I love croissants. And when I found out I can make them (easily!) with puff pastry, I was all in. I love them plain, with chocolate, nutella, but there's something about the simple almond flavor that pairs so nicely with the buttery, flaky pastry. These are so easy to make, and so delicious - perfect with a cup of tea or coffee for breakfast!
Here's how to make them:
Ingredients
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed (or you can make your own puff pastry!)
4 TBS (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold
1 egg + 1 TSP water, lightly beaten
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup room temp water
1 TSP almond extract
4 oz. almond paste (I like the Odense brand)
1/3 cup sliced almonds
powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400° F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (you may need 2, depending on the size of your baking sheet).
Put one sheet of puff pastry on a hard surface or silicone baking mat.
Grate the cold butter onto the dough, making sure it's evenly distributed over the entire surface.
Put the second puff pastry sheet on top of the buttered dough.
Use a rolling pin to roll it out to a rectangle about double the size, ideally 15"W. You may need to trim the edges to get a perfect rectangle.
Cut the pastry in half, width-wise.
For each rectangle, measure 5" across the top of each sheet, marking it with a tiny notch. You should have 3 notches. Mark notches along the bottom at 2 1/2" apart.
Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut out the triangles by connecting the notches across the top with those on the bottom. You should end up with 6 full triangles, and two half triangles (on the ends). Here's a good video that explains how to cut the triangles. TIP: make mini croissants with the half triangles!
Make a small cut at the center of the base of each triangle (the opposite end of the point).
Add about a teaspoon of almond paste to the base of the triangle.
Roll up the croissants from the base, bend the tip so it's underneath and bend the ends towards each other to get the crescent shape.
Place the croissants on the baking sheet(s) about 2" apart and brush the tops with the egg wash.
Bake for 10 minutes.
While the croissants are baking, heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.
Once dissolved, remove it from the heat, let it cool slightly, and stir in the almond extract.
After 10 minutes, remove the croissants and brush them (I use a pastry brush) with the sugar/almond syrup, then press the sliced almonds onto the dough. You can brush more almond syrup on them at this point too!
Bake for another 10 minutes until they turn golden brown and the almonds are toasted.
Remove them from the oven and brush the tops again with the almond/sugar syrup. Let cool, and sift powdered sugar on top. Enjoy!
Did you make them? Share pics in the comments!