Crescent Bear Claws Recipes

BEAR CLAWS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Stir in sugar, salt and egg; mix well. Add the flour all at once, stirring until mixed. Set aside., For butter mixture, sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour on a work surface; place butter on surface and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon flour. Press and roll out with a rolling pin. Scrape butter from rolling pin and continue to work the butter until it forms a smooth mass without any hard lumps. Knead in remaining flour, working quickly to keep butter cold. , Place butter mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a small rectangle. Cover with another sheet of plastic wrap; roll into a 9x6-in. rectangle. Set aside., Turn dough onto a floured work surface; roll into a 14x10-in. rectangle, with a 10-in. side toward the bottom. Unwrap butter mixture; place on dough 1 in. above bottom edge and 1/2 in. from each side edge. Fold top half of dough over butter and pinch edges to seal., Turn dough a quarter turn to the right; sprinkle lightly with additional flour. Lightly roll into a 16x8-in. rectangle. Fold bottom third of rectangle up and top third down, as when folding a business letter, making a 5-1/2x8-in. rectangle (this is called one turn). Rotate dough a quarter turn to the right. Lightly roll into a 16x8-in. rectangle and again fold into thirds, finishing the second turn. Repeat rotating, rolling and folding two more times for a total of four times. Wrap loosely in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes., Roll dough into a 12-in. square; cut square into three 12x4-in. strips. Spread 2 tablespoons filling down the center of each strip to within 1 in. of long edge. Fold lengthwise over filling and pinch seam to seal. Cut each strip into three pieces. With scissors, cut each piece four times from pinched seam to about 1/2 in. from folded side. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Curve folded side slightly to separate strips and allow filling to show. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 1 hour., Preheat oven to 400°. Brush bear clasws with egg. Bake 10-14 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Combine glaze ingredients; brush over warm rolls. Cool.

ALMOND BEAR CLAWS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat almond paste with an electric mixer to break it apart. Add the almonds, sugar, and salt; continue to mix until the almond paste is no longer lumpy. Stir in the butter, egg whites, almond extract and amaretto liqueur on high speed until its as fluffy as you can get it. Set aside.
• Using half of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle that is about 8 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. Trim the edges of the dough. Cut the dough in half lengthwise to make two 4 inch wide strips.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Fill a pastry bag halfway with the almond filling and pipe a stripe of filling down the center of each strip. Whisk together the egg and water. Brush onto one edge of each strip. Fold each strip over the filling and press gently to seal it. Brush each piece with egg wash and sprinkle sliced almonds over the top. Cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces, then cut 1/2 inch slits into the sealed edge to make the ''claws''. Place the bear claws at least two inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate and repeat with the second half of the dough.
• Bake in the preheated oven until almonds are toasted and pastry is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and dust with confectioners' sugar right before serving.

PUFF PASTRY BEAR CLAWS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Beat 1/3 cup superfine sugar and butter together in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs yolks and beat well; beat in almond extract. Stir ground almonds and flour into butter mixture until mixture has a thick paste-like consistency.
• Cut puff pastry into 8 equal pieces. Place 1 tablespoon almond mixture in the lower center of each piece. Fold top of puff pastry down over the filling and press edges together to seal. Make three 1/2-inch cuts equal lengths apart on the bottom edge to make the "claws". Transfer pastries to a baking sheet.
• Whisk egg and water together in a bowl. Brush each bear claw with egg mixture and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons superfine sugar and sliced almonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

HALLOWEEN CRESCENT CLAWS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix egg and taco seasoning mix with fork until well blended; set aside.
• Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Separate crescent dough into 8 rounds; unroll into strips. Fold each strip in half; starting at folded end, twist 2 to 3 times, leaving 1 inch untwisted on other end. Place on cookie sheet.
• Using a paring knife or kitchen scissors, cut each untwisted end to make 4 claws. Cut a small slit in each claw. Place 1 cashew in each slit; press to seal cashew in place to make nail. Brush entire claw with egg mixture. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

CRESCENT BEAR CLAWS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375ºF. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, beat egg lightly with whisk. Place 1/2 of the egg (about 1 1/2 Tbs.) in a custard cup and beat in the milk until well blended. Set this aside, it will be used as a wash later.
• To the remaining egg in the bowl, stir in the remaining filling ingredients until well blended.
• Meanwhile, in 1-quart heavy saucepan, mix glaze ingredients. Heat to boiling and remove from heat; cool while making rolls.
• On a lightly floured work surface, unroll dough; press into a 12x8-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.
• Spoon filling into a 12x2-inch strip lengthwise down the center 1/3 of the dough.
• Fold 1/3 of dough over filling. Then fold the filling-topped section over the last 1/3 of dough so the seam is on the bottom.
• With hand, gently flatten 1-inch wide strip of dough along one long side of folded dough.
• Cut folded dough crosswise into 6 (2-inch) pastries. Along flattened edge of each pastry, cut 1-inch long cuts about 1/2 inch apart.
• Lightly brush the egg-milk mixture from earlier over each pastry. Place almonds on a plate and invert each pastry onto almonds. Press gently so almonds stick to dough.
• Place almond side up on the cookies sheet, spreading each cut slightly to form claw like shape. Sprinkle remaining almonds over top of pastries.
• Bake for 15-18 min or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack and cool for 5 minute.
• Drizzle cooled glaze over each pastry.
• In another small bowl, mix icing ingredients until smooth - if too thick, add 1/2 teaspoons water at a time until drizzling consistency. Drizzle icing over cooled pastries.