I love croissants. I love chocolate croissants, I love almond croissants and I love chocolate-almond croissants. I love butter croissants, I love kouign amanns (which are made from the same laminated dough as croissants) and I love coffee and tea twice as much when it is paired with a good croissant. When the day is feeling long and I need a pick me up, one of my go-to treats is a fresh baked croissant from a local bakery. Something about those flaky, buttery layers just brings a smile to my face, my tummy, and yes- my heart.
Croissants might be one of my love languages (or maybe just one of my favorite gifts/acts of service to receive :)). When my friends go to Napa (Bouchon!) or SF (B. Patisserie!) or Marin (M.H. Bread and Butter!) and text if I want anything, I drop EVERYTHING to quickly text back as I try to remind myself that it’s probably rude to ask for a dozen croissants. Seriously. I’ll be like, “OOH BEN! JOYCE IS GOING TO BOUCHON TODAY-” and he knows that means I will be oblivious to the world around me for the next minute as I scurry to text back my request.
And when the yumminess is in my hands, I melt a little (a lot) and feel so so loved. THANKS GUYS. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. My suppliers <3. Sigh.
The original recipe with powdered sugar and almonds sprinkled on top.
Almost a year ago, my fellow croissant-loving friend Tiffany sent me a recipe to make almond croissants at home. I was a little skeptical of the recipe at first, but when I finally gave it a go a month ago, I was blown away! It was SO GOOD! WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO TRY IT?! I have since made them again and again, a dozen at a time, and found a delicious recipe that I know I will be looking up a lot in the future. So it definitely belongs here on my blog!
The original recipe makes two almond croissants, but Costco sells butter croissants in a 12-pack for SIX DOLLARS (or $4.99 until April 17!). How could you not?! So of course now I make almond croissants in batches of twelve. Don’t worry- they freeze well and reheat beautifully in the toaster oven! They’re an easy and delicious treat to make for a brunch, and when your SF foodie friend takes a bite and says it’s The Best Almond Croissant She’s Ever Had, Better Than Craftsman and Wolves! and then brings some home to her foodie mom who messages you that very night:
JoEllen, I want to thank you for your amazing almond croissant that R brought back. The best I ever had! Love to get the recipe! Is it hard to make? … It is so professional that it is even better than the store’s!
…you know you’ve hit gold. She told me I could quote her on that, and also wanted to recommend using an air fryer to make it crunchy and flavorful. Mm-mm, sounds yummy!
My mom has been pining for them ever since someone stole the ones I made her out of her car a couple weeks ago, so I just made a fresh batch tonight and experimented with the topping this time. Instead of sprinkling on powdered sugar and almonds at the end, I dabbed some of the leftover almond filling on top of each croissant…
and sprinkled on the almonds before baking:
Which finished up like this:
BEST IDEA EVER.
They turned out amazing, and now have that crispy sweet baked on almond crunch that I love from Bouchon’s croissants. It tastes even better knowing I spent about $8.00 on a dozen delicious almond croissants instead of $48!
If you find joy in croissants, I hope I have convinced you to give this easy recipe a go. Try them and come back and tell me! This is one way I am spreading the love in 2017! Yumminess for all!
Recipe notes:
Ok so for my recipe below, I actually chose to make 4x the filling (from the original recipe) for 5x the croissants. But JoEllen, why not 6x the filling for 6x the amount of croissants? Good question. With the original proportions, I always found myself with a lot of extra filling at the end, even after gooping on mounds and mounds inside each croissant.
So then I tried 5x the filling for 6x the amount of croissants. This worked out okay, except that I didn’t like how the measurements came out for 5x the filling (e.g. 1 cup + 4 tbsp butter). I also still ended up with too much filling.
So now I just take out two croissants for other things- feeding them plain to my kids, or putting them on the panini press with some nutella and bananas, and then I transform the other ten into almond croissants. Of course you are welcome to refer to the original recipe (linked below) and figure out your own favorite proportions!
Easy Almond Croissant Recipe
Adapted from www.thekitchn.com
Makes 10 croissants
Ingredients
- 10 “day-old” croissants (croissants that have sat out for a day)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups almond meal
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- Powdered sugar (optional, to decorate)
- Sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut the croissants in half: Slice each croissant in half with a serrated bread knife to make a top and a bottom, like a sandwich. Be sure to slice evenly so the halves are flat and not angled.
- Make the filling: Combining the sugar, almond meal, vanilla, butter, and eggs in a food processor or blender. Blend until creamy.
- Fill the croissants: Divide the filling between the croissants, reserving about 1/3 of a cup for the topping. Spread an even amount of filling onto the bottom half of each croissant, spreading all the way to the edges. Place the tops on the croissants. Don’t worry if the filling oozes out a bit- once baked up, those crunchy bits are super delicious!
- Top the croissants: Use your spatula or a spoon to smudge a sparse amount of the reserved filling on top of each croissant top. It should be just enough of a smudge so that some sliced almonds will stick when you sprinkle them on top. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.
- Bake for 22-27 minutes: Place the sheets with the croissants in the oven and bake for about 22-27 minutes, or until the filling is set and no longer gooey and the tops are golden brown. If you have one sheet of croissants on top and a sheet on bottom, then rotate them halfway through the baking time for even cooking. If you are doing fewer croissants, watch them closely starting at 18 minutes and take them out when the filling is set and the tops are golden brown.
- Cool the croissants for a few minutes: Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the croissants sit for a few minutes until they are cool enough to handle. Optional: Dust sparingly with powdered sugar and serve while the croissants are warm.
To freeze: Let the croissants cool completely, then wrap each one in foil and store in a gallon sized ziplock bag in the freezer.
To reheat: Let thaw in refrigerator overnight, then unwrap and toast for 3-7 minutes (or until warmed through and crisped on top). If reheating straight from the freezer, I’d recommend putting them into the toaster oven on the “warm” setting for 20-24 minutes, or until the insides are heated through. If you put it on “toast” for that long, the tops might burn.
Let cool for 3-5 minutes before enjoying!
6 responses to “Easy and Delicious Almond Croissant Recipe”
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I was just thinking the other day, it has been so long since I’ve had an almond croissant and I miss them. Must try this 🙂
Dooooo it! I’m sure the croissants at Safeway or whatever is close to you would work just as well. Gotta make that tummy happy ;D.
I tried the recipe this weekend and it was absolutely delicious!! Thank you!
Hooray!!! So glad you like it! So delish right? I made it again this past weekend, too haha :).
So good I couldn’t stop thinking about them…so had to make more for the family today!! Yum!
I totally get this! I did the same! =D Yayyy!