The texture of these almond croissant cookies is like a slightly sweet scone. The cookie is crumbly in a way that mimics a croissant that shatters when you bite into it. The dough is made with half almond meal for this effect. The flavor of these cookies tastes nearly identical to a flaky almond croissant from the bakery! that is because we are stuffing each cookie with a small ball of almond paste. The almond paste is in a jar that you can find in the baking aisle, I promise! You just didn’t know it was there because you haven’t looked for it before. That is, unless you have made my authentic kolaches and used it for a filling option.
How to Make Almond Croissant Cookies
We’re going to make a dry, crumbly cookie dough, mix some canned almond paste with a small amount of powdered sugar, and then stuff it inside each cookie dough ball. After a quick chill time, top these cookies with sliced almonds (just like almond croissants at the bakery), and bake. It’s love at first bite. This dough is based on my hazelnut cookies, because they have the scone-like, flaky texture that I wanted here to mimc croissants.
The Ingredients
Almond Flour. This is not the same as almond meal, which contains the skins. Almond flour is blanched (peeled) almonds ground finely into a fluffy pale yellow powder. It’s what makes the texture of these cookies crumbly and flaky. Flour. Regular, all-purpose flour, not pastry flour. Sugar. One-third cup of granulated white sugar. Salt. A small pinch of sea salt to balance flavors. Baking Soda. This provides lift and fluff to our almond croissant cookies. Baking Powder. We’re also using baking powder for tall cookies that don’t spread much. We want these to mostly hold their shape. Butter. Half a stick (2 ounces) of unsalted butter, kept cold, not softened. Heavy Cream. Using ¼ cup of heavy cream in the cookie dough is what makes these cookies soft and flaky. Egg Yolk. Just the egg yolk, not the entire egg, please! Save the egg white to make my banana sheet cake next time. Sliced Almonds. I’m using sliced almonds with the skins on them, because that is what you commonly see on almond croissants at the bakery. This is not the same as slivered almonds, which are peeled and thicker-sliced. Almond Paste. In the baking aisle, there is a small can or tube of almond paste. Here is what the box looks like when it comes in a tube. Here is what it looks like when it comes in a little box that holds a tightly sealed silver bag. For the record, I tested this recipe with the box, and my recipe tester used the tube, so both work! Powdered Sugar.
The Instructions
These are pretty dusted with powdered sugar before serving, too.
