On the Menu: Flaky Cinnamon Almond Pastries

When Tracy and I travel the required 2 hours to Lexington for a day of fun and shopping one of my favorite things that we usually do on these outings is going to Panera Bread for breakfast. We always wake up super earlier, like earlier than I usually wake up for work. When we first get to Lexington we stop to grab breakfast since we haven't eaten yet. Panera is a favorite of ours because they have absolutely delicious breakfast sandwiches. We love the ciabatta bread they put them on. I always get the sausage, egg, and cheese and Tracy always gets the egg and cheese. When we leave Panera we stop and get a few pastries to take with us. My favorite is the bear claws and Tracy's is the pecan braids. This recipe will remind you of those bear claws, but it is so easy to make. And if you live 2 hours away from Panera like I do, it also allows you to have a similar treat when you can't go by Panera to pick one up.



Pastry Ingredients
1 package Puff Pastry
1 Egg White
2/3 cup Almond Pie Filling
3/4 cup Powdered Sugar
3 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 Egg beaten
1 cup Sliced Almonds

Honey Glaze Ingredients
1 cup Powdered Sugar
2 tbsp. Honey
1-2 tbsp. Milk


Directions
1. Thaw your puff pastry according to the packaging. Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare your cookie sheets by putting parchment paper on them and spraying with nonstick spray.
2. In a bowl combine the egg white, almond pie filling, powdered sugar, and the cinnamon until it is smooth to make the almond filling for the pastry.
3. On a lightly floured surface roll the puff pastry out into a rectangle and cut into to 4 even strips. Evenly spread the almond filling down the middle of each strip. This will be around 2 tablespoons on each.
4. Take each strip and roll it up length wise and place the seam side down. Cut each strip into 4-6 pieces depending on how big you want your pastries to be.
5. Put each pastry on the cookie sheets. Brush with egg and sprinkle with almonds and sugar.
6. Bake for 8-15 minutes, depending on the size of your pastries. Cool on wire racks.
7. When the pastries are cool you can mix the honey glaze ingredients together. Start with just 1 tbsp of the milk, if the mixture is too thick add more of the milk until you have the right consistency. Drizzle over the pastries. Store in an airtight container.