The second almond dessert of the week, as promised: Danish Puffs. The flaky crust, the custardy egg puff that is pâte à choux, the buttery sweet almond frosting, the crunchy almonds… such an amazing complement. My mom, sister and I used to make these on Christmas Eve and then we frosted them Christmas morning, while we made coffee, sliced fruit and watched my brother make eggs or savory bread pudding. My dad was outside feeding the birds so we could watch the cardinals, goldfinches and chickadees enjoy their winter feast, and hopefully, it would snow. While I’m not always in Wisconsin to complete the ritual, baking this breakfast pastry brings back all of the wonderful memories. Make Danish Puffs part of your Holiday tradition now.

This recipe makes two puffs, and they freeze rather well.

½ cup cold butter
¾ cup room temperature butter; divided
2 cups flour; divided
1 cup + 2 tablespoon water; divided
2 teaspoons almond extract; divided
3 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Mix as if you’re making a pie crust (for me, that’s in a food processor) ½ cup cold butter and one cup flour. Once course peas form, add 2 tablespoons cold or ice water. The dough should just begin to hold together. It’s very dry. It wouldn’t roll out like a pie crust easily. Divide the dough into to equal balls and press each onto a cookie sheet as long and wide as you can. Mine are usually about 5” x 11”. Make a little raised edge to prevent the second layer from spilling over. Set aside. Now bring to a boil one cup water and ½ cup butter. Once it’s boiling, remove from the heat and add in 1 teaspoon almond extract. Put a cup of flour in your mixer bowl and turn the mixer on low or stir. Add in the water butter mixture and beat until smooth and the mixture cools to about room temperature. I sometimes speed this along with the help of my handy ice pack. Now beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat until very smooth. [Yes, this is an almond pâte à choux that is similar to gougère or profiteroles]. Divide this evenly and spread over the two crust strips. Bake for about 60 minutes. The pastry will puff up and get a gorgeous golden brown color. Let cool completely. The puff will deflate a little. Once cool, beat ¼ cup room temperature butter and 2 cups powdered sugar. Once light and fluffy, flavor to taste with the almond extract- some prefer ½ teaspoon. If it’s too thick, add milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Spread over the puffs. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Slice and serve on Christmas morning or any other festive brunch (polar bears and fresh holly helps).Thrifty/$pendy Alteration: I made mine this week, and after I photographed the first and gave it away, I plastic wrapped the second and slid it into a cereal box to protect it in my perilous freezer. This is a great storage tip. I haul fragile desserts of all sorts around in cereal boxes. Then I don’t have to worry about people returning my fancy Tupperware.