Jimmy and Michelle are great friends of ours. Greg and I met them shortly after moving to the farm, and they quickly became like family. We love going to eat or to a good concert with them. Even chilling by a bonfire and catching up on life is fun.
Michelle will be the first to admit that cooking is not high on her list of favorite things to do. Jimmy says that he can never tell Michelle when he likes something she cooks. He says that she’ll cook it every night for three months straight until he’s sick of it. I think he likes to give her a hard time and tease her. Michelle is a better cook than she (or Jimmy) give her credit.
Chocolate croissants are one of her favorite things to make, and she has me hooked with this recipe. With frozen puff pastry, this Chocolate Almond Pastry Braid could not be easier. This recipe is so basic and fast that she often makes these pastries before school and work. The chocolate is out of this world, and I can’t wait to try apple filling, peach filling, and prune filling!
- 1 box Frozen Puff Pastry
- 3 (1.55-oz.) Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars
- 1 egg, beaten
- Demerara sugar, optional
- Sliced almonds, optional
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Unfold both pieces of puff pastry. Using the folds as a guide, place 1½ Hershey's bars down the center of each piece.
- Usding a sharp knife, cut diagonal cuts from the fold line to the edge on both left and right sides, about ¾-inch apart. (approximately 8 or 9 cuts) Discard the corner piece. (2 per pastry)
- Begin folding cut pieces over the chocolate, alternating left and right pieces and overlapping until you have a braid pattern.
- Brush beaten egg over braid. Sprinkle with sugar and almonds. Bake until golden brown. Cool slightly and slice to serve.
