Rich And Flaky Nutella-Stuffed Croissants Recipe

It's hard to look away when you see a croissant, and if it's filled with Nutella ... well, chances are you're going to be riveted until you take a bite. You don't have to go to a French bakery to experience that sequence of events — just follow Mashed recipe developer Patterson Watkins' rich and flaky Nutella-stuffed croissant recipe. Watkins shared her hesitation about taking on the seemingly arduous task of making croissants from scratch, but her initial ambivalence worked in everyone's favor. 

One of the key components of flaky croissant dough is incorporating cold butter into the dough. "My lack-luster energy level created a lazy-ish hack that, to my pleasant surprise, worked out fantastically," Watkins says and explains, "Instead of constantly folding and pressing and folding and pressing dough and butter, I portioned the dough, rolled the dough into disks, spread those disks with softened butter, and stacked those." She enthusiastically adds, "Didn't break a sweat once!" While that's not a traditional croissant-making technique, she confirms, "the results were phenomenal," and describes, "The croissants were absolutely delicious and buttery and that right balance of sweet."

This recipe yields a dozen Nutella-filled croissants, so if you aren't eating them all right away, store them at room temperature for a day, in the fridge for a few days (reheat as needed), or freeze them for future joy. "Just know that your croissants will loose a little of that fresh-baked wow factor if they are reheated frozen," Watkins notes.

For this Nutella-stuffed croissant recipe, you'll need a packet of active dry yeast, warm milk, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, eggs, softened salted butter, Nutella, and powdered sugar.

Sprinkle yeast over warm milk and set aside for 5 minutes to bloom.

Meanwhile, place flour and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed to combine.

Add 1 egg and the yeast/milk mixture to the bowl. Stir on low speed until a shaggy dough forms.

Add 2 tablespoons of softened butter to the bowl and continue stirring on low until combined.

Increase the mixer's speed to medium and knead the dough for 5 minutes (the dough will be shiny and springy).

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Once rested, divide the dough into 12 even portions. Loosely wrap with plastic to keep the portions from drying out.

Sprinkle a clean work surface with a little flour and, working with one portion at a time, roll into thin disks.

Once all the portions have been prepped, divide the butter between 11 of the disks (about a heaping tablespoon per), and spread to coat.

Stack the disks on top of each other, finishing with the un-buttered disk.

Wrap the stack in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight) to firm-up the butter. (This will help make the croissants flaky.)

Once chilled, roll the dough into a large, thin circle.

Using a pizza cutter, portion the dough into 12 even wedges.

Place a dollop of Nutella (about a heaping tablespoon) about 1-inch from the edge of one of the wedges and roll the dough toward the center/point. Repeat until all croissants are rolled.

Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and set aside to proof and rise for 3 hours, or until doubled in size.

Once the croissants have proofed, preheat the oven to 400 F.

Combine the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water and whisk to make the egg wash.

Brush the croissants with the egg wash and place in the oven.

Bake the croissants for 10 minutes, rotate the baking sheet, and reduce heat to 350 F. Continue to bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the croissants are cooked through and deeply golden brown.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Once cooled, sprinkle the croissants with powdered sugar, and serve.

Watkins shares a genius trick to make this croissant recipe easier on the pastry chef, but as she notes, "There's some culinary science at play when it comes to croissants." The flaky texture is a result of the technique employed to make them (even with some tweaks). "That layered butter and dough bit provides puff, crispness, and that coveted flakiness," Watkins explains and adds, "Without it, you'll end up with a sweet bread roll." Although the recipe calls for a fairly elaborate method, Watkins promises assures us that the reward is worth it. Plus, her creative method is less time-consuming than a traditional croissant recipe.  

You'll note that Watkins switches the oven temperature from 400 F to 350 F partway through cooking. "[This] is to keep the outside of the croissant from cooking and browning faster than the inside can bake and rise," she explains. "That first jolt of heat engages the butter, initiates the rise, and begins to crisp that outer layer. The reduction slows that browning and further allows those layers to form from the inside." We told you it was all science!

"Nutella is magic," Watkins raves — and there's not much to say to counter her opinion. Aside from the gustatory qualities, she points out that "It doesn't smush out during the baking process." On the other hand, she notes that other nut butters can have this result as they bake. If you're looking for an alternative but want to keep a similar flavor profile, Watkins suggests using pieces of unmelted bar chocolate.

Depending on what you want to stuff your croissants with, Watkins recommends, "Sometimes it is best to fill your croissants after baking them (unstuffed), piping filling into them or cutting them in half and creating a filled-sandwich-like croissant." This is a good option if you're looking to fill them with a nut butter that wouldn't have the desired effect in the oven. Meanwhile, if you're going for a croissant sandwich twist, Watkins says, "The sky is the limit ... whipped cream and berries, pastry cream (and dunked in chocolate — super yum), sweetened cream cheese and fruits, almond paste ... you name it!" You'll be a croissant-making pro once you try all the variations!