These easy Chocolate Almond Croissants are made with a homemade almond cream filling (an easy almond frangipane with almond paste) and chopped chocolate, and topped with toasted almonds and powdered sugar. An almond croissant with chocolate chips makes the perfect European breakfast at home.
Easy Almond Chocolate Croissants
I travelled to Europe for the first time last summer and found myself falling completely in love with not only the scenic beauty and old world charm, but also the quintessential decadent desserts and homemade pastries so flaky and buttery I couldn’t stop at just one.
Try as I might, I’m not recreating the ultra buttery and flaky croissants that only a European bakery can create. I know my strengths.
An indulgent chocolate cake so fudgy a glass of milk is a requirement? A flaky lemon blueberry scone that could possibly be the best use of lemons and blueberries in culinary history? The most perfect soft and chewy sugar cookies that practically melt in your mouth? Yes. Absolutely. I’m your girl.
But a homemade croissant with layers for days? That’s a labor of love I don’t have the patience for and would rather just buy myself a nice little croissant, especially if I’m filling it with chocolate and almond cream.
So if you’re like me—desperate for a taste of Paris without actually having to expend the effort to make croissants from scratch—you are going to L-O-V-E these almond chocolate croissants with store bought croissants.
It’s one of my favorite pastry comeback stories. Day old croissants that are a little stale and possibly dry? Fill them with almond frangipane, chocolate chips, and a simple syrup to recreate your favorite breakfast pastry at home.
Three Reasons These Easy Chocolate Almond Croissants Are Your New Favorite Breakfast:
- Simple: I love a good semi-homemade dessert. There are days that call for making everything from scratch (think these gooey cinnamon rolls) and days were you want a dessert so simple, it comes together in pretty much 5 minutes (think these Apple Puff Pastry Tarts). These almond chocolate croissants are somewhere in between a totally-from-scratch-baking-project and a I-need-dessert-like-five-minutes-ago.
Almond Paste: I’m a big fan of almond paste, and I truly believe that almond paste is what makes this almond frangipane so good. It’s an ingredient you can find in most grocery stores and I find that the flavor and texture is much better than almond croissants made with almond flour (plus almond flour is expensive).
Store Bought Croissants: If you want to make homemade croissants, be my guest and knock yourself out. But, this recipe works amazingly well with store bought croissants, mainly because chocolate croissants are best when made with day old croissants. You actually want the structure of the croissants to be a little dry and stale so that it can hold up to the simple syrup, almond cream filling, and melted chocolate.
This chocolate almond croissant recipe is based off of my plain almond croissant recipe (where I also discuss what almond frangipane is and what the difference is between almond paste and marzipan).
Ingredients:
This is a simple almond croissant recipe with chocolate chips, and you only need a few ingredients to make the frangipane and simple syrup.
- Water
- Granulated Sugar
- Almond Extract: If you don’t have any almond extract, you can omit this ingredient. There is going to be a TON of almond flavor due to the almond paste in the almond filling. However, I like to add almond to each step, and that’s why I add almond extract to make an almond simple syrup.
- Vanilla Extract
- Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter allows you to control the salt in all your recipes.
- Almond Paste: This is an ingredient you can find in most grocery stores’ baking section. Make sure you do not confuse it with marzipan or almond flour. It will say “almond paste” on the package.
- Eggs
- Cornstarch
- Chocolate Chips: Feel free to use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. My favorite chocolate to use in these croissants are semi-sweet or dark chocolate.
- Croissants: Use day old croissants that are a bit stale and dry. This is key to holding up to the frangipane and simple syrup.
- Sliced Almonds: Sliced almonds add texture and a nice toasty almond flavor that is essential to these almond croissants having almond flavor in every single bite.
- Powdered Sugar: A little extra sugar never hurt, and it makes it pretty and bakery-like!
How To Make These Chocolate Almond Croissants:
This is a brief overview of how to make almond chocolate croissants from scratch, but the full recipe and details are in the printable recipe card below.
Simple Syrup: To make the simple syrup, whisk water, sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract together in a small pan. Heat the simple syrup mixture over medium heat until it comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Almond Cream (aka almond frangipane): Using a hand mixer (or standing mixer), beat the unsalted butter and almond paste together until it is well combined. Add in the eggs, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
Assembly: Cut croissants in half lengthwise. Next, using a pastry brush, brush the simple syrup on the insides of both croissant halves. Spread about 1-2 Tbsp of the almond frangipane filling on one half of the croissant. Sprinkle about 1 Tbsp of chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips) on top of the almond filling. Then, top each with the other half. Then, brush the simple syrup on top of the croissant. Spoon a little extra almond filling on top of each croissant and press sliced almonds and chocolate on top.
Bake: Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the croissants are golden brown.
Serve: Top with powdered sugar and serve.
Storage Tips:
- Best When Fresh: In my opinion, any pastries are best when served fresh from the oven or within the first 24 hours, and these almond croissants with chocolate chips are no exception.
- Room Temperature: Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.
- Fridge: Or, store the croissants in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: Additionally, you can freeze almond croissants by individually wrapping each baked and cooled croissant in plastic wrap and then storing in the freezer. When ready to eat, defrost in the fridge or reheat in the oven or microwave.
Final Almond Chocolate Croissant Tips and Tricks:
- Almond Paste: Almond paste and marzipan are NOT the same thing. Marzipan is more of a candy and is not interchangeable with almond paste. If you can’t find almond paste, you can make it from scratch.
- Day Old Croissants: Stale croissants are sturdy and soak up the almond simple syrup and almond filling. When these croissants are baked, they’re flaky and full of a sweet almond filling.
- Simple Syrup: If you have leftover simple syrup, store it in the fridge. You can use it as a sweetener for beverages or you can brush it on your cakes for extra moisture.
- 8 croissants, day old
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 8 oz almond paste*
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate bars
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate bars
- powdered sugar, for dusting
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- To make the almond simple syrup, whisk together sugar, water, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a small pot.
- Heat the simple syrup mixture over medium heat until it comes to a boil (and the sugar has completely dissolved). Set aside to cool.
- Make the almond frangipane filling by using a hand mixer or standing mixer. Beat unsalted butter and almond paste together until well combined. Next, add in eggs, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- With a sharp knife, cut each croissant in half lengthwise. Brush the inside of each half with a little simple syrup.
- Spoon 1-2 Tbsp of almond filling on the bottom half of each croissant. Sprinkle about 1 Tbsp of chocolate chips or chopped chocolate on top of the almond filling.
- Place the tops of each croissant on each croissant. Then, brush the tops of the croissants with a little more simple syrup.
- Then, spoon a little almond filling on top of each croissant (about 1/2 Tbsp or so), then press some sliced almonds and chocolate chips on top of the almond filling.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until the almond croissants are golden brown. Allow to cool a few minutes, then top with powdered sugar.
- Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.
Most almond paste comes in 8oz packages, but some do come in 7oz packages. For this recipe, you can use either size and it will not change the outcome of the almond cream frangipane.
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