I have been making these biscuits for years, and not just because they are delicious; it's because they are a crowd pleaser and I'm an applause whore in the kitchen. The flaky pastry almost elevates them to pastry status, and the cinnamon sugar pecan crunch is incredibly moreish. Best eaten warm, I don't know anyone that can stop at one.
Pecan Crescents
Ingredients
- 2 cups of plain flour
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup of unsalted butter
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 cup of sour cream
- half a cup of castor sugar
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup of pecans
Method
- In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt for a second to mix.
- Chop the butter and add to the flour, process until the butter is about the size of small peas.
- Add the sour cream and egg yolk, process until the dough forms a smooth ball.
- Take out the dough and cut into quarters, form each quarter into a small fat circle. Wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or even longer, to give it a chance to rest. Poor tired thing.
- Wash the processor and pulse the sugar, pecans and cinnamon until the pecans pieces are small and everything is well blended. This is your filling!
- Take the well rested dough out of the fridge, and on a floured surface roll it out to a thinner circle about 20cm in diameter.
- Cut this like a pizza into 8 pieces. Sprinkle a quarter of the filling over this pizza.
- Starting from the outside, roll each pizza piece towards the centre and curve the edges so you have a tiny croissant shape, with the filling trapped inside. Exciting!
- Place on a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.
- Eat while warm. Try not to burn your mouth.
Note: It's OK to be a bit rustic, these don't have to be perfect; but! If you don't get the point of the pizza croissant stuck down firmly enough it will unroll in the oven. See the picture below? I like to eat these before they leave the kitchen to ahhh.....keep the crowds happy.
