Once the pastry sheet is rolled out, brush it with softened butter. For me it was easier to spread a thin layer of butter using a small spatula vs using a pastry brush.
Place chopped chocolate at one end, and with your fingers roll the pastry sheet. Place the rolled chocolate croissant in the fridge, on a baking sheet until all croissants are done.
At this point, you can place the croissants in the freezer and take them out when needed (make sure they are in a freezer safe bag or container) or, you can bake them all at once like I did.
Take the rolled croissants out of the fridge and leave them at room temperature for a couple of hours until almost double in size. Like I said, I have made this recipe 3 times so far and noticed that if I let them rise in the afternoon, it takes about 3 to 4 hours.
Alternately, you can leave the croissants rest overnight on the counter. At night, my kitchen is not as hot as in the afternoon, so the croissants needed 7 to 8 hours to double in size.
It’s totally up to you and how pressed you’re with time. If you have frozen croissants, you may have to leave them longer to rest on the counter, maybe 9-10 hours.
Just before baking, brush the croissants with a beaten egg. This step is optional, but I love the shiny brown crust it gives to the croissants.
Heat the oven to 400F.
Bake the croissants in the hot oven for about 25 minutes or until brown (at golden brown the croissants are not fully baked).
Drizzle some melted chocolate over the warm croissants and serve warm, preferably.
Notes
Using baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips will result in an oozing chocolate filling. The chocolate chips have stabilizers so while they do melt, they stay more intact and don’t have as much flavor as baking chocolate. Use whatever brand you prefer. My 1st choice is Trader Joe’s pound chocolate , but you can use Baker’s , Hershey’s , Ghirardelli , Scharffen Berger etc.
For the butter, it’s crucial to use the best of the best! I highly recommend using a European butter. Plugra and President are two brands I absolutely adore, but Kerrygold works as well. Please do not use cheap butter. Your croissants will taste as good as your ingredients!
