Puff Pastry Straws with Cinnamon-Nut Seasoning
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Yield
Makes 5-6 dozen
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, about 9 ounces (255 grams)20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)1 teaspoon table salt 6 tablespoons cold water, plus a tablespoon more, if necessaryFilling
1 large egg, beatenkosher salt 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ cup ground almonds (or other nuts)Before You Begin
This dough will keep in the freezer for at least three months. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap, then seal in zipper lock bag. Thaw by placing in refrigerator overnight. Illustrations for shaping the straws and other forms can be found in the related Illustrated How to Guide, "Making Puff Pastries."
Instructions
- Place flour in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade; add the 4 tablespoons butter; pulse until butter is absorbed, about 10 to 12 pulses of 1 second each
- Add remaining butter; pulse once or twice to distribute. Dissolve salt in water and add to flour mixture; pulse 3 or 4 times, until dough just starts to form a rough ball (see illustration 1, below) - do not overprocess. If mixture remains very dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time and pulse again.
- Turn dough onto floured work surface and shape into rough rectangle, then place on top of sheet of well-floured plastic wrap measuring at least 12-by-18 inches. Lightly flour top of dough and cover with another sheet of wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make 12-by-18-inch rectangle of dough.
- Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough onto floured work surface, long side facing you. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold top third of dough down and bottom third up (illustration 2) to make 4-by-18-inch rectangle, then roll up dough from one end (illustration 3). Press dough into square, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
- On a floured surface, roll puff pastry into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Slide onto a pan and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and brush dough with egg beaten with a pinch of salt. Combine sugar, nuts, and cinnamon and sprinkle over half the dough's surface, then fold dough over topping to form a 12-by-9-inch rectangle. Lightly flour surface and dough; roll dough back into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Refrigerate dough, if necessary.
- Cut the dough into about 36, 12-by-2-inch strips. Twist each strip into a corkscrew shape. Transfer twisted dough strips to parchment-lined jelly-roll pans. Chill until firm and cold, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake straws until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and trim ends. Halve straws to make 5-inch lengths.
Yield
Makes 5-6 dozenIngredients
Puff Pastry
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, about 9 ounces (255 grams)
20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)
1 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons cold water, plus a tablespoon more, if necessary
Filling
1 large egg, beaten
kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup ground almonds (or other nuts)
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, about 9 ounces (255 grams)
20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)
1 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons cold water, plus a tablespoon more, if necessary
Filling
1 large egg, beaten
kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup ground almonds (or other nuts)
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, about 9 ounces (255 grams)
20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½-inch dice (4 tablespoons kept separate)
1 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons cold water, plus a tablespoon more, if necessary
Filling
1 large egg, beaten
kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup ground almonds (or other nuts)
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wondered if we could eliminate the repeated rolling and folding called for in the conventional puff pastry recipe, but still create multiple layers in our quick puff pastry dough recipe. We discovered we could do this by folding the dough and rolling it up jellyroll style in just seconds. Mixing the dough in a food processor also helped to speed things up. The dough puffed as well as any quick puff pastry we've ever made. Not only that, it definitely lived up to our hopes for saving time; the whole process—from measuring the flour to wrapping the dough and refrigerating—took only 15 minutes.
Before You Begin
This dough will keep in the freezer for at least three months. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap, then seal in zipper lock bag. Thaw by placing in refrigerator overnight. Illustrations for shaping the straws and other forms can be found in the related Illustrated How to Guide, "Making Puff Pastries."
Instructions
- Place flour in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade; add the 4 tablespoons butter; pulse until butter is absorbed, about 10 to 12 pulses of 1 second each
- Add remaining butter; pulse once or twice to distribute. Dissolve salt in water and add to flour mixture; pulse 3 or 4 times, until dough just starts to form a rough ball (see illustration 1, below) - do not overprocess. If mixture remains very dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time and pulse again.
- Turn dough onto floured work surface and shape into rough rectangle, then place on top of sheet of well-floured plastic wrap measuring at least 12-by-18 inches. Lightly flour top of dough and cover with another sheet of wrap. Press dough with rolling pin to flatten, then roll back and forth several times with rolling pin to make 12-by-18-inch rectangle of dough.
- Peel away plastic wrap and invert dough onto floured work surface, long side facing you. Peel away second piece of wrap. Fold top third of dough down and bottom third up (illustration 2) to make 4-by-18-inch rectangle, then roll up dough from one end (illustration 3). Press dough into square, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
- On a floured surface, roll puff pastry into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Slide onto a pan and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
- Remove dough from refrigerator and brush dough with egg beaten with a pinch of salt. Combine sugar, nuts, and cinnamon and sprinkle over half the dough's surface, then fold dough over topping to form a 12-by-9-inch rectangle. Lightly flour surface and dough; roll dough back into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Refrigerate dough, if necessary.
- Cut the dough into about 36, 12-by-2-inch strips. Twist each strip into a corkscrew shape. Transfer twisted dough strips to parchment-lined jelly-roll pans. Chill until firm and cold, about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake straws until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and trim ends. Halve straws to make 5-inch lengths.
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