Someone, please save me from the butter.

It’s becoming a little bit of an issue. And I have to remember that I’m not a bear – this is not a hibernation time of year for me, months of fattening up and sleeping it off. I still have to work and cook and be productive at some point.

And I should probably be productive at something besides making croissants – and soon – if I want to keep my current jeans.

But seriously. Croissants baking in the oven smell like you’re baking entire sticks of butter. It’s intoxicating. And then, even after all that, you get to eat hot croissants in your own home. In slippers or pajamas or a snuggy – whatever you want.

Are you in your hibernation phase, too? If so, it’s the perfect time of year for these.

They do take a few hours of prep to make all the folds in the dough, but it’s totally worth the work. And it may just make your winter a little less dreary.

Puff Pastry Croissants (no yeast!) – Jam and Cream Cheese Filled
Makes: 8-16 croissants, depending on size and filling

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• pinch salt
• 4 Tbsp butter, chilled and diced
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup ice water
• 3 sticks butter, slightly softened
• jam (we used both homemade Frog Jam and Strawberry Rhubarb)
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp orange zest
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the sugar and pinch of salt. Cut the diced butter into the flour mixture (using your hands or a pastry blender) until the butter is mostly incorporated into the flour and it feels a little like cornmeal.
2. Add 1/4 cup of ice water to the flour mixture and mix gently with a fork until you have a rough dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If you need more water, add it 1 tablespoon at a time, gently mixing until the dough holds together.
3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes before making the first fold.
4. Take the other 3 sticks of butter and place them in between 2 sheets or plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, press the sticks of butter together and roll out until you have a sheet of butter, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. This doesn’t need to be perfect – it just needs to be somewhat flat so you can fold it into the dough. Wrap the butter and chill it for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, take the dough and the butter out of the fridge. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle (about 10″x15″). Place your sheet of butter in the center of the dough and fold each side of the dough over the butter, like a letter you’re about to put into an envelope. Roll the dough back into a large rectangle, about 10″x15″, fold the sides in over the center again, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes. You’re going to repeat this rolling out and folding at least 4 times.
6. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese with the sugar and orange zest and set aside.
7. After your 4th fold, take the dough out of the fridge, roll the dough back into a large rectangle and cut into smaller rectangles, whatever size you want.
8. In the center of each piece of dough, drop a spoonful of the jam and the cream cheese mixture. Roll each piece up, placing it seam-side down on a baking sheet.
9. Brush each croissant with the beaten egg and bake the croissants at 400 degrees on a baking sheet for 15-18 minutes, until they are puffed and golden.

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