How To Bake Trader Joe's Frozen Chocolate Croissants Even Faster

Trader Joe's is known for bright Hawaiian shirts and great deals on delicious food. From their well-stocked produce department to soft drinks and candy, Trader Joe's has it all. One area where the chain really shines is its expansive menu of frozen foods. Every fan has their shortlist of the best Trader Joe's snacks, but we're here specifically to talk about their super popular frozen chocolate croissants.

The downside to their chocolate croissants is the prep time. The instructions call for the frozen pastries to rest (also known as proofing) for nine hours. Who has nine hours to make frozen croissants? There's a shortcut to the process — all you need is to use the oven to proof those croissants faster and an air fryer to finish them off. Instead of waiting ten hours to dig in, you can have the croissants ready to go and on the table in just over two.

There are two key parts to quick, delicious chocolate croissants from Trader Joe's. The first step is using the kitchen oven to proof the croissants. Proofing refers to the act of letting pastries rest and rise before baking, and it's integral in making baked goods fluffy and delicious. According to Half Scratched, to proof the croissants faster than the recommended nine hours, you can place them about 4 inches apart on a baking sheet and let them rest in a 90-degree oven for just two hours.

The time in the oven should have those croissants looking about twice their previous size. Once they've rested, they're ready to head to the air fryer. Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees and place your croissants inside. Set the timer for 15 minutes and check them for completion. If they aren't perfectly golden, let them cook for another 5 minutes. This method could save you another 10 minutes from the 25 minutes required for oven baking. As delicious as they look, though, let them cool for a few minutes before biting into them — they'll be quite hot.

Losing seven hours of prep time is awesome when you're looking to have delicious chocolate croissants as quickly as possible. You might be inspired to skip the proofing phase altogether, but it won't end well. Taking those croissants right from the freezer to the air fryer is a surefire way to have an unevenly cooked croissant. It also won't have the characteristic fluffy texture that croissants are known for, as the dough will cook before it has a chance to warm up and rise.

Your kitchen oven offers a perfect alternative for at-home proofing, whether it's Trader Joe's chocolate croissants on the menu or some other tasty treat. Not only can you employ this trick with other frozen pastries and snacks, but it can seriously elevate your from-scratch baked goods too. The next time you want to enjoy a good pastry without leaving the house to hit the bakery, the oven and air fryer duo will make sure you're not missing out.