The $200 Croissant

Yesterday I saw “It’s Complicated”–a fabulous movie where Meryl Streep’s character owns a gorgeous bakery in Santa Barbara. During one scene, love-interest Steve Martin craves fresh croissants so Streep takes him to her bakery where she proceeds to make croissants right there in front of him. During this after hours tour, Streep uses her croissant machine to roll, fold, roll, fold, roll fold. Next, we see them sitting at a table enjoying the delicious croissants hot from the oven.

There are people I’ve heard that make croissants from scratch—without an automated croissant machine! My foray into a Paris bakery has squelched any desire that I had to try this at home—with 200 layers it would take hours to make real croissants and I don’t’ have the patience. My dreams of waking up my daughter with a hot croissant fresh from the oven were not to be.

But wait, have you heard about Pillsbury pastry dough at your grocer? Connoisseurs will shudder here—Pillsbury makes croissant dough that doesn’t come close to the real thing but in a pinch, in our family, it will do. So I rolled out the dough. Cut it in squares.

Filled with chocolate chips and folded in the way I learned in Paris–filled croissants are square not crescent shaped.

Made a choco framboise for me–filled with chocolate and raspberry jam. Anna is a purist, chocolate only!

Baked them and served to my smiling daughter.
Cost: A bakery class in Paris $200. Ingredients from the grocery story $5.50
Homemade croissants served in bed: Priceless.

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