Popular for their frozen chocolate croissants, Trader Joe’s also sells ready-made chocolate croissants in their bakery section. Whether you’re looking for a sweet snack on the go or something to bake at home for Sunday brunch, TJ’s is a one-stop-shop for all things chocolate croissant.
Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissants are $4.99 per box, and each box contains four croissants.
The ready-made variety, available in the bakery section near the breads and cakes, are currently priced at $3.99 for two croissants.
Contents
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissant Ingredients
With a fairly simple and traditional recipe, Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissants contain enriched wheat flour, butter, water, semisweet chocolate (contains sugar and soy), sugar, yeast, salt, dough conditioners (contains barley).
As you can see from the image below, the ready-made variety contains almost the exact same ingredients, with the addition of guar gum, xanthan gum, milk powder, and milk protein.
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissant Nutrition Facts
In each frozen chocolate croissant from Trader Joe’s, there are:
- 320 calories
- 18 grams of fat
- 40 mg of cholesterol
- 250 mg of sodium
- 36 grams of carbohydrates
- 2 grams of fiber
- 11 grams of sugar
- 6 grams of protein
- 15% of your daily recommended value of iron
The ready-made croissants are nutritionally similar, but they contain marginally higher amounts of calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, and sugar.
How To Make Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissants?
To prepare a Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissant, simply follow these steps:
- Place your desired number of croissants, seam side down, on a very lightly buttered or parchment paper-lined baking sheet, 4-5 inches apart.
- Allow croissants to sit at room temperature (uncovered) for 9 hours and/or overnight.
- When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- To achieve a shinier finish, beat one egg, then apply to the outside of each croissant carefully using a pastry brush. (optional)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and dark golden brown. (Light golden brown croissants will not be fully baked inside.)
- Remove the tray from the oven and allow the croissants to cool on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes. (Cooling them on the oven tray or a plate is not advised as the former will extend the cooking process and the latter will cause soggy bottoms.)
- Serve and enjoy!
How To Proof Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissants?
The proofing process is simple. All you have to do is let the croissants sit at room temperature on a baking tray for 9 hours. Make sure that you proof your croissants on the tray you plan to bake them on. Moving your croissants after proofing and before baking could cause them to “fall” and ultimately not rise properly.
If you would like to speed up the proofing process of your croissants, check out this hack for fast proofing using your oven and a bowl of water.
Regardless of which proofing method you choose, your frozen croissants will need to be proofed before baking, otherwise they will not rise properly, meaning that they will be dense and chewy instead of flakey when baked.
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissant Reviews
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissants are nothing short of delicious.
My biggest tip is to opt for the frozen kind over the pre-baked ones in the bakery section. Pre-baked croissants that have been sitting on a shelf in a plastic bag are just never going to be as good as the freshly baked kind. Croissants are meant to be fluffy and crisp, which you just won’t get from a croissant in a bag.
If you’d like to crisp up your ready made Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissants, you can try lightly heating them in the oven at about 350°F for about 3 minutes. You can also try getting the outside very slightly wet beforehand, which will help them crisp and not burn.
The frozen croissants on the other hand are to die for. They really do taste like the real thing, fresh out of the oven from a French patisserie.
Known for being very honest in her reviews, Become Betty gave Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissants 5 stars!
Here are even more rave reviews from traderjoesreviews.com:
FAQs
Can you air fry Trader Joe’s croissants?
Yes. Here is a recipe to try for air fryer croissants.
Can you bake Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissants without thawing?
No! Putting Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissants directly into the oven from frozen will not yield good results as they will not rise properly. Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissants must be left at room temperature for 9 hours to thaw and proof thoroughly before baking. (But don’t worry… the wait is totally worth it.)
Did Trader Joe’s discontinue chocolate croissants?
Nope! Trader Joe’s still sells their delicious chocolate croissants.
Does Trader Joe’s have croissant dough?
Sort of. During the holiday season, Trader Joe’s sells their All Butter Pastry Sheets, which can absolutely be used to make croissants at home.
Do you have to proof Trader Joe’s Croissants?
Yes. Trader Joe’s frozen croissants must be proofed overnight (or for 9 hours) before baking.
Can you cook Trader Joe’s chocolate croissants from frozen?
Nope. If you try this, you will get dense, chewy croissants. To achieve their classic crisp airiness, Trader Joe’s frozen chocolate croissants must be left at room temperature for 9 hours to thaw and proof thoroughly before baking.
Conclusion
There are few things more simply delicious than a fresh, crisp, buttery croissant fresh out of the oven. And thanks to the Trader Joe’s frozen foods aisle, you can enjoy this fine delicacy whenever you’d like! And at a little over $1 per croissant, it’s really hard to pass up these delicious, gourmet treats. Enjoy!
