‘Tis the season for Puff Pastry!

I have made puff pastry more times than I care to admit to, but I tell ya… there is just nothing better than a good-quality puff pastry coming out of the freezer. Making puff pastry from scratch is a serious all-day affair. It’s rolling, folding, and refrigerating over-and-over-and-over…  It’s worth the trouble, sometimes, but as I said, it’s nice having a good-quality puff pastry in the freezer. And I do mean a good-quality puff pastry sheet – not the national brand franken-food version found in your typical supermarket frozen food case.

There is just so much that can be done – from sweet to savory, dessert to dinner to hors d’oeuvres – filled or topped, rolled or sliced.

Armed with my thawed sheets and a can of almond paste that has been in the cupboard since the last Republican administration, I went looking for ideas.

I found a recipe on Epicurious that gave me an idea – and off I went…

Puff Pastry with Almond Cream and Mascarpone

• 8 oz can pure almond paste
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp amaretto
• 3 tbsp flour
• 4 oz mascarpone
• 1 (2 sheet) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

Preheat oven to 450°.

Mix almond paste, granulated sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt with mixer until smooth. Add egg and amaretto and mix until light. Add flour and mix until incorporated.

Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet into a square. Place on parchment-lined sheet pan.

Spread mascarpone to about 1 inch from edges. Spread almond cream generously on top of mascarpone. Top with remaining sheet.

Crimp edges to seal and cut small vent holes on top to allow steam to escape.

Bake in lower third of oven until puffed and golden, 13 to 15 minutes.  Let cool.

It was like the perfect almond croissant or danish pastry. I can see some fun variations on this…