#FoodieExtravaganza ~ Pain Au Chocolat

 

It's Foodie Extravaganza Day and this month's theme is Croissants, although some will be using the Crescent Roll. This month's host is Kathleen from Fearlessly Creative Mammas.  What is Food Extravaganza? It's when a group of bloggers get together and make a recipe using one main ingredient. Where do we get the ingredient? We look at The Nibble and pick something off of their list. Croissants are actually celebrated on January 30th, but it's in January, so it's fair game. You can check out our group Pinterest board for past recipes. If you're a blogger, you can join along with us by requesting to join on our Facebook page. Now, on to the goodness.

Tuesday evening rolled around... I hadn't made the from scratch pain au chocolat over the previous weekend as planned... then new furniture arrived that needed to be put together, the kitchen had to be reorganized, drawers had to be gone through, trash thrown out, things put away... etc., etc., etc. I actually did get the initial dough created... and then realized how time consuming all the steps in between are with chilling, turning, chilling, turning... yeah. That wasn't happening last night... soon - maybe??

In the mean time, I did have a sheet of puff pastry in my freezer which was whipped out and thawed, cut into a few rectangles, and quickly transformed into beautiful, flaky, chocolate stuffed treats! Here is the incredibly quick and easy version of a pain au chocolat that you could definitely whip up without breaking a sweat for a lovely brunch, breakfast treat to enjoy with your favorite latte, or a special dessert any night of the week... even a crazy busy one involving an active toddler, assembling new furniture, assisting your 17-year old (who is now nearly 3 months out from his stroke!) with a shower, and sorting and organizing a corner of your kitchen... to name a few things.

Want to make real pain au chocolat from scratch? I was hoping to - but life has other plans... a LOT lately... A great video to show the process all the way through is here. The one I originally intended to make was: Pain Au Chocolat from Grace's Sweet Life.

All the lovely croissant inspired recipes this month:

Beefy Green Chile Braid by Fearlessly Creative Mammas
Pain Au Jambon by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Pain Au Chocolat by Making Miracles
Sausage, Egg and Cheese Croissant with Maple Dijon Sauce by Tara's Multicultural Table
Cinnamon and Apple Croissant Bread Pudding by The Freshman Cook
Chocolate Croissants by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Croque Monsieur Croissants by Caroline's Cooking
Almond Croissant French Toast by Sew You Can Cook
Bacon Fig Dippers for Melty Cheese by Cooking with Carlee
Triple Meat Croissants Breakfast Casserole by Cookin' and Craftin'
Coronation Chicken Horns by Food Lust People Love
Breakfast Croissant Ring by Our Good Life
Baked Cinnamon Raisin Croissant French Toast from From Gate to Plate

Pain Au Chocolat from Epicurious

Ingredients
1 sheet puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm)
1 egg, beaten
1.5 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet good chocolate (I used Theo's)

Directions

1. Prepare a baking sheet with a silpat or other nonstick baking mat.
2. Cut thawed pastry sheet into 6 pieces. Brush pastry with egg wash.
3. Lay a baton or thin row of chocolate at the edge of one piece, and roll dough around it. 
4. Place rolled pain on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Duplicate for remaining pieces of chocolate and dough.
5. Brush completed pain au chocolats with additional eggwash.
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
7. Serve warm or room temp with a good cup of coffee.