm biased because almond paste is one of my favorite baking ingredients.  Hopefully, you enjoy it too...

This was really just an exercise on my part to use up ingredients.  I have puff pastry in the freezer after my last experiment and thought I'd use some of it to make a simple breakfast.  Not surprisingly, my son enjoys pain au chocolat so I thought I'd make a few.  To make things a little more interesting, I went with this chocolate-almond version.  They're filled with dark chocolate and a baton of almond paste (just almond paste rolled into a baton or log shape).  It's convenient that I often have leftover almond paste in the refrigerator so this all came together very easily.

Dark chocolate and almond paste filling

The almond paste warms but stays intact after baking and in a bite, the fragrant, sweet almond flavor plays really well with the dark chocolate.  It also adds a touch of chewiness against the crisp, flaky texture of the croissant.  There's certainly nothing wrong with a regular pain au chocolat - in fact, I made an extra, plain one for my son - but the almond paste inside and the sliced almonds on top add another layer of flavor that we really, really liked.

A plain pain au chocolat on the left

Since I have no faith in my ability to produce that croissant shape, I went with the simple fold/roll-up method that's the signature shape of pains au chocolat anyway.  I've attempted the croissant shape before, with embarrassingly unattractive results.  I never can seem to get the hang of twisting the dough correctly so that it comes out looking like a croissant rather than a twisted crab.  I'll be sticking with this simple method from now on.

I literally made just 3 of these babies for our breakfast.  If you're using a sheet of puff pastry, you can make 6, cutting the dough downward along the folds into three pieces first, then slicing again crosswise to make a total of 6 rectangles.  I assembled them the night before and covered them snugly with plastic wrap before storing in the refrigerator.  In the morning, I topped them off with a little egg wash and sliced almonds before baking.

I believe that traditional, or "true", almond or chocolate-almond croissants are made with day-old croissants that are split in half and filled with almond cream and topped with almond slices before baking again.  To me, using almond paste and store-bought puff pastry is a good shortcut.  No doubt, these chocolate-almond croissants would be markedly better made with homemade puff pastry.  If you've done that yourself, I applaud you.  But since making puff pastry is not on my to-do list, this is the kind of recipe for me.


To make the chocolate-almond croissants, take a sheet of defrosted puff-pastry, unfold it, and cut straight down following the folds to make 3 long strips.  Then cut each into 2 crosswise for a total of 6 pieces.

For each piece, take a teaspoon of almond paste and roll it between your palms to make a log shape a little shorter than the width of your pastry.  Lay it in the center of the cut pastry.  Take about a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips (or chopped/broken up chocolate of your liking) and place it around the almond paste.  (If making plain pain au chocolat, simply use about double the amount of chocolate and omit the almond paste.)

Fold the bottom third of the pastry over the almond and chocolate filling.  Brush the top third of the pastry with some water (or egg wash if you've prepared it already since you plan to bake these right away) and fold it down to make an envelop.  Gently press on it to make sure it's firmly sealed.

Turn the package seam side down and set it over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  It's not necessary but if you want to make a neater presentation, you can take a sharp knife and trim the edges of the pastry (where the openings are).

If making this in advance, cover with plastic wrap before storing in the refrigerator overnight.  I also placed a sheet of damp paper towel over the plastic to make sure it was securely covered (to prevent drying).  I'm a little paranoid sometimes.

If baking right away, brush the tops of the pastry with some egg wash (a lightly beaten egg mixed with about a tablespoon of water) and place some sliced almonds on top.  

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until golden and puffed.  Let cool slightly and enjoy them still slightly warm.

These turned out might tasty and so easy to make.  Now...time to think about what else to try for breakfast!  : )


Recipe:

Easy Chocolate-Almond Croissants
Adapted from Daphne Oz's recipe via The Chew

- Makes 6 petite croissants - 

1 sheet (half package) of frozen puff pastry, defrosted
6 teaspoons almond paste 
6 tablespoons dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 egg (for egg wash)


If planning to bake croissants right away, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Make egg wash by lightly beating the egg with 1 tablespoon water.

Unfold defrosted puff pastry onto a work surface.  Cut down along the folds  to make 3 rectangular strips.  Then, cut each rectangle again crosswise to make 6 equal rectangles.

For each croissant, take one teaspoon of almond paste and roll it between your palms to make a log shape a little shorter than the width of the pastry.  Lay it in the center of the pastry and add a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips around it.  Fold the bottom third of the pastry up to cover the filling.  Wet the top third of the pastry with egg wash (or water works also) and fold it over the pastry to make an envelop.  Press down gently to make a tight seal.  Place seam side down onto the baking sheet.  If making in advance (up to 12 hours), cover with plastic wrap to prevent the puff pastry from drying out and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

Before baking, lightly brush the top of the croissants with egg wash.  Place some sliced almonds over the top of each.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until pastry is puffed and golden.  Remove croissants from the oven, let cool a bit, and enjoy while still slightly warm if possible.