Simple Pastries at Home {Recipe: Easy Bostock}

 

Bostock is a French pastry similar to an almond croissant, but made with day-old brioche. Although it can be made with day-old croissants as well.

This recipe is very easy. It can be served for breakfast, brunch or tea and is a nice change from French toast. 

Easy Bostock

Preheat oven to 350ºF

4 thick sliced day-old brioche*, challah, or 2 large day-old croissants sliced in            half. (If not using day-old, bread can be lightly toasted in the oven or toaster.)

1/4 cup vanilla simple syrup

4 tablespoons of your favorite jam

Almond Cream

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Powdered sugar

*I used Trader Joe's Brioche (not an ad, just a fan).

For Vanilla Simple Syrup:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pour water and sugar into a small saucepan. Heat over medium low, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add vanilla; let cool. 

For Almond Cream:

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1cup almond flour or meal

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon flour

sliced almonds

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spit croissants in half and place on a parchment lined baking sheet; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and salt. Add almond flour and mix well. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add flour and mix until well combined. 

To assemble Bostock:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush each side of the bread* with vanilla simple syrup; place on prepared baking sheet. Spread a tablespoon of jam on each slice to about a 1/2 inch from the edge of the bread. Cover the jam with about 3 tablespoons of Almond Cream per slice. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top of the Almond Cream. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for 10 more minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

*If using croissants, treat each 1/2 as a slice of bread. 

Bon appéti!

Fresh Twist on an Old Favorite {Recipes: Cookie Butter Granola and Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Parfait}

Usually I use cooked apples for making apple yogurt parfait (see http://motheralwaystoldme.blogspot.com/2024/02/better-late-than-never-recipes-graham.html), but this time I decided to try it with raw apples. Using Cookie Butter Granola sounded it would make for a good combo and it is!

Cookie Butter Granola

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (make sure to use gluten free, if needed)
1/2 cup ground flax seed

1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup cookie butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat liner; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats and ground flax seed. Set aside

3. In a small sauce pan, heat the cookie butter, honey and water over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Once the mixture is smooth, remove from heat and add vanilla and cinnamon until well incorporated.

4. Pour the cookie butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until the oat mixture is evenly coated. 

5. Spread the mixture onto the lined baking sheet in an even layer. 

6. Bake at 300°F for 35-45 minutes. After baking for 15 minutes, using a spatula, flip large pieces of the granola over (this promotes getting nice big chunks of granola). Then repeat after 10 minutes. Check the granola again after 10 minutes. If it is starting to get too browned, pull it from the oven. If not, give it another stir and bake it for another 5-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on it too it doesn't over bake. 

7. The granola may be a little soft coming out of the oven. Let it cool completely, uncovered, for at least an hour on the baking sheet. It should crisp up and become crunchy.

 

For Cinnamon Apple Yogurt Parfait:

Chop up 1/2 honeycrisp apple or your favorite apple and place in a small serving container. In a small bowl, mix together 1 teaspoon brown sugar, about 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon; add to apple and stir. A splash of maple syrup can be added as well. On top of the apples, add a small container of vanilla yogurt (I like Siggi's because it is not very sweet). Top with Cookie Butter Granola and a Biscoff cookie (optional).
 

Enjoy!