Almond Babka Rolls
Crispy almond babka cookies which will disappear before you know it!
Almond Babka Rolls - how hard can it be?
True that — making these great cookie rolls is easy and fun. The hard part is never the filling, right? It's always the dough. In a good krantz dough I put a lot of time and effort, since it's the heart of the pastry. Working time for the almond babka rolls is about 20 minutes — great time versus value. And when you taste these little tricky pastries, you'll know what I mean. You just won't be able to stop eating them. Don't say I didn't warn you.The method
I make the almond filling in a food processor. It doesn't need any cooking and takes about 7 minutes to make. On first look it might appear grainy and dry, but that's how it should be — the final result will be perfect, since the almond paste is light and complements the dough without overpowering it.
Don't push the dough all the way through — just halfway, until a mark appears on the almond roll, then release. In this case I used a regular pencil for the squeeze.
Enjoy! And make sure to make enough for your guests as well.
Method
- 1
Making the Almond filling· 5 minutes
In a food processor place the sugar, almonds, lemon zest, orange zest, salt, cinnamon and pulse until combined. Add the butter and egg yolks and pulse until combined. Add the biscuits and pulse just a bit (2-3 pulses), we don't want a biscuit powder, we want nice surprising biscuits chunks in the filling, it’s a lot more fun.
- 2
assembling the babka almond rolls· 90 minutes
Set a parchment paper on a large baking pan Place the Krantz (babka) dough on a floured working surface. Open the dough to a 30x20cm (12x9 inch) rectangular thin shape. Spread the almond paste on the dough, don’t worry if its grainy and not spreadable, the dry roll filling will add texture to the rolls after the baking. Roll the dough into a log shape and cut it to a 2-inch (4-5 cm) width pieces. Squeeze each piece half the way down with some kind of thin oval tool (I used a pencil), be careful not to squeeze the cookie all the way down. Place the rolls on a parchment paper, cover with a wet towel and proof for 1-1½ hours.
- 3
Making the 60 brix sugar syrup· 5 minutes
Place water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, reduce heat and stir until sugar completely dissolved in the water. Remove from heat and keep aside.
- 4
Baking and serving· 25 minutes
Preheat the oven to 180°c/ 350°F. Place the rolls in the middle rack and bake for about 25 minutes until golden crispy. Brush the almond rolls immediately (while hot) with the sugar syrup and cool for 5 minutes. Sift powdered sugar on top and serve.
Jaron Kimhi
Jaron Kimhi — self-taught home cook from Tel Aviv, writing and cooking every recipe on this site himself. 20+ years of tinkering in the kitchen, leaning toward slow cooking, classic technique, and honest ingredients.
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