Baby Chocolate Croissants

Aren't they adorable? They are about 3 inches long, 1 inch wide, and filled with about a teaspoon of dark melted chocolate. And they can be all yours in 30 minutes or less.

This recipe comes via Joy the Baker, who got it from Nigella Lawson. (If you have never visited Joy's site, you need to go. Her recipes are amazing, and her photographs are breathtaking. www.joythebaker.com.)

And so now I pass this recipe along to you. It's like a chocolate croissant version of Pay It Forward. All you need is frozen puff pastry (usually next to the frozen fruit part of your supermarket's freezer section), some really good dark chocolate, an egg and a little sea salt, if you are the kind who likes a little hint of salt on their sweet stuff. I am that kind, myself. Once the pastry is defrosted, it is 30 minutes from start to take a bite. And you do have to take a bite pretty soon after they are out of the oven. They actually do heat up pretty nicely (10 seconds in your friendly microwave), but they are out of this world when they are freshly baked. And they are so cute and tiny, you can definitely have two. Or three.

So with thanks to Joy and Nigella and whomever else had a hand in these, here's the recipe.

Baby Chocolate Croissants

recipe from www.joythebaker.com, inspired by Nigella Lawson

*1 (14 oz) package frozen all-butter puff pastry, left to defrost in the fridge for 2 or 3 hours

*1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces, 60% or 70% cocoa solids

*1 egg, beaten

* sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Gently unpackage the slightly thawed puff pastry and place on a lightly floured surface. With a light floured rolling pin, gently roll out the puff pastry, extending the dough about 1 inch on all sides.

3. With the pastry sheet horizontal, make three vertical cuts, making four strips of pastry dough. Cut each strip in half horizontally. You'll have eight medium sized rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half diagonally, creating 16 triangles.

4. Place each triangle so the wider part is toward you and the point is away from you.

Place small pieces of chocolate about 1/2-inch above the wide part of the triangle.

5. Carefully roll the chocolate loaded end toward the point, pinching the dough together at the beginning of the roll to ensure that the chocolate doesn't ooze out during baking. Once rolled, curl the ends toward the center slightly.

6. Place the 16 small chocolate croissants on a lined but not greased baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle each top with just a bit of sea salt if you like a little salt with your chocolate.

7. Place in 425 degree F oven and immediately turn the oven down to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and puffed.

Click here for printable recipe!