But this time I made chocolate ones! And almond ones! and oh my, cheese ones!
This was my second time making croissants from scratch. My first time was such a big achievement for me. It was a lot of work and faith because I didn’t know how they would turn out.
They were so successful and delicious, that I had no qualms about making them again when they came up as the next recipe for me to try out of The Art and Soul of Baking. This recipe is slightly different than Tartine’s recipe, but the method is the same. Lots of rolling and turning and refrigerating the dough. It takes about 2 days to make them, so you do have to have a chunk of time to devote. Of course, much of the time is off-hand. You also need space to roll out the dough. And butter, lots of butter. :P
These made smaller croissants, so they aren’t as big and gorgeous as my first go-around. But the taste was definitely still there. Because I made all-plain the first go-around, I decided to make all the variations in the book this time. The recipe makes 24 decent sized croissants. I made six each of: chocolate, almond, cheese, and plain.
The chocolate and cheese were simple, you just had some of the grated ingredient before you roll the croissants. The almond ones required me to make an almond pastry filling made from almond paste, sugar, (more) butter, egg, lemon zest, vanilla, and a bit of flour.
This recipe was a bit easier for me than the first time. It wasn’t painful to roll out the dough and turn it and cut it and shape it. I would almost say croissants are easy to make and I have absolutely no qualms about making them again. And I definitely will.
My favorite was the cheese one, because I’m a cheese freak. I used Baby Swiss, which is a semi-soft cheese that is milder and more melty than regular Swiss. The other flavors were quite tasty too. You can find the recipe for both the croissants and the almond filling HERE.
I’m submitting this to Yeastspotting, a weekly round-up of yeasted goods and bread.
Mmm, those look really good. I love how you decorated them based on the filling. Now you’ve got me wanting to thaw out the half batch of croissant dough that sitting in my freezer… =)
Oh, those look fantastic! I’ve never seen pain au chocolat made using grated chocolate, just with chocolate batons – neat idea! It’s been a while since I’ve made croissants though; yours make me wish I had the time :)
Wow, you make it look easy. I have always wanted to try because my hubby is half French and loves these, but have been too timid of the work and difficulty. Maybe now …. Thanks and congrats on all the success.
You are my hero.
Now, if I could just figure out how to get one through the screen!
As much as I love sweets, you sold me on the cheese ones!
They are absolutely gorgeous – I’m completely impressed!!
I am so impressed. Your croissants look like they should be sitting in the case of a French patisserie! They look flaky and beautiful, I can only imagine how wonderful they must taste!
Those look awesome!
They are beautiful! Here, let me help you eat all of those..
Absolutely gorgeous! I’m so impressed. I’m glad you changed your mind about not doing this again. Pain au chocolat was my favorite morning treat when I visited Paris. It would be wonderful to think I could make them at home.
You are amazing! They all look perfect!! I will take one of each please!
Those chocolate croissants are calling my name! I’ve never felt an urge to make my own croissants but this post just might be enough to make me change my mind :) Great job!
Congratulations! They look spectacular!
Amazing! They all look and sound wonderful. What a success!
Shut up. I can’t believe you did it again. That is so AWESOME. OK, I am so making these this summer . . . AFTER my South Beach trip, of course. I can’t eat these BEFORE the trip, that would be disastrous! :)
Great job!
Amazing job! I always feel intimidated to make croissants, but I after seeing your wonderful photos, I am tempted to give it a go.
Wow! How impressive is that and to say that they are easy?!!! They really do look lovely especially the chocolate drizzled & almond topped ones.
You go girl!
~ingrid
Oh, that swiss croissant sounds divine (as do the chocolate and the almond, though). These are just gorgeous creations! I’m so impressed. You’ve totally inspired me to make croissants–never done it before. Man, these are so delicious-looking!
Oh gosh those are just fabulous looking!
OMG, girl, those look fabulous! I am so hungry right now. I just want to grab a few of these through the screen.
MMMmmmmm! Makes me wish mine weren’t all gone…
These look so fabulous, you just took me on a little trip to San Fran’s Mission district. I used to live like 4 blocks from Tartine, and was hooked on their croissants. I honestly can’t decide which I liked best: pain au chocolat, almond, or the ham and cheese ones.
Next time I do a laminated dough, I’m definitely going to try out a couple variations- thanks for the inspiration!
Beautiful croissants ~ just perfect looking! I especially love the chocolate ones. No, the almond. Mmm . . . maybe the cheese. :)
croissants are my all time favorite way to eat bread (sourdough from san fran a close 2nd)
so when I saw this on tastespotting my heart skipped a beat.
you did a wonderful job! I’m so ready for one.
YESSSSSSSSSS!!! I am so glad they worked out!!! And I LOVE Yeastspotting! Haha I’ve never heard of it! These definitely need to make it on there!
You are a croissant making machine! Every one of these looks amazing. I think I’d start with the chocolate and go from there . . .
pinkstripes, it looks like you’ve been making these all your life – so perfect! They are making me hungry…
You do make it look so easy!
Those are beautiful! I would pay good money for the chocolate and cheese one! (One for lunch, one for dessert! :p)
Good for you! My boyfriend is the laminated dough maker in the house…I don’t have the courage to do it :)
Your croissants make me drooling! I would like to eat one right now!
I’ve been meaning to try croissants for a long time, but haven’t gotten around to it. You give me hope that I may actually be able to pull it off. I’ve seen the Tartine recipe, and this one seems a little easier. Thanks.
This looks so good! I fall in love with the almond crossiants especially !
Nothing quite like home made croissants, I love making them.
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oh my gawd! I must have one or two or three…….they look delicious!
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