Prior to attending the Culinary Institute of America, the only croissants that teased my palate came in sandwiches form; courtesy of Starbucks, and Wawa convenience stores (Pennsylvania thing). Croissants filled with lunch meat and wax-like-cheese, wrapped in aluminum foil sitting under a heat lamp was the standard I lived by during my adolescent years. The first time I indulge in a traditional flaky croissant was when I began my journey in culinary school. At 6am the baking students would roll a cart filled with baked goods into the dinning hall. An abundance of crisp, buttery crescents filled the cart. With my first bite into a true French croissant, I was hooked. If you were to hold one of the warm croissants up to your ear, you could hear the buttery center popping, expanding, and flaky layers building! It was then I realized the only thing that can beat a cup of coffee, is a freshly baked croissant in the morning. Often enjoyed for breakfast, croissants have not always been a morning treat, or considered being French. Croissants originated in Austria during the 13th century. The Austrian crescent ancestor was called a “Kipfel”, usually served sweet or plain, with nuts or a filling. With any great food, there is more than one tail to it’s invention. One such tail of the croissant states that it was created in Buda to celebrate the defeat of the Ummayyad forces by the Franks in the Battle of Tours, with the shape representing the Islamic crescent moon. Another origin story comes from Vienna, where the delicious, flaky pastry was created to celebrate the defeat of the Ottomans by Christian forces in 1683, creating its shape after the ottoman flag. There is even a story about Marie Antoinette, sneaking away from royal dinners to eat sweet treats and coffee. The only official historical reference traces back to a baker by the name of August Zang in Boulangerie Viennoise during the 19th century. People began to call them croissants after their crescent shape. The modern croissant we know and love today, is made by folding a yeast dough, and butter slab creating 27 crips layers. This laminated dough takes an extraordinary amount of time, patience, and refrigeration. Traditional, a dough made of yeast sometimes eggs, sugar and salt is made. That dough then proofs and a “butter slab” is made, rolled, and folded into the dough. With each fold, the dough is refrigerated, to prevent the butter from melting, and seeping out of the dought. This process can easily take a whole day. Creating a similar croissant without the long process can be easily accomplished, with innovative techniques, and the addition of more leaving power. Pie comes to mind when thinking of flaky baked goods. Pie dough is made by cutting butter into flour, adding water, and mixing till a loose dough forms. I used this method of cutting butter, into the flour mixer, using a food processor. Using the food processor to blend the wet ingredients as well makes this method mess and hassle free. Yeast is commonly the only leavening agent used in croissants. It adds flavor, and makes baked goods rise. Unfortunately yeast takes a substantial amount of time to poof. To cut down on the waiting time, baking powder is added to the flour mixture to create extra lift, without sacrificing the flavor yeast provides. Croissants are a very intimidating pastry to make. With simple innovative methods, and short proofing time, you don't have to be a professional to make stunning crescents at home. This recipe takes half the time of traditional croissant methods, meaning more time enjoying there buttery goodness. Quick and Easy Croissants Yields: 8ea Temp: 450F ingredients: 1 envelope (2 ¼ teaspoons) instant dry yeast 3 tablespoons sugar, plus ¼ teaspoon ½ cup warm milk (100F-110F) 2 cups (11 ounces) high gluten bread flour ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 ¼ sticks (6 ounces) cold butter, cut ¼ inch dice 1 egg 1 tablespoon heavy cream 1 whisk yeast, sugar, and warm milk in a small bowl, let set until yeast has bloomed and mixture cools to room temperature, about 15 minutes. 2 Meanwhile, combined flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor, pulse 3 times. Add butter to flour mixture and pulse 11 times, till butter resembles large pea sized balls. Add cooled yeast mixture to food processor and pulse 10 times, till dough loosely comes together. Place dough on a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a 5” x 7” rectangle. Wrap dough up and place in freezer for 30 minutes. 4 Lightly flour a work surface. Remove chilled dough from freezer and roll into a 9” x 13” rectangle. With the longest side facing you, fold rectangle lengthwise into thirds. Repeat fold 4 times. With last fold, shape dough into a 5” x 7” rectangle. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. 5 combined egg and heavy cream in a small bowl and beat with a fork. Remove chilled dough from refrigerator and role into a 16” x 10” rectangle. Cut dough into 8 triangles, 12 inches long and 3 inches at the base. 6 Score a small slit in the center of each triangle base. Gently stretch the corners and tip, then tightly roll croissant starting from the base to the top giving them a croissant shape. Place croissants tip side down onto a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each croissant with egg wash, then cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours at room temperature. 7 Set oven rack to middle position and preheat to 450 F. Brush the croissants again with egg wash. Bake for 8 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 375 F and bake for another 10-15 minutes until deep golden brown. Let cool on wire rack and serve.