puff pastries

Known in France as croissants de boulanger, this yeasted dough is layered with butter and given a succession of folds that create the distinctive profile of classic croissants. Light and airy and shatteringly crisp, with a deeply caramelized buttery flavor, these croissants are a labor of love that's absolutely worth the time.

Baker's Croissants

eggs

(50 grams) sugar divided

instant yeast

(28 grams) butter

salt

vanilla extract (optional; for sweet pastry)

unsalted butter

(60 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Did you ever wonder how artisan bakers make those super-buttery, flaky, light-as-air Danish? Here's how. Warning: this isn't a quick-and-easy recipe; there are numerous steps, including a suggested overnight rest for the dough. But if you follow the directions and take it one step at a time, you'll be able to claim a delicious new pastry for your baking repertoire.

Danish Pastry

(659 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

(67 grams) granulated sugar

salt butter salt

cardamom optional;

vanilla

(227 grams) milk cold

half an 8-ounce package (113 grams) cream cheese

(113 grams) cottage cheese or ricotta cheese

(35 grams) granulated sugar

confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar

nuts

Semisweet chocolate "batons" form the basis for the traditional pain au chocolat, a yeasted puff pastry dough wrapped around a stick of chocolate. They're a favorite of French children (and those of us who never grew beyond that stage) as they stop into their neighborhood boulangerie on the way to school. Note: The dough for these rolls rests in the refrigerator several times along the way; read through the entire recipe before you start, in order to create your plan of attack.

Pain Au Chocolat

(340 grams) water milk

(50 grams) sugar

(539 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

(57 grams) unsalted butter

Pain au Chocolat

Move over apple pie! This simple, chic apple tart might be our latest pastry crush. Coarse sugar adds crunch and luxurious caramel flavor while butter bathes the flaky rye crust both top and bottom. This dessert is a great example of simplicity at its best.

Flaky Apple Tart (Tarte Fine aux Pommes)

Rye Puff Pastry

(25 grams) coarse sugar: muscovado demerara or sparkling sugar

Miso's salty, umami flavor creates a subtle counterpoint to the bright flavor of fresh fruit in these tarts.

Pineapple Tarts with Ginger-Miso Filling

Fast and Easy Puff Pastry

(170 grams) cream cheese

(50 grams) sweet white miso

(43 grams) mini diced ginger chopped

(71 grams) light brown sugar packed

(14 grams) pineapple or orange juice

pineapple

Wonderfully flaky, buttery, tender pastries, turnovers, <a href="//www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/flaky-cheese-twists-recipe">cheese straws,</a> elephant ears (palmiers), shells for savory fillings, and more can be yours with a minimum of effort. 
Since this pastry uses only a few ingredients, it's important to make those ingredients top-quality. We recommend Vermont's Cabot unsalted butter and sour cream, both of which are available nationally.

(240 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

salt*

baking powder

(227 grams) unsalted butter* cold cut in pats

(113 grams) sour cream

As the name implies, this is a quicker way to make extra-flaky pastry dough. Unlike classic puff pastry, which relies on numerous folds, turns, and rests in the refrigerator, blitz puff needs only three folds followed by 30 minutes of chilling, at which point it’s ready to use.

Blitz Puff Pastry

(360 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

(227 grams) water cold

This classic French pastry is a long-time favorite at bakeries everywhere, including our King Arthur Bakery in Vermont. With its layers of crisp, flaky puff pastry and rich pastry cream, topped with a satiny black-and-white glaze, the Napoleon is equally at home on the dessert tray or with a mid-morning cup of coffee.

Napoleons

recipe Blitz Puff Pastry *

(510 grams) whole milk divided

+ 2 tablespoons (75 grams) sugar

vanilla extract vanilla bean split lengthwise

(28 grams) cornstarch

(43 grams) butter

berries

(113 grams) confectioners’ sugar sifted

(57 grams) heavy cream

corn syrup

(22 grams) semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate melted

You may have made croissant or other laminated doughs before, ones where you enfold a slab of butter and flour inside a sheet of dough, then roll both parts together to yield a layered butter-and-dough concoction perfect for flaky pastries. This interesting "inverse" technique reverses the traditional method, rolling dough inside a “butter block.” The result? Pastry that’s just as flaky but even lighter than the original. This novel lamination method comes to us courtesy of author and teacher Gesine Bullock-Prado, who shows you how to turn the resulting pastry into Maple Cream Napoleons.

Maple Cream Napoleons with Inverse Puff Pastry

(199 grams) water

(57 grams) unsalted butter* softened

(2 1/4 cups 510 grams) unsalted butter*

(680 grams) whole milk divided

(78 grams) maple sugar

King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

(57 grams) butter

vanilla extract

(99 grams) granulated sugar

From simple, super-flaky turnovers to crunchy palmiers (elephant ears) to fancy Napoleons, puff pastry is the dough to go to when you're looking for something light and delicately crispy. This is the pastry that breaks into a thousand buttery shards with each bite, showering the plate (and probably the table) in front of you with its delicious crumbs. While it's time-consuming to make (and we list some easier versions in "tips," below), this recipe is the original — and still a baking classic.

Classic Puff Pastry (Pâte Feuilletée)

(510 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

(283 grams) water cold*

These make-ahead, bake when you need them appetizers can be filled any number of ways (choose one or more fillings from the options below), and are as tasty as they are elegant.

Stovepipe Savory Pastries

recipe Fast and Easy Puff Pastry

(78 grams) minced onions or shallots

(156 grams) mushrooms ground or finely chopped

(57 grams) dry sherry

chives

parsley

Worcestershire sauce

(85 grams) cream cheese

salt and pepper

sausage

olive oil

(156 grams) diced onions

spinach

(21 grams) fresh bread crumbs

(113 grams) grated Fontina cheese

(113 grams) grated Parmesan cheese

(106 grams) pine nuts

Crispy, flaky, and perfectly sweet, the classic palmier takes on a whole new character with the addition of malted milk and a hint of chocolate in the filling.

Malted Milk Palmiers

(360 grams) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

active dry yeast or instant yeast

(71 grams) malted milk powder

unsalted butter cold cut in 1/2" pieces

water water

King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract

(9 grams) salt

(74 grams) granulated sugar

(53 grams) malted milk powder

cocoa

sugar

Tahini and chocolate come together to give this traditional pastry shape a more creative flavor profile — reminiscent of a peanut butter cup but with a more sophisticated twist.

Tahini Chocolate Bear Claws

Baker's Croissant Dough

(35 grams) tahini

(113 grams) bittersweet chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips

(57 grams) confectioners' sugar sifted

These tender, assertively cheesy pastries are ideal hand-held appetizers to serve at a gathering. They're also right at home alongside a bowl of homemade soup, especially <a href="https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/creamy-tomato-soup-recipe">creamy tomato</a>.

Flaky Cheese Twists

Parmesan cheese

paprika optional for color

cayenne pepper

This is somewhere between a rich traditional pie dough and puff pastry, and the traditional pastry for Eccles cake or Ecclefechan tart. It's somewhat easier to make than puff pastry, but it does require the requisite "turns" that a true puff pastry is made with. Once this dough is made, however, it will keep, well wrapped, for several days in the refrigerator, and for several months in the freezer. You can use the dough for puff pastry shells, turnovers, cheese straws, or a quick, improvised pie crust.

Flaky Pastry

(480 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

unsalted butter room temperature

(170 grams) lard or 3/4 cup (138 grams) vegetable shortening

lemon juice

(283 grams) water

A staple at Cuban bakeries, guava pastries (aka pastelitos) are often enjoyed with a sweet cup of café con leche. Inside the buttery, flaky pastry hides guava paste (tangy and tropical) and a luscious cream cheese filling, which beautifully complements the fruit’s sharpness. The pastry dough can be made up to 2 days in advance, which makes for quick assembly when you’re ready to fill and bake. 

Guava Cream Cheese Pastries (Pastelitos)

table salt

unsalted butter cold; cut in pats

(113 grams) guava paste*

(113 grams) cream cheese

(14 grams) unsalted butter

While this giant chocolate croissant isn’t technically a croissant, it delivers on the buttery, flaky, chocolatey satisfaction of a pain au chocolat. Made with puff pastry that’s sandwiched with a smooth, gooey chocolate filling, this blown-up version of a chocolate croissant skips the hours of laminating dough. It can be assembled in about 20 minutes and makes a deliciously messy brunch-stopping pastry. 

Top 17 puff pastries recipes from across the web

The most viewed puff pastries recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Baker's Croissants

Danish Pastry

Pain Au Chocolat

Flaky Apple Tart (Tarte Fine aux Po...

Pineapple Tarts with Ginger-Miso Fi...

Fast and Easy Puff Pastry

Blitz Puff Pastry

Napoleons

Maple Cream Napoleons with Inverse ...

Classic Puff Pastry (Pâte Feuilleté...

Stovepipe Savory Pastries

Malted Milk Palmiers

Tahini Chocolate Bear Claws

Flaky Cheese Twists

Flaky Pastry

Guava Cream Cheese Pastries (Pastel...

Giant Sheet Pan Chocolate Croissant

Top 17 puff pastries recipes from across the web

The most viewed puff pastries recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Baker's Croissants

Danish Pastry

Pain Au Chocolat

Flaky Apple Tart (Tarte Fine aux Po...

Pineapple Tarts with Ginger-Miso Fi...

Fast and Easy Puff Pastry

Blitz Puff Pastry

Napoleons

Maple Cream Napoleons with Inverse ...

Classic Puff Pastry (Pâte Feuilleté...

Stovepipe Savory Pastries

Malted Milk Palmiers

Tahini Chocolate Bear Claws

Flaky Cheese Twists

Flaky Pastry

Guava Cream Cheese Pastries (Pastel...

Giant Sheet Pan Chocolate Croissant

The most viewed puff pastries recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine