This past week I've had a hard time getting one of my favorite pastries out of my head... Cream Horns! YUM! And when I looked up the recipe here on my site I laughed to see it was almost exactly one year ago that I gave you the recipe!
How ironic is that? Just 2 days off. So... I'm thinking it would be kind of fun to make them on May 9th again... perhaps that can be a funny, quirky tradition to make Cream Horns (Lady Locks) every year on May 9th? I actually have made them twice since then and I admit I still haven't found the perfect puff pastry dough.
Yes, using the store bought Pepperidge Farm version is much, much easier but it was so greasy that I had a hard time with that. The first and second homemade versions were more like a cookie and not the flaky pastry that I was going for. Perhaps I don't have enough French blood in me to make a perfect homemade puff pastry... but I'm going to keep trying!
Basic Puff Pastry
¼ cup butter
1¾ cup all-purpose flour, chilled
½ cup cold water
¾ cup butter, softened
¼ cup all-purpose flour, chilled
Cut ¼ cup butter into 1¾-cup flour with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into a ball, and wrap in wax paper. Chill 15 minutes.
Combine ¾ cup butter and ¼ cup flour; stir until smooth. Shape mixture into a 6-inch square on wax paper. Chill 5 minutes.
Roll pastry into a 15-inch circle on a lightly floured surface; place chilled butter mixture in center of pastry. Fold left side of pastry over butter mixture; fold right side of pasty over left. Fold upper and lower edges of pastry over butter; making a thick square.
Working quickly, place pastry, folded side down, on a lightly floured surface; roll pastry into a 20 x 8-inch rectangle. Fold rectangle into thirds, beginning with short side. Roll pastry into another 20 x 8- inch rectangle; again fold rectangle into thirds.
Wrap pastry in wax paper, and chill about 2 hours.
Repeat rolling, folding, and chilling.
Process 2 times. Chill 2 hours.