Pull Apart Cinnamon Sugar Flaky Pastries with Walnuts
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 12 pastries
- Category: Baking, Breakfast, Dessert
Description
I live in a small town near the ocean on the east coast. Almost all of our businesses in town are run by small business owners, and like everywhere else, the pandemic has hit many of them hard. Unfortunately, one of those places was our local bakery, The Flaky Tart.
This place had the best pastries I’ve ever had. And considering I’m generally more of a salty versus sweet person, the fact that I loved their stuff says a lot!
They had one pastry they called the Monkey. I’m not sure why, to be honest. When I google “monkey recipes,” the only thing that pops up is monkey bread… which I had never heard of before! They were uber flaky, oozing with butter and cinnamon sugar and walnuts. I ignored the voice in my head screaming “CALORIES!!” They were worth it!
So, our beloved little bakery closed, but I know my household can’t live without these pastries. So, I set out to recreate them. At first, I thought brioche dough was the way to go. And, although they were good, they weren’t anywhere near the monkeys!
Returning to the drawing board, I noodled long and hard on what to use. Since my best friend got me hooked to The Great British Bake Off, I’ve been able to ponder over different types of doughs. Initially I was thinking puff pastry may be the right way to go, but then I swerved course and decided to try a Danish pastry. And O.M.F.G. these are AWESOME.
I really can’t think of any other way to make these closer to the monkeys then maybe add more butter. But, I actually like the fact that they’re not oozing with butter. They’re absolutely perfect and totally delish!
So, these pastries get their flakiness from creating layers of butter in the dough. Each time you fold the dough like an envelope and then roll it back out, you create more layers. Too many layers and your pastry is too dense. Not enough layers and you have no flake. As with most pastries, 27 layers is a perfect amount, so you have to fold and roll out the dough three times.
The biggest tip for making these bad boys is to keep everything cold after the dough rises. I popped the dough in the freezer after every time I rolled it out and refilled it. If the butter gets too warm and melts into the flour, you won’t have any layers and you’ll have wasted all that time! Look at these layers!
I note several times below that I highly recommend using a marble rolling pin, if you have one. They’re nice and heavy, which makes it easier to roll out cold dough. AND, they have a natural coolness, which helps to keep the butter from melting!
Homemade pastries may seem daunting but they’re actually super easy! And these are sooooo yummmm. Breakfast, dessert, midday snack? Yes, yes, yes!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Pastry
375 g bread flour
2/3 warm milk, about 100°
3 TB yeast
¼ cup sugar
2 cups butter, divided and at room temperature (preferably use a high quality butter like Kerrygold)
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp vanilla extract
Filling
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
1 TB cinnamon
Instructions
Make the Dough
Add the yeast to the warm milk and whisk to combine. Set aside until foamy ~ about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the sugar, softened butter, salt, cardamom, and vanilla extract to your stand mixer, with the dough hook attached. When the yeast has frothed, add to the stand mixer and turn on low to combine the ingredients.
Slowly add in the flour, little by little. Halfway through, add in the egg. Then pour in the remaining flour.
As the dough starts to come together, turn the mixer up to medium. The dough should start pulling cleanly away from the sides. Continue beating the dough for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it for about 1 minute, forming it into a ball. The dough should not stick to your hands. If it does, continue to knead it until it comes cleanly off your hands. It’s okay if it’s a bit tacky. Return to the bowl, cover with a towel, and place somewhere warm for an hour, or until doubled in size (I like to turn my oven on for a couple of minutes to warm it up and make it a proofing box).
Prepare the Remaining Butter
Between two sheets of parchment paper, roll the butter out into a rectangle about 12 inches by 9 inches. Place into the freezer until the dough is ready.
Make the Pastry Layers
Once the dough is ready, punch the air out and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until all the air bubbles are out. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 18 inches by 12 inches.
Remove the butter from the freezer. Carefully remove the top layer of parchment paper. Cut the butter in half. Place one half in the middle of the dough, with the 12” side lining up with the 12” length of the dough. Fold one third of the dough over the butter like you would an envelope. Place the second half of the butter on the folded dough and then fold the remaining third of dough over the butter.
Turn so the 12” side is the long way. Roll out into another 18 by 12 inch rectangle. Fold into an envelope, place on parchment paper or a silicone mat and stick it in the freezer for 15 minutes. This step is important to make everything cold. You don’t want the butter mixing with the flour ~ the butter is what creates the layers!
Lay the dough out again and roll it out into another 18 by 12 inch rectangle. This will take a bit of elbow work since everything is cold. I recommend a marble rolling pin because they’re heavy and they have a natural coolness to them. If your pin sticks to the dough at all, lightly sprinkle the top with butter. Fold back into an envelope and freeze it again for another 15 minutes.
Repeat this process twice more. So, in all, you will have rolled out the dough 4 times ~ 3 of those times with the butter layered inside. After your final roll out, fold and freeze it one last time for 15 minutes.
Assemble the Pastries
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Prepare a muffin sheet with muffin cups or lightly grease the pan.
Prepare the cinnamon sugar by mixing together the brown sugar and ground cinnamon.
Roll the dough out to an 18 by 12 inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise every 6 inches, giving you three pieces. Cut these in half. Then, cut each square diagonally. On each triangle, coat the surface with cinnamon and sugar and then sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Roll each triangle up like you would a croissant. When you place them in the muffin pan, lightly smoosh them down to create a flat bottom.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until golden brown and the internal reading is 195°.
Pour a cold glass of milk and enjoy!
Notes
It’s important that the butter and dough stay cold so that they don’t blend. The butter creates the flaky layers of the pastry. If your hands get too warm or you see that the butter is starting to be a bit too pliable, pop the dough back in the freezer to cool down.
I recommend using a marble rolling pin because they’re heavy and naturally cool. They make is easier to work cold dough.
Keywords: Cinnamon Sugar Flaky Tarts, Flaky Tarts, Monkey Pastries, Flaky Pastries, Puff Nuts, Nutty Puff Buns
