Bear Claws

These comport hook pastries are delicious. The dough mixes really easily (no kneading) together with the filling for the pastry is as as easy. The frustrating role is assembly. It is such a viscid dough, that it requires tons of flour on your counter together with yous accept to launder your hands together with utensils nearly every thirty seconds or thus to brand things run smoothly. Assembly is a piddling tricky together with requires patience; if yous tin tolerate that annoyance, the in conclusion production is worth it. This recipe makes nearly a dozen prissy size pastries, even thus the dough together with filling volition leave of absence along inwards the refrigerator for upwardly to iii days, thus yous practise non accept to bake them all at once.

PASTRY
1 loving cup butter
1 tablespoon of dry out active yeast
¼ loving cup warm water
¼ loving cup white sugar
3 eggs yolks
½ teaspoon salt
(1) pocket-size (5 ounce) tin evaporated milk
1 ½ cups all role flour
Melt the butter together with permit it cool downwardly to 110 degrees (should alone experience skillful together with warm to the touch, non hot). Dissolve yeast inwards ¼ loving cup warm water. Mix these 2 liquids together together with add together ¼ loving cup sugar, egg yolks, salt, evaporated milk, together with flour. Mix good together with comprehend amongst plastic roll together with chill inwards refrigerator at to the lowest degree 24 hours (or upwardly to iii days).

PASTRY FILLING
½ loving cup butter (room temperature)
1 + 1/3 cups unsifted powdered sugar
2/3 loving cup all-purpose flour
8 ounces (1 cup) almond paste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 egg whites
3/4 loving cup finely chopped almonds
Beat softened butter together with powdered saccharide until smooth. Add 2/3 loving cup flour together with almond paste. Beat amongst electrical mixer until crumbly together with evenly mixed; add together lemon zest together with 2 egg whites. Beat until smooth. Stir inwards ¾ loving cup finely chopped almonds. Cover amongst plastic roll together with chill until theatre (one to thee days).

ASSEMBLY
Put a prissy thick layer of flour on your counter together with rolling pivot (this dough is STICKY, but yous tin dust whatever excess flour off later, amongst a pastry brush). Roll the dough out to a 20” x 12” rectangle, keeping the edges as forthwith as possible. Cut the dough (length-wise) into iii sections, each nearly 4” wide.

Flour your counter together with hands together with gyre the almond filling into iii 20” “ropes” (the diameter of your thumb). Keep washing your hands because the filling is viscid too! Lay i of the “ropes” inwards the middle of each 20” dough strip together with flatten it simply a little. Fold the dough over the “rope”, matching the other (cut) edge. Cut each filled 20” strip into 4” pastries (brush excess flour off amongst a pastry brush) together with lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet. With a precipitous knife, cutting 3 slits inwards each pastry.

 
Flour your knife thus it does non stick to the dough together with wipe it off often). Use the tip of the knife to dissever the “claws” a little. Lightly vanquish the remaining egg white together with brush over the comport claws. move yesteryear amongst sliced almonds together with sprinkle amongst sanding sugar. Let pastries enhance for 45 minutes together with and thus bake inwards preheated 375° oven for xv minutes. Cool on wire rack. Makes nearly a dozen.

NOTE: I promise I accept non scared yous away from this recipe. It actually is no harder than a elementary piecrust, but I felt it alone fair to warn yous nearly the viscid dough.
NOTE: I position a elementary glaze on unopen to of the pastries together with unopen to I left plain. If yous accept problem finding sanding saccharide (it actually adds a especial shine together with “finish” to baked goods), cheque Wal-Marts baking isle, close the sprinkles. They sell a Wiltons large grain transparent sprinkle that volition run simply as well.