Almond Bear Claw with Puff Pastry

Have you ever had a Bear Claw?

If a pastry with almond paste filling, drizzled with icing, and topped with sliced almonds sounds good to you —  you’re in for a treat. 

You know that I love an easy recipe so we’ll use pre-made puff pastry sheets for an equally impressive, homemade Bear Claw. 

No one will ever guess that you didn’t buy it from Panera.

What’s a bear claw?

Bear claws are an American pastry that came about in the early to mid 1920’s. It’s filled with almond paste (which, by the way, is very simple to make). Formed into a semi-circle shape, when it’s done baking, the cuts in the dough rise to look like…. a Bear Claw. 

Each cut section of your pastry resembles the little “toes” of a claw. 

It’s a fun pastry to make. 

Are bear claws donuts?

Doughnuts are sweet and fried while pastries are baked and have some kind of solid fat, like shortening, lard, or butter. Bear claws don’t really fall into one category or the other. They’re sweet like doughnuts but baked and puffy like pastries. 

I lean more toward calling it a pastry but I don’t think the pastry police will get you if you call it a donut either. 

Bear Claw v. Apple Fritter

Again bear claws are baked and apple fritters are fried. Fried versus baked, produce very different textures and flavors for any recipe. Apple fritters have real diced, apple pieces in them, almost like an apple pie on the go. 

Bear claws have an almond paste and sometimes raisins inside. The yeast dough of bear claws makes them flaky, puffy, and generally lighter. Although bear claws and apple fritters use simple ingredients, they are different. 

But if you’re a fan of Bear Claws, it’s likely that you’re a fan of apple fritters too.

How do you store Bear Claws?

I prefer to store pastries at room temperature in an airtight container. This keeps your Bear Claws from becoming stale so they stay fresh longer. They should last 2-3 days when stored correctly. If you’re making these ahead of time, you can also store them in your fridge in an air tight container for up to 4 or 5 days.

Can you freeze Bear Claw pastries?

Of course! After your bear claws have completely cooled wrap each individual bear claw in plastic wrap. Then wrap each one again, in aluminum foil. Now your double wrapped bear claws are ready to go into a freezer bag. 

When you’re ready to eat your bear claws, thaw them overnight and pop them in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes. 

It’s as good as fresh.

Well, I’m hungry now.  Are you?

Let’s get started on our Bear Claw pastries!

Here’s the almond paste recipe to help you get started.

Almond Bear Claws

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 6 claws

Equipment

• Food Processor
• baking sheet
• Pastry brush To spread the egg on top
• spatula

Ingredients

  

• 1 package frozen Puff Pastry (thawed)
• 4 oz almond paste
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour

Toppings

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tsp coarse sugar

Icing

• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

 

Pastry

• Preheat oven to 400° F
• Break up your almond paste into smaller chunks and add it to your food processor. Add the butter and sugar and mix and combine.
• Crack the egg and put it in a small, separate bowl, and lightly beat it with a fork. Add half of the beaten egg to your almond mixture. Set the other half aside for brushing the pastry before it goes into the oven.
• Then add the flour and mix the almond paste mixture again so the paste is smooth. Use your spatula to scrape the sides to make sure the ingredients are well combined.
• On a floured surface, unroll one of your pastry sheets. You should see two, fold line indentions, that separate the dough into three even sections. Cut the dough along those perforated lines so you have three long pieces of puff pastry.
• Keep one of the long pieces of puff pastry in front of you and set the other two aside. Spread about two tbsp of the almond paste on half of the pastry piece in front of you. Fold over the bare half of puff pastry so it's on top of the half with almond paste. Use a fork to crimp the edges, like a pop tart. Make sure it's sealed well. Repeat this step with each sheet of puff pastry dough.
• Make four even cuts, from the center of your Bear Claw all the way to the crimped edge. Cut all the way through your pastry. Gently pull the cuts apart to make a curved, claw shape.
• Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and lay your bear claws on it.
• Brush the leftover beaten egg on the top of each Bear Claw.

Toppings

• Sprinkle sliced almonds and coarse sugar (if you have it) on top of each Bear Claw.
• Bake for 16-18 minutes. Set your Bear Claws aside to cool.

Icing

• Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until it's runny and smooth for drizzling.
• When your Bear Claws are cooled, use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the top of your pastries in a zigzag pattern. And enjoy!

Video

Keyword Almond, bear claws