Peanut Butter and Jelly Croissants

Peanut Butter & Jelly CroissantsI make double-baked almond croissants at work everyday, they are one of the bakery’s best sellers. They are a staple of a French bakery, just like a regular croissant. The first time I had an almond croissant, it was like a revelation. A buttery croissant filled with a cake-like almond filling, topped with crunchy almonds seemed too good to be true. As I learned, the almond croissant is an ingenious way to transform day-old croissants into fresh pastries again. I first encountered the peanut butter and jelly croissant at the NoMad Hotel brunch when I visited New York last winter. It was an innovative creation – a flaky croissant coated with peanut butter icing, and jelly cubes. I am putting my twist on it, turning this creation into a double-baked croissant. To me, these are the perfect combination of the French buttery filled croissant and the flavours of a North American childhood.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Croissants

Yield: Makes 4-6 croissants, depending on the size and shape of your croissants.

Ingredients

  • 4-6 day-old good quality all butter croissants
  • 4-6 tbsp good quality or homemade strawberry jam
  • 4-5 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts to top
  • 3-4 fresh strawberries, quartered for garnish
  • Icing sugar for dusting
  • Syrup
  • 1/2 cup / 100g sugar
  • 1/2 cup / 60g water
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Peanut Frangipane (filling and topping)
  • 2/3 cup / 60g ground roasted peanuts plus more for topping, see above
  • 3 tbsp + 1 tsp / 20g almond flour
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp / 10g all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup / 80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup / 80g icing sugar
  • 1 large egg, lightly beatened

Method

    Syrup
  1. In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water until dissolved, take off heat, let cool, and add vanilla extract. Set aside until ready to use.
  2. Peanut Frangipane
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and icing sugar. Add egg in three additions, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
  4. Mix in flour and nuts until fully incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, chill until ready to use.
  5. Assembly
  6. Set a rack in the middle of your oven, preheat to 375 degrees F / 180 C.
  7. Cut croissants in half, like you would for a sandwich.
  8. Brush the insides (top and bottom) with syrup twice so they soak up thoroughly. You might have some syrup left, depending how big your croissants are.
  9. Spread about 2 tablespoons of peanut frangipane onto the bottom half of each croissant. Top with about 1 tablespoon of jam, make sure to cover whole surface area of the croissants.
  10. Sandwich the croissants with the top half. Spread the leftover peanut frangipane on the tops, sprinkle with crushed peanuts.
  11. Bake in the preheat oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the tops have browned nicely. Cool croissants before garnishing.
  12. Spoon a little jam on the tops, garnish with strawberries. Finally lightly dust with icing sugar to finish.
https://yummyworkshop.com/2015/06/09/peanut-butter-and-jelly-croissants/

Peanut Butter & Jelly Croissants

I didn’t grow up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a child, because in Hong Kong, it was always peanut butter with sweetened condensed milk. It was not until I moved to Canada that I learned about this North American classic. I think I made my first PB & J sandwich when I was about 10, after seeing it on a children’s TV program. It was exactly how it was supposed to be – the whitest sandwich bread, filled with peanut butter and a store-bought jam. I finished it, satisfied as a 10-year-old would.

Peanut Butter & Jelly CroissantsWe are in the midst of strawberry season as I am writing this post. I like to make my own strawberry jam at home with local berries, as I have been doing for the past few years. I get compliments on how delicious it is when I give them away as gifts. Its intense flavour is the trademark of seasonal local strawberries. Besides from spreading it on my morning toast or making PB&J sandwiches, it also makes excellent fillings for cookies and cakes etc. It just adds that special touch.

Peanut Butter & Jelly CroissantsHow can peanut butter and jelly ever go wrong?
Long live PB & J!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.