Almond Croissants

By norsegal8

Almond croissants are made exactly like plain croissants, except that instead of tucking a scrap of dough into the belly of the croissant, you use a spoonful of almond filling. After giving the croissants their second coating of egg wash, you can sprinkle a few sliced almonds over the top for decoration.

Ingredients

• THE FILLING
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup finely ground almonds, preferrably a combination of blanched and unblanched
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablepoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Preparation

Step 1

Put the butter, almonds and powdered sugar into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse and process until creamy and blended. Add the cornstarch and slmond extract and pulse until the filling forms a ball that rides on the blade. Scrape the filling out of the bowl, wrap in plastic and chill until firm, an hour or two.
When ready to use, instead of scraps of dough, fill each croissant with 1 tablespoon of almond filling molded into a football shape, and proceed to shape the rest of the croissants and allow to rise. Bake following croissant instructions.