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Almond Bear Claws

By AZPARZYCH on July 06, 2010

Photo by MizEmerilLagasse

1 Reviews

Photo by MizEmerilLagasse

About This Recipe

"These are my favorite pastries; found online so now I can make them at home!"

In a large bowl, beat almond paste with an electric mixer to break it apart. Add the almonds, sugar, and salt; continue to mix until the almond paste is no longer lumpy. Stir in the butter, egg whites, almond extract and amaretto liqueur on high speed until its as fluffy as you can get it. Set aside.
Using half of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle that is about 8 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick.
Trim the edges of the dough. Cut the dough in half lengthwise to make two 4 inch wide strips.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Fill a pastry bag halfway with the almond filling and pipe a stripe of filling down the center of each strip.
Whisk together the egg and water.
Brush onto one edge of each strip. Fold each strip over the filling and press gently to seal it.
Brush each piece with egg wash and sprinkle sliced almonds over the top.
Cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces, then cut 1/2 inch slits into the sealed edge to make the ''claws''.
Place the bear claws at least two inches apart on baking sheets Refrigerate and repeat with the second half of the dough
Bake in the preheated oven until almonds are toasted and pastry is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool and dust with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

No Notes

Serving Size: 1 (88 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 24

"These were very tasty however the almond filling was a bit bland. I don't prefer many pastries to be overly sweet, and therefore know my taste buds aren't weakened, but in this case there wasn't even enough sweetness to bring out the full flavor of the bear claws. I feel that if I would make this again I would either add more almond paste to the filling or make a light glaze/icing for the tops of the bear claws. For this batch I will just eat them with a little honey (it's totally awesome). To say the good things about this recipe now I will start by talking about how much fun they were to make. I have never made bear claws before so I was a bit nervous to take them on, but everything went smoothly and ended very well. The directions are very clear so anyone who doesn't normally make pastries should be able to follow them with ease and make a great product. I'll be attaching photos as soon as I can get them off of my sisters camera. Made with my [recipe=435428]Flaky Squares[/recipe] dough for the 08/10 Newest Zaar Tag."

By MizEmerilLagasse on August 30, 2010 | 1142825