BREAKFAST PASTRIES Recipe

Ingredients

Breakfast Pastries
to almond-filled Bear Claws are perfect for holiday brunches or other special occasions. They take some time to make, but they're better than almost any bakery's Danish.
1 1. 1. Use the Blitz Puff Pastry recipe and the Almond Bear Claw filling. Before you begin, the butter should be a cool room temperature, almost waxy, but not too soft.
3 3. to Roll it out into a long rectangle. (Do the best you can with dough that's falling apart.) If the dough is just too dry to work with, moisten your hands with water and pat the surface of the dough.
4 4. to Fold it in thirds, like a business letter. Wrap it well in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour. This will help the flour absorb moisture in the dough, will allow the gluten to relax, and will keep the butter cool.
6 6. to If the dough is still cool and the butter isn't sticking to the work surface, you can repeat the process: turn the dough so the folded side faces you, and roll it out again. Fold into thirds, wrap well, and refrigerate.
If the dough is too warm, you'll smash the layers together, so err on the side of caution--refrigerate the dough for half an hour between the second and third turns, if necessary.
7 7. to When the dough has had its final fold and has rested at least half an hour, you can begin to assemble the pastries. Divide the dough in half, re-wrapping and refrigerating one piece.
8 1/4 the dough into a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick.
to to sharp knife or pastry wheel to trim the edges: you need a clean, sharp edge for the dough to puff properly.
Cut the dough into two four-inch-wide strips.
to any scraps to make Elephant Ears: combine pieces into a ball and roll out into ovals. Brush with egg wash, top with cinnamon sugar, and bake.)
8 8. to Brush egg wash along top half inch or so of each strip. Don't let it drip over the cut edges of the dough; you don't want to seal the layers together.
Pipe almond filling down the center of each strip, or shape the filling by hand into little logs and place them along the pastry about two inches apart.
9 9. to Fold the top half down over the filling and press gently to seal. Again, take care with the cut edges of the dough: don't smash the two together.
10 10. 3- to 4-inch pastry with egg wash; top with sliced almonds. Cut each strip into individual 3- to 4-inch pastries.
12 12. to Arrange pastries on parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently spread the "toes" to separate them.
Refrigerate and repeat with second half of the dough.
to the pastries refrigerated until your oven is preheated and you're ready to bake.
to bear claws may also be frozen, well wrapped in plastic, for up to three months.
to pastries to a wire rack and let cool. Dust bear claws with powdered sugar and serve. They're best eaten the day that they're made.

Preparation

Step 1

As above.