Picture Perfect Cooking

Today’s post is this month’s entry for the Dessert Challenge hosted by Lady Behind The Curtain.  Every month she gives us bloggers two ingredients to use and post about then we all link up together on the second Thursday of that month.  The spotlighted ingredients for March are almond paste and pastry.  When I first saw those two listed, I felt a little nervous about finding the almond paste to buy, much less finding a recipe.

I was right about finding the paste…I couldn’t find it locally and it was going to be too pricey to ship so I just found a recipe for it and made my own.  This is really going to be two recipes in one post so it is long: one for the almond paste and one for the sweet almond pastry using that paste.  The almond paste recipe was from Two Tarts and the pastry recipe was from the Pepperidge Farm website.  Enjoy!

For the almond paste:

3 cups raw almonds

3 cups powdered sugar

2 egg whites

*This recipe makes a lot more than you need for the recipe, but it will keep in the freezer for up to six months.*

Heat a big pot of water to boiling.  Pour 3 cups of almonds into the water and boil for one minute.  Drain immediately and let cool for a few minutes before peeling their loose brown skins off.  The skins will just peel right off with very little effort.

Put the almonds in a food processor and let it run until the almonds are in very tiny pieces.  This will take 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the powdered sugar and process until the mixture is very finely ground, another 2 or 3 minutes.  I had to stop a few times and shake the bowl so it would evenly process.  Add the egg whites and process until thoroughly combined and it will look like this:

Now on to the final product:

Vegetable cooking spray

2 eggs

1 tbsp. water

6 oz. almond paste

3 tbsp. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray. Combine 1 egg with the water for an egg wash.  Set aside.

Place the almond paste, granulated sugar, 1 egg and vanilla in a food processor. Cover and process until the mixture is smooth.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rough 12×10” rectangle.

With the short side toward you, spread the almond mixture on the lower half of the dough.  With a sharp knife, cut small slits in the other half.  Then fold the half with the slits over the half with the almond mix and seal around the edges using a fork.  Place this on the baking sheet and brush with the egg wash.

Bake for 12 minutes then reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for 20 more minutes.  Cool for about 15 minutes and enjoy!