Almond Danish Puff

Pastry is one of my favorite things for a quick breakfast with a cup of coffee. Almond danish is my favorite! I'll have to figure out how to sneak in some cream cheese after I've made it once.

Ingredients:

Pastry
1⁄2 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water

Topping
1⁄2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs

Creamy Almond Glaze
1 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1⁄2 teaspoon almond extract
1 or 2 tablespoon warm water or 1 or 2 tablespoon milk
sliced almonds

Directions:

Heat oven to 350º F.

Using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, cut 1/2 cup softened butter into 1 cup flour, until particles are size of coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; mix with fork.

Gather pastry into ball and divide in half.

Form each half into rectangle, 12x3 inches, about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Heat remaining 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil in 2-quart saucepan and remove from heat.

Quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour.

Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute until mixture forms a ball and remove from heat.

Add eggs and beat until smooth. Spread half of the topping over each rectangle.

Bake about 1 hour until topping is crisp and brown and remove from pan to wire rack.

Cool completely.

Spread with Creamy Almond Glaze and sprinkle with almonds.

Creamy Almond Glaze:

Mix all ingredients until smooth and spreadable.  Glaze the Danish puff.

Source

Almond Cake

Love Almond Cake!

SERVES 8 TO 10

If you can’t find blanched sliced almonds, grind slivered almonds for the batter and use unblanched sliced almonds for the topping. Serve plain or with Orange Crème Fraîche.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2cups plus 1/3 cup blanched sliced almonds, toasted
• 3/4cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 3/4teaspoon salt
• 1/4teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8teaspoon baking soda
• 4large eggs
• 1 1/4cups (8 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 3/4teaspoon almond extract
• 5tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3cup vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease 9-inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper. Pulse 1½ cups almonds, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in food processor until almonds are finely ground, 5 to 10 pulses. Transfer almond mixture to bowl.
   2. Process eggs, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, and almond extract in now-empty processor until very pale yellow, about 2 minutes. With processor running, add melted butter and oil in steady stream, until incorporated. Add almond mixture and pulse to combine, 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
   3. Using your fingers, combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest in small bowl until fragrant, 5 to 10 seconds. Sprinkle top of cake evenly with remaining 1/3 cup almonds followed by sugar-zest mixture.
   4. Bake until center of cake is set and bounces back when gently pressed and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes, rotating pan after 40 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run paring knife around sides of pan. Invert cake onto greased wire rack, discard parchment, and reinvert cake onto second wire rack. Let cake cool, about 2 hours. Cut into wedges and serve. (Store cake in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

HOW WE GOT THE BEST ALMOND FLAVOR—AND CAKE TEXTURE

For a rich, nutty taste and a consistency that’s not too dense, we toast blanched almonds (we dislike the slight bitterness imparted by skin-on almonds) to deepen their flavor. Then we grind them in the food processor. The ground nuts give the crumb an open, rustic texture.

START WITH BLANCHED ALMONDS

TOAST UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN

GRIND WITH FLOUR, SALT, AND LEAVENERS

EGG FOAMS: MIXER VERSUS FOOD PROCESSOR

The goal when mixing most cake batters is to incorporate a lot of air into the eggs so that the cake will bake up light and tall, and a mixer is usually the best tool to get the job done. For our Best Almond Cake, however, we wanted a flat, level top; just a moderate rise; and a texture that was neither too fluffy nor too dense. Ditching the mixer in favor of a food processor did the trick. Here’s why: When eggs and sugar are whipped in a mixer, the whisk gently unfolds the protein strands in the eggs while incorporating lots of air, producing a foam with a strong network that holds on to that air. The outcome? A tall, well-risen, domed cake. A food processor, with its high rpm and very sharp blade, similarly unravels the eggs’ protein strands and incorporates air, but it also damages some strands along the way. The result is just what we were after: a flatter, slightly denser cake.

MIXER: Tall and domed.

FOOD PROCESSOR: Perfectly flat.

Source: Cook's Illustrated

Almond Crunch Granola

Since we have been searching for healthy snack substitutes that we will actually enjoy, I was thrilled to find this awesome recipe for granola.  

Description 

This granola is packed with good ingredients, well as vitamin E. It's also low in sodium. Eat a handful or sprinkle it on berries or yogurt.

Serves 

12

Notes, Tips & Suggestions 

*To toast almonds: Spread almonds in a single layer in shallow pan. Place in cold oven, toast at 350 ° F, 9-11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted. Cool on counter.

Source
Almond Board of California

Related Articles
Snacks to Keep You Active and Energized

Ingredients

• 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted*
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats (either old-fashioned or quick cooking)
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup almond or vegetable oil

Preparation 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine toasted almonds with oats, coconut and cinnamon.
2. Whisk honey with oil and drizzle over almond-oat mixture, tossing to mix well.
3. Bake 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, loosen with spatula and cool.

Almond Cookies

Almond Cookies are

one of my favorites!

Ingredients

• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes; let cool.
2. In a food processor, pulse ½ cup of the almonds with ½ cup of the brown sugar until the almonds are finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and the remaining ½ cup brown sugar at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat to combine. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually mix in the flour-nut mixture just until combined (do not overmix). Gently fold in the remaining ½ cup almonds.
4. Form the dough into two 12-by-1½-inch logs. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, until firm, about 2 hours or up to 2 days.
5. Heat oven to 350° F with the racks in the upper and lower thirds. Working with 1 log at a time (keep the other chilled), cut it into ¼-inch slices and place the slices on 2 baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until golden, 9 to 11 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
6. Storage suggestion: Keep the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Source:  Real Simple

By Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez,  December 2011