Fudgy Brownie Croissants

pain au chocolat on steroids - have I gone too far?

Before we get into things, I made ramps pesto (as discussed in last week’s newsletter) and am now a ramps convert. I would do just about anything to have ramps pesto in my fridge. I loosely used this recipe, not truly measuring anything and adding a little water to thin it out. IK I’m late on the ramps game, but man, they are good!

This week’s recipe

Last week I mentioned sometimes I test a recipe again&again, not knowing if it’ll be worthy for the site or the ‘stack. That’s what happened with these brownie croissants. Michaela came home when I was on test 6 of what should have been a fairly straightforward recipe. I pulled the croissants from the oven and said, “welcome home, I’m fighting with my frenemy.”

Spoiler alert, test 6 was the winner, and it was indeed worthy of the ‘stack!

I struggled with this recipe because it was my second attempt to combine a brownie and pain au chocolat (AKA chocolate croissant). I first tried making pain au chocolat brownies by pressing down puff pastry and baking it until crispy, then topping it with brownie batter and baking. The puff pastry became too chewy with the brownies and was simply unpleasant. But I thought about the viral le crookie, and figured maybe instead putting brownie INSIDE a croissant would work.

[Editor’s note: ICYMI, the le crookie - a croissant filled with chocolate chip cookie dough - went viral last year. You can find a good NYT article on the moment here. I did have cookie dough croissant next on my ‘to develop’ list when it blew up, and was simultaneously validated that a bakery in France was making it and bitter that I didn’t share the video before the blow-up.]

you cannot tell the date from this photo, but this is my evidence!

I also thought a brownie croissant could solve the one big issue people seemed to have with the le crookie - that it was TOO rich and buttery. The bitterness of the chocolate would balance the richness of the croissant better than cookie dough.

I still worry that perhaps the textural differences between brownie and croissant (the brownie here is stiffened with a lot of flour, making it more of a brownie cookie). But maybe you can help me be the judge of that? I’d appreciate that immensely.

Our approach is similar to an almond croissant: slice, brush with simple syrup, layer with a stiffened brownie batter, top and bake

Important notes for this recipe

• These work for brekkie, midday, or with a glass of milk in the evening!

• You can use any storebought croissant. I’ve made this with stop n shop croissants and French bakery croissants. Both work.

• I prefer using croissants made that day, because I think their moisture actually blends well with the brownie batter. But day-old croissants work very well, too. I know this is quite different than the day-old-croissant approach of almond croissants.

• Brownie croissants should only be eaten warm (similar to le crookie). Ideally eat them fresh out of the oven, but you can reheat later if needed.

• The brownie batter - like my fudgy brownies - calls for Dutch process cocoa powder. It has a more true and rich chocolate flavor than natural cocoa powder. You have two options for Dutch process powder: rouge (available in most grocery stores or on Amazon) or black (this will give you the super dark color in my photos. I’ve only found it on Amazon).

• Don’t skimp on the chocolate chips. The meltiness they add to the batter is deliiightful.

• I have not tried spreading a little almond frangipane on top of the brownie batter, but that sounds OUTRAGEOUS. I’d encourage trying if you happen to have extra frangipane lying around. I’ll probs do this next week with the leftover batter in my freezer :)

Fudgy Brownie Croissants

Makes 4 medium croissants. Easy to double.

Ingredients

For the simple syrup

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup water

For the croissants

• 4 croissants

• 4 TBS (57 grams) unsalted butter

• 2 oz (heaping 1/4 cup) chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (I recommend 60% cacao bar chocolate, like Ghiradelli)

• 1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp. fine kosher or sea salt (If you only have table salt, reduce the salt slightly. If you only have coarse salt, up the salt slightly.)

• 1/4 tsp. espresso powder (optional but highly recommended)

• 1 large egg, at room temperature

• 3.5 TBS. Dutch process cocoa powder (I like black cocoa powder best)

• Heaping 1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour. You may need to add 1-2 TBS more to achieve the desired texture.

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Powdered sugar to top

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Make the simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small pot on medium-low heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and pour into a jar to cool (you’ll have leftovers to save for coffee or cocktails).

3. Melt together the butter, chocolate and sugar. You can either do this in the microwave in 30-second bursts, or over very low heat on the stovetop, stirring often. Either way, do NOT stir, then lick the spoon, then stir again. The water will make the chocolate seize.

4. Pour the chocolate mixture into a medium-sized bowl. Let cool slightly so it doesn’t cook the egg. Then mix in the vanilla extract, salt, espresso powder and egg until fully combined.

5. Using a spatula, fold in the Dutch process cocoa powder and flour, adding in the chocolate chips when there are only a few streaks of flour left. If the batter isn’t a play-doh consistency, add more flour 1-2 TBS at a time until it is. The dough should be more of a cookie dough than a brownie batter, ensuring the brownie doesn’t leak out of the croissant.

6. Assemble the croissants! Cut each croissant in half like a hamburger bun. Brush the bottom halves with simple syrup. Evenly spread the brownie batter on top, reserving 2 spoonfuls. Place the tops onto the croissants, spread more simple syrup, and then dollop a bit more brownie batter and a couple chocolate chips in the middle.

7. Space the croissants over 2 baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are golden and the brownie middle looks almost fully baked (you want it to still be a bit gooey/underbaked).

8. Let cool for 3 minutes, sprinkle powdered sugar on top, and enjoy! These are best eaten warm.

Thank you for being here! LMK if you make these :)

A lotta love,

Maddie