I'm thinking of making a batch of croissants aux amandes over the next few days. The weather is forecast to cominue to be rainy for a few more days. And since I buy at least seven croissants, one for each day of the week, for my early-morning breakfast with 'Tasha every morning. I buy them mostly at Intermarché, one of the three local supermarkets in the Saint-Aignan area, because I like theirs the best. They are made in the store using butter, not margarine, and I think they're pretty good. 'Tasha likes them too. I put them in the freezer when I buy them, and I heat one up in the roaster oven for breakfast every day. I tear a croisant apart and feed half of the little pieces to the dog while I eat the other half myself, with my morning tea. Non jam, no jelly, no extra butter.
The pictures in this post are from March 1908, which was, I think, the last time I made croissants aux amandes. I realizes about a year ago that I had been living in France for years, but I hardly ever ate a croissant. That seemed like a change, but I decided to do something about it. That "something" won't change for my breakfasts with 'Tasha I'll eat the croissants aux amandes myself, and perhaps with Walt, later in the day, if he wants one.
Almond croissants are usually made using already-cooked, slightly stale croissants. In fact, they are one way French bakers use up rather than waste the day's croissants that have been baked early in the morning and haven't found a buyer. The next morning, while fresh croissants bake in the over, the baker slices the day-old croissants and stuffs them, like a sandwich, with a filling made with eggs, sugar, and cream. Then he dips the filled croissants into a sugar syrup, or paints them with a brush dipped into the sugar syrup, before sprinkling slivered almonds over the top. The almonds stick to the top of the croissants and are cooked in an oven until they are nicely browned. The ones dunked in syrup can turn soggy. The "painted" ones stand a better chance of getting crisper as they bake.
