Grandma Lang's Bunket (Holland Christmas Letters)

Compliments of Bob Lang

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry

1 cup Almond Paste
2/3 cup Sugar
1 Egg

Puff Paste:

Although you can use store bought puff paste, it isn't difficult to make from scratch and home made really does taste better. Also there is a multitude of recipes for making Puff Paste, and most are much easier than the one I use, but I have been using this for some time and I am a creature of habit. So here it is:

Wash 1 pound of sweet butter, kneading and squeezing it in a bowl of cold water until smooth and waxy. Place it in a cloth and press out any water that may have been trapped in it.

Sift 4 cups (1 Pound) of all-purpose flour with 1-teaspoon salt into a mixing bowl and with your fingertips work 2 tablespoons of the washed butter into the dry ingredients. Gradually add ice water, about 1 cup and still using your hands, mix quickly and lightly to make a dough with about the same consistency as the butter. The dough should be firm but not hard. Place it on a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Shape the butter into a flat square cake about 1/2 inch thick and place it into the center of the dough. Fold the upper flap down to cover the butter and fold the lower flap of dough over the upper flap, making three layers and completely covering the butter. Press the side edges of the dough together and chill the paste in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Place the chilled dough on the table with either side edge facing you. Roll it out away from you to make another long rectangle. The dough should be rolled as thinly as possible without letting the butter break through the surface. If the butter breaks through, it means air is being lost, and it is the enclosed air that puffs the paste. (But don't panic if it breaks through a little, it will still work.) Fold the rectangle of dough into thirds - that is fold the long dimension so that you get three layers - and turnit so one of the side edges is facing you. This rolling, folding and turning is called a turn. Make another turn and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Make 2 more turns and chill the dough again. Make 2 final turns (6 turns in all) and chill for 15 minutes or more before using.

Making the Bunket:

In a bowl mix the Almond Paste, sugar and egg well. Try to remove all large lumps. Depending on the size of the egg, the mixture might be a little thin but it will thicken as it bakes.

Since the Puff Paste is more workable when it is cold, work with small amounts at a time - about half the above recipe will make 3 pieces of Bunket. Roll out the Puff Paste quite thin (1/16 to 1/8 inch). Cut into long strips about 3 inches wide by 15 inches long. With your hands roll the Almond Paste mixture into sausage shaped pieces and place the pieces end to end in the center of the Puff Paste strips. Fill to 3/4 - 1 inch of each end of the Puff Paste strip. Fold the short ends of the strip over the Almond Paste then fold one of the long ends of the Puff Paste strip over the Almond Paste. Moisten the remaining long edge of the strip with a little water and fold it over the first long edge. Don't make it too tight or the paste will split during baking. These "logs" can be formed or combine to make any of the letters in "CHRISTMAS" ( of course the "I" is the easiest so it is the one I make most of the time). Place the Christmas Letter on a cookie sheet and brush the top with an egg wash (beat a whole egg with a little water with a fork or small wire whisk). Grandma Lang always said a good chef applies the eggwash with his fingers not a brush but I always make a mess that way so I use a brush. Important - With a fork punch some holes in the top of your Christmas Letters otherwise the trapped steam will cause the pastry to split. Repeat for as many letters as you want to make.

Bake the pastry in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 340 and bake for another 40 - 50 minutes (50 minutes to an hour total time). After the first 40 minutes check once in a while to make sure the pastry does not burn. Remove from oven when golden brown and place on racks covered with paper towels to cool.