Bear Claw Pastries

Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes and The Food Network

Yields: 16 pastries

Ingredients

For the pastry dough:

3 ½ cup all-purpose flour

16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), cold

½ cup warm water

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

½ cup whole milk

2 eggs, room temperature

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup sugar

For the filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 1/2 tablespoons water

1 1/2 cups almonds

2 tablespoons butter, cubed

1 egg white

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup powdered sugar, approx. (you can add more or less depending on how sweet your almond paste is)

1 egg, beaten

sliced almonds

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoon honey

1 - 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

For the dough:

1. Cut the butter into ¼ -inch cubes.
2. Place the butter and flour in a bowl, and use your hands or a pastry cutter to work in the butter. It doesn’t have to be perfectly incorporated; there should still be some chunks of butter in the mixture.
3. Mix together the yeast and warm water, and let stand 5 minutes. Mix in the milk, egg, sugar, and salt.
4. Add the flour and butter mixture to the liquid ingredients, and mix until it is just combined.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. (This is a good time to make your almond paste, if you’re making your own.)
6. Place the dough on a floured surface, and dust lightly with flour.
7. Roll the dough into a 16 in. x 20 in. rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds, like you would a letter.
8. Roll into a 16 in. x 20 in. rectangle. Fold into thirds again, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the almond paste filling:

1. Make the almond paste. If you are using store-bought almond paste, skip to step 5. Place the water, granulated sugar, and honey in a saucepan and heat until is boiling. (It should bubble vigorously). Take off the heat.
2. Coarsely grind the almonds in a food processor.
3. Pour the syrup mixture over the almonds, and blend until smooth, about 10 minutes.
4. Blend in the butter. Let the paste cool to room temperature before using.
5. Beat together the almond paste, cinnamon, egg white, and powdered sugar.

Assembly of the pastries:

1. Roll out the dough into a 24 inch x 20 inch rectangle.
2. Cut the dough into 4 long rectangles that are each 20 inch x 6 inch.
3. Spread about 3 tablespoons of filling on each rectangle.
4. Fold each rectangle in half. Pinch the seams to prevent the filling from leaking out.
5. Cut each rectangle into 4 pieces. For each piece, cut 4-6 slits for the toes.
6. Gently spread out the toes, and place the pastries on a greased baking sheet.
7. Let rise for about 20 minutes in warm place.
8. Beat the egg. Brush the pastries with the egg wash, and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. Bake about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool.
11. Make the glaze. Mix together the milk, honey, and powdered sugar. Drizzle over the cooled pastries.