The Most Brilliant Thing You Can Do with Trader Joe’s Frozen Croissants
The frozen chocolate croissants from Trader Joe’s have been a grocery store favorite for a long time now. They’re impossibly easy to make: You simply pull them out of the freezer to proof overnight, and then bake them in the morning. One package includes four croissants, and they cost $4.99 — which is a steal, if you’ve ever bought fresh croissants from a bakery. In a story for Kitchn, writer Kate Oczypok even said that they were “the closest-tasting to true Parisian croissants that I’ve ever had.”
It’s hard to imagine the TJ’s frozen croissants could be more perfect, but I recently found out this pastry has a hidden talent. In a recent post on the “Trader Joe’s meal ideas for busy moms” Facebook group, Jennifer Hunter Hawtrey shared an idea for turning these famous frozen croissants into shareable rolls.
How to Turn Frozen Chocolate Croissants into Rolls
Jennifer said she got the idea from other people in the Trader Joe’s Facebook group, namely Rithy Yip, who first posted the idea back in January. According to her post, she took the package of four croissants out of the freezer and let them thaw for 15 minutes before cutting each of them into four equal pieces. The mini croissants proof in a round baking dish overnight and then get baked like normal in the morning. The result is a dish full of the miniature chocolate pastries, all beautifully arranged.
Although Jennifer didn’t mention this in her post, it looks like she added a little powdered sugar on top of her rolls after they were done baking. It’s a small touch that makes the breakfast hack feel extra special. You could also kick it up a notch with an egg wash and a sprinkle of chopped nuts before baking, or by frosting them with a light icing when they come out of the oven.