Almond Croissants (Shortcut Recipe) - Celebrating Sweets (2024)

5 from 26 votes

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 16 minutes minutes

Overnight drying: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 41 minutes minutes

Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets

• ▢ 6 medium sized croissants, see note
• ▢ ½ cup sliced almonds
• ▢ powdered sugar, for dusting, optional

Almond syrup:

• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon almond extract

Almond filling/topping:

• ▢ 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temp
• ▢ ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ¾ cup almond meal or almond flour, I prefer blanched (skins removed)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ powdered sugar, optional garnish

Prepare the croissants:

• Split the croissants in half and lay them out on a baking sheet. Cover loosely with a paper towel and allow them dry out overnight. Alternately, you can use croissants that are already a day or two old and already slightly dry.

Almond syrup:

• In a small saucepan bring the water to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the almond extract. Cool slightly (or refrigerate for up to 24 hours).

Almond filling/topping:

• Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter, sugar, almond meal, and salt until smooth and combined. Add extract and egg and beat until creamy. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. If refrigerating, bring to room temp before assembling the croissants.

Assembly:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Get out a rimmed baking sheet (large enough to hold all 6 croissants) and set it aside.

• Brush the outsides, as well as the insides, of each split croissant liberally with the almond syrup. Alternately, you can dip the inside and outside very briefly in the syrup, allowing the excess to drip off.

• Scoop some of the almond filling and spread it onto the inside of each croissant, place the top half back on, and spread more almond filling onto the top of the croissant. Tip: Before starting, I spread the almond filling into an even layer in the bowl and I roughly "score" it equally into sixths. This gives me an idea of how much filling I can use on each croissant (remember, each portion will be split between the inside and top of the croissant).

• Add sliced almonds to the top of each croissant. The creamy almond topping will serve as glue. Place the croissants on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 14-18 minutes, until the cream on top has set and the croissants are light golden brown. Allow to cool just slightly (they'll firm up a bit), dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Enjoy warm.