Ready for one of the best chocolate treats? It’s time for a Chocolate Butterhorn, a yeast roll filled with chocolate, similar to a chocolate croissant. They are perfect for freezing which makes them perfect for snacking — anytime.
Serve them as part of a Holiday Brunch on a Budget or include them in a Lunchtime Meal Prep for a fun sweet treat. Pair them with Easter Bunny Cinnamon Rolls for a fun spring breakfast or addition to the Easter Dessert table.
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If you’re someone who…
… finds yourself slowing down in the bakery aisle of your grocery store?
… can smell the tantalizing aroma of baked rolls and chocolate a mile away?
… crave a sweet treat on the weekends?
Then it may be time to try your hand at homemade chocolate butterhorn pastries. I promise it’s not hard. I once shook in my boots at the idea of making homemade dough. Not anymore.
And this recipe for Chocolate Butterhorn Pastries is a great one to try out.
Why Make This
It’s super easy. Chocolate Butterhorn Pastries are yeast rolls that come together quickly and easily. You can make the dough in a stand mixer, in a bread machine, or even in a mixing bowl with a spoon.
Chocolate Butterhorn Pastries are very freezer-friendly. These chocolate-laden rolls freeze beautifully – as all yummy baked goods should — and make for a delicious addition to any breakfast, brunch, snack, or dessert table.
They are great for parties. These Butterhorns are top for entertaining. Need more ideas? Check out our 40+ Easy Brunch Ideas & Recipes.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make a batch of Chocolate Butterhorn Pastries:
milk – You can use whatever milk you like, dairy or plant-based, keeping in mind that the higher the fat content the richer flavor your chocolate butterhorn will have.
butter – Butter is a key ingredient in the Chocolate Butterhorn. I use regular dairy butter, but you can use a plant-based butter if you prefer.
sugar – You’ll need two kinds of sugar for this recipe, granulated for the dough and coarser demerara sugar for sprinkling on the finished chocolate butterhorn rolls. You can also sprinkle the tops with colored sprinkles if you like.
active dry yeast – Active dry yeast is what makes these butterhorn rolls light and fluffy. Don’t omit it.
eggs – Eggs add richness to the dough. You don’t really want to make a butterhorn roll without eggs. It really adds to the flavor.
flour – I use unbleached, all-purpose flour, but you can use regular as well as whole wheat pastry flour if that is what you have.
salt – Salt is key in yeast doughs, don’t leave it out.
chocolate chips – You can use chocolate chips (mini or regular) as well as chocolate chunks in these Chocolate Butterhorn Rolls.
whipping cream or half and half – Just a little cream or half and half brushed on the butterhorns prior to baking gives them a shine and helps the sugar or sprinkles stick to them.
Variation
If you want to fast track this recipe, you can substitute the dough ingredients and use refrigerator crescent rolls instead. The flavor of the roll is, of course, very different but it’s a quick and easy short cut.
Step-by-Step Instructions
The process of preparing Chocolate Butterhorns is fairly simple. Here’s how to do it:
1. Prepare the yeast dough and allow it to rise until doubled in bulk. You can make the dough really easily in a bread machine or stand mixer.
2. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Roll each portion into a large round. Cut the round into 8 equal portions.
3. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the surface of each wedge. Roll up each wedge, starting with the bottom of the triangle. Lay the rolls out on a lined tray, brush them with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar or sprinkles. Bake until golden. Cool on a rack. Enjoy!
FAQs & Recipe Costs
A butterhorn roll is a soft, flaky pastry in the shape of a crescent. Basically, a homemade version of those refrigerator crescent rolls you buy in a can. Only better! One source says that they are Austrian in origin and that the crescent shape is to symbolize the removal of the Ottoman empire from the region. I could only find one source who claimed that though, so if you can confirm this, please do!
Pain au chocolat is a flaky, French pastry filled with chocolate, usually in the shape of a rectangle. It’s made with the same type dough as a traditional croissant so it is often called a chocolate croissant, in English.
A chocolate butterhorn is similar to a pain au chocolat or chocolate croissant, but not exactly. The dough of a butterhorn is rich and buttery, but you won’t find the same type of layers in the pastry. It’s flaky, but not quite as flaky as a croissant.
I’ve adapted this Butterhorn Recipe to become CHOCOLATE BUTTERHORNS.
Baked chocolate butterhorns are great for freezing. Bake and cool completely on a rack. Then store in an airtight container in the freezer. To thaw, simply pull out as many rolls as you would like to serve and set them on a plate at room temperature. The rolls will thaw in about 20 to 30 minutes.
This recipe makes 32 rolls, meaning one batch should stock your freezer for a few weeks. Or help you host one fantastic coffee klatch.
Reheat the thawed rolls in a 300 degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until warm.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- milk – $0.17
- butter – $0.75
- granulated sugar – $0.11
- active dry yeast – $0.33
- eggs – $0.30
- flour – $0.88
- salt – $0.01
- chocolate chips – $2.00
- whipping cream – $0.17
- Demerara sugar – $0.11
While your costs may vary depending on where and how you shop, you can expect to pay about $4.83 for a big batch of Chocolate Butterhorn Pastries, about $ /serving.
How to make this good and cheap:
You know I don’t typically want to make something if I can’t make it good as well as cheap. Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of flour, butter, and sugars can help keep the price down. And of course, stock up on chocolate when they’re at a great price!
- Buying in bulk – It’s rare that I would buy a small bag of flour. I hedge my bets by buying in bulk. I also have gotten into the habit of buying cases of flour from Bob’s Red Mill or VitaCost so that I always have baking supplies on hand. If the grocery store has a sale, I stock up!
- Load up on post-holiday clearance specials. You’ll find great deals on colored sugars and sprinkles after holidays. There are lots of ways to use holiday baking items creatively. Remember that chocolate candies can be chopped up and substituted for the chocolate chips in this recipe.
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Chocolate Butterhorn Pastries
Equipment
- stand mixer
- bread machine
- bench knife
- rolling pin
- cutting board
- heavy duty sheet pan
- parchment paper
- wire rack
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup butter cubed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast heaping
- 2 egg beaten
- 4– 4 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Rolls
- 2 cup chocolate chips depending on how chocolatey you want them
- 2 tablespoon whipping cream or half and half
- 2 tablespoon demerara sugar or colored sprinkles
Instructions
To make the dough in a bread machine:
- Combine all dough ingredients in the pan of your bread machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Set on the dough cycle and start machine.
To make the dough in a stand mixer:
- Warm the milk and melt the butter (in the microwave or in a pot on the stove). Stir in the sugar to dissolve. If the mixture is very hot, allow this to cool to 110 degrees.
- Transfer this mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Allow this to proof for five minutes.
- Add the eggs, flour, and salt to the bowl. Knead with the dough hook until a sticky dough forms. Allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
To make the dough by hand:
- Follow the stand mixer instructions until it’s time to knead. Stir the dough with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are incorporated. The dough will be very sticky.
To assemble the rolls:
- When the dough is ready, transfer it onto a floured surface, divide it into four equal parts. Shape each part into a tight round.
- Roll each part into a 12-inch circle and cut each circle into 8 wedges. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the surface of each wedge. Roll each wedge like a crescent roll, starting with the bottom of the triangle and ending with the point.
- Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
To bake immediately:
- Place the rolls, point down on the prepared baking sheets. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 °. Brush with the cream and sprinkle with the coarse sugar or sprinkles. Bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.
To make the rolls to freeze ahead of baking:
- After rolling, place the rolls on a lined tray and place the tray in the freezer for a hour or two. Once they are frozen stiff, place them in freezer bags and store in the freezer until needed.
- To bake: Place the frozen rolls on prepared sheet. Allow to thaw and rise for five hours or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 °, brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar and then bake the rolls for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on April 28, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Jennie M.
I have a couple of questions. At what point do you add the cubed butter? Can you use breadmachine yeast? Also can you freeze the dough without rolling it out? I have a chicken roll-up recipe that I normally use canned cressant rolls for and this dough might be a good substitute instead. Thank you.
Jessica Fisher
I add the cubed butter with the rest of the ingredients. Yes, bread machine yeast “should be fine,” though I haven’t tried it. I have never frozen it without rolling it. I would only let it rise about 30 minutes if I was going to try that, though. Let it do most of the rising as it thaws? And yes, I think it’s a great sub for crescent roll dough.
Tracy
One word. YUMMY!!!!!!
Cathie
ok, I made these last night and they are delicious! My kids and hubs love the chocolate but I think next time I may roll a pre-cooked turkey sausage link into them instead! Maybe had a tiny square of cheese. Has anyone tried that? The rolls is VERY similar to a dinner roll recipe I had from a girlfriend of mine, only instead of rolling out into a circle it calls for splitting the dough into 12 small balls, letting it rise in a greased 13×9, brushing with butter then baking until brown. I am sure you could do that with this same recipe. It makes awesome rolls for sloppy joes or sliders!
Jessica Fisher
@Cathie, savory butterhorns sound great! Mmmmm… sausage and cheese, bacon and cheese? Yum!
jan
for smaller batch ‘cheat-dom’, I’ve also used “tube biscuits” and rolled them out flatter. Tube biscuits are only in my fridge when they’ve been on serious sale and I have good coupons. Since I’m only trying to make them for myself, the smaller batch works. I sprinkle the flat-cuits with cinnamon sugar or orange zest to keep the chocolate company.
Stacy
Question, if you freeze them for later and they have to thaw/rise for five hours. Can you leave them in the fridge overnight to have for breakfast???????
Jessica Fisher
@Stacy, yes. And if I stay up late and get up early, I just leave them on the counter.
Amber
These are ridiculously good! Oh my gosh! I made a big batch today (used Crystal’s recipe), and I got about 60 rolls out of it. I did half regular and half with chocolate chips & the cinnamon/sugar topping. They are so good, I’ve already had 4. This is the first time I’ve even attempted to make yeast bread in over 2 years (and I was never an expert or anything before that), and I thought the recipe was pretty easy for a novice. Thank you so much for sharing.
Camellia
“Heaven…. I’m in heaven….” Made these for a ladies tea- of course had to sample them first! I’m speechless… fluffy, tender, melt-in-your-mouth heaven!
Sarah
Made these to celebrate all the important women in my life in honor of Mother’s Day. I added melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar on top as you suggested. Husband sneaked 6 in less than 24 hours!! He wants me to make these again with a flavored cream cheese in the middle (onion or garlic). Anyone think this would work?
Jennifer
These are crazy good, and easy too. We baked most of the batch, but froze one pan of rolls for later. Yum! Thank you for adapting this for the bread machine. The dough is super easy to work with, and my family loves them. Will have to follow a previous poster’s suggestion and try with cinnamon chips too.
Jan
I actually own a bread machine, but sometimes go for the easy way. One of my friends calls it “disco” cooking. Crescent rolls can be a good cheap find if the store has them on sale or there’s a good coupon. Mine had their house-brand crescent tubes at $1 this week. The $1 makes the ‘no coupon’ easier.
What I did yesterday:
“Fancy-full Crescents”
Put a dab of raspberry jam and a teaspoon of mini chocolate chips on each, rolled and baked them.
The raspberry and choc flavor made it a nice treat.
Anna
I made these for a friends jewlwery party tonight they were a HUGE hit! They are definitly a favorite! Have extra in the freezer for a beach trip…can’t wait!
Becky
I made these this morning and they are incredible! Question for all of you that have made them: did you use all purpose flour or bread flour? I used bread flour and I’m wondering if this is why they seem so large. I let mine double in size but they doubled in size again when I cooked them. Either way they are delicious. Thanks for creating/ sharing the recipe Jessica!
anne marie
OK, question…..I’ve never used my bread machine for dough but really want to try these. When looking at my manual for dough it gives me the option for a “knead” cycle or a “knead and first rise” cycle. Which would I want for these rolls?
Also, my machine has different quantities for the ingredients, do I use your recipe or use my manual’s guide?
Jessica Fisher
@anne marie, yours sounds like a complicated machine, huh? Well, this should be suitable for any machine that can handle 2 pounds. I would choose “knead and 1st rise.” But, my machine just has “dough” so don’t quote me on that. This is a great book to learn about Bread Machines: http://astore.amazon.com/lifeasmom-20/detail/155832156X
Angela
I made these last night, and OH. MY. GOODNESS. They are delicious. Definitely a keeper.
Janell Poulette
We live in Mexico City and a tube of crescent rolls cost about $5 – not really in a missionary’s budget 🙂 They are rising right now and I cannot wait to try them!!
Andrea
Yes to the nutella! It is SO tasty.
Another way we make these here at home is to take almond pie filling (NOT PASTE!), and spread that gently on the roll, then roll it, and bake. Top with a milk/powdered sugar glaze. Enjoy. 🙂
We just make sure we make small butterhorns, otherwise they are super, super rich. Oh, and add a bit of vanilla to that glaze.
Flora
I bet these would be good with Nutella instead of chocolate chips. Thanks for the recipe. We’ll be trying them soon.
Annie M.
I made your recipe before dinner last night. My kids and I loved the chocolate butterhorns! And, we brushed them with butter & cinnamon/sugar mix. Fantastic addition! I’ve giving some to my kid’s teachers today so we don’t eat them all. Thanks for the great recipe!
Megan
How long do they need to rise if you don’t freeze them first?
Jessica Fisher
Until doubled in bulk.
Julie
Instead of chocolate chips, I think these would be DELICIOUS with a little Nutella spread on them!