Easy Almond Croissants

Buttery, lightly sweetened croissants, filled with almond frangipane and whole almonds, baked to a just- crispy-enough finish.  It's so easy to make this French pastry to eat for your own petit dejuener!

Do you remember the first time you bit into a croissant, a French crispy one and the realization that struck: This is a different kind of roll with 55 layers of butter alternating with bread - but whose counting.

And once you made that discovery, did you wonder what else they make with this incredible construction. Are there sweet versions perhaps with say, apples (pomme de choux) or chocolate (pain au chocolate). Perhaps something nutty and sweet ? Voila! - Almond Croissants (croissants aux amandes). The frangipane filling and topping, pair so well with the almonds. An anonymous baker centuries ago happily made that love match.

If you’ve never had the pleasure and want to give one a try, this is a much simpler version than the traditional French bakery variety and saves on airfare as it uses already-made croissants. (Whew! ) Warning: Only try making the croissants themselves if you enjoy a baking challenge (and some of us do!)

Dipping the croissant halves into simple syrup, adds a boost of sweetness and in the baking, helps crisp up the whole, lacquering the exteriors with a sweet sheen, making the pastry crunchy on the outside just as they should be and tender in the middle!

French pastries are often on my mind, particularly when I haven't been to France for a while and get a hankering for croissants. There are few bakeries in the states that understand how a perfectly laminated bread, tender in the middle, and crispy on the exterior are created. The problem doesn't seem to be as much in the creation as in the storing. In French boulangeries, croissants are never packaged in plastic, which cause them to go soft and lose their crunch, but from open shelves in paper bags. There is a great bakery in Portland, Maine that gets it and so when there I first eat a plain croissant, then an almond one and then a pain au chocolat. But even if your croissants come packaged in plastic, this quick easy recipe will crisp them up and fill them with this incredible almond frangipane with just enough of a sweet crunch and plenty of almonds on the outside.

Easy Almond Croissants

8 one-day-old medium/large croissants, left at room temperature, uncovered, overnight

1/2 cup sliced almonds

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or rum flavoring

1 cup water

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 1/3 cups almond meal/almond flour, or 1 cup whole or slivered blanched almonds

1/8 tsp salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, (1 1/4 sticks) room temperature, sliced

2 large eggs

powdered sugar for dusting

For the Syrup:

-In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 3 tablespoons sugar and vanilla or rum flavoring. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat for a about 2 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

For Almond Filling:

-If using whole almonds: combine 2/3 cup sugar, 1 cup almonds and 1/8 tsp salt in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until finely ground. Add the butter, and mix again until well blended. Add the eggs one at time and process on high speed until creamy and fluffy.

(If using almond meal or almond flour: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine 2/3 cup sugar, 1 1/3 cups almond meal and 1/8 tsp salt. Mix until well incorporated, then blend in the butter. Finally add the eggs 1 at a time and mix on med/high speed until the whole mixture is creamy and fluffy.)

Assembling Croissants:

-Preheat the oven to 350° degrees F . Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

-When ready to use croissants, slice each horizontally as you would for a sandwich.

-Taking half a croissant at a time, dip it into the cool syrup, once on each side, coating both sides and the ends well. The croissant should be quite moist but not dripping with syrup.

-Arrange the croissants halves on a baking dish, cut sides up. Spread about 2 1/2 tablespoons of almond filling on the bottom half of each croissant. Place the top halves on the bottom half and spread and spread another generous tablespoon of almond filling over the top. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

-Bake on the center rack for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cream is golden but before the tops turn too brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature or just warm. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. These are best served the same day they are made. Makes 8 almond croissants.

Process, almonds or almond meal with sugar, butter and eggs until light and thickened.

Dip each croissant half into cooled simple sugar mixture to lightly moisten.

Spead frangipane (almond, butter, sugar, egg mixture) on the bottom half of each croissant.

Place the top halves on the bottoms halves then spead more frangipane on top.

Sprinkle the tops generously with sliced almonds.

Bake until frangipane is bubbly and the croissants are slightly browned.

Ready to try one for breakfast.....or lunch.....or dessert?  Beautifully delicious and easy to make.

PERSNICKETY NOTES:

**Yes, you can make your own croissants to use for the almond croissants but just be sure to plan to start a couple of days ahead. Croissants are an exacting task master, and though fun to make, they do require at least a day and an observant patient baker to succeed in true French boulangerie style. Then you need to allow 8 hours or overnight to dry out your croissants to then transform them to Almond Croissants.

**Pet peave - buying croissants in the U.S. When you buy fresh croissants at a bakery or boulangerie in France, they are never stored or placed in plastic bags, but in paper bags from an open display. The plastic causes them to become soft, losing all the lamination that required hours and precise folding technique, to create. So if making your own, do not cover them or seal them but let them stay out on the counter or in a pastry box or paper bag. But only place them in those when they are completely cool. You can always crisp them up again by placing them in a 300 degree oven for about 10 minutes, but they still aren’t as great as the fresh ones off the bakery shelf. There are some bakeries in the U.S. that get it - one in Portland, Maine stands out to me, but then I’m only occasionally in Maine. But again, that’s probably as often as I should eat them - occasionally!