Easy Almond Croissants

My sister is a waitress at an excellent but highly overpriced restaurant named Zov's in Tustin, CA. She always gushes about their amazing almond croissants and we decided we'd try them out. They are so incredibly easy considering you don't even have to bake the croissants yourself. Just stuff them, bake them, and devour them. Everyone scarfed them down within minutes tops, something I've never personally seen before.

Easy Almond Croissants

Yields: 12 Croissants

12 croissants (I use the Costco packs)

A large bag of slivered almonds

For the Almond Cream:

3 sticks of butter

1 1/2 lbs. almond paste

3/4 cup of ground almonds

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. almond extract

For the orange simple syrup:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice the croissants in half horizontally, set aside. In a food processor, cream together the butter and almond paste. The add the eggs in one by one. Then add the almond extract and finally, the ground almonds and flour. Mix well and make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients for the simple syrup. Bring to a simmer and make sure all of the sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat and set aside.

To assemble to croissants, take the halved croissants and use a pastry brush to brush the simple syrup on the insides. Then spread a good amount of the almond mixture on each side and close. Spread a thin layer of the almond mixture on the tops of the croissants and dip in the slivered almonds. Repeat until done. Place on a large baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 - 15 minutes.