Moroccan Gazelle Horns (kab El Ghzal) (cornes De Gazelle)

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 40
• 14 ounces unsalted butter, chilled & cut into 1/4-inch bits (3 1/2 sticks)
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 -8 tablespoons ice water
• 1/2 cup blanched slivered almond
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons orange blossom water, divided (orange blossom extract)
• 1 (8 ounce) can prepared almond paste, softened
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Recipe

• 1 in a large chilled bowl, combine the butter, sunflower oil, flour, and salt.
• 2 using your fingertips, rub the flour and butter together until they look like flakes of coarse meal (do not over mix).
• 3 pour 6 tablespoons ice water all at once into the mixture; toss together lightly.
• 4 gather the dough into a ball.
• 5 if the dough crumbles, add ice water a few drops at a time until everything sticks together and forms a soft dough (up to 2 tablespoons).
• 6 divide the dough in half, dust each half with a little flour, and wrap in waxed paper.
• 7 refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• 8 pre-heat the oven to 350°f (180°c, gas mark 4).
• 9 spread the almonds out in a shallow baking pan and toast them in the middle of the oven until they are lightly browned, turning them occasionally (8-10 minutes).
• 10 pulverize the almonds in a blender, nut grinder, or using a mortar and pestle.
• 11 then, using the back of a spoon, rub ground almonds through a fine sieve into a deep bowl.
• 12 add the sugar, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon orange blossom water and knead with your hands into a stiff paste.
• 13 add the almond paste, butter, and egg, and beat vigorously with a spoon until mixture is smooth.
• 14 raise the oven temp to 400°f.
• 15 on a lightly floured surface, pat half of the dough into a rough rectangle about 1-inch thick.
• 16 dust a little flour over and under the rectangle, and roll it out from the center to within an inch or so of the far edge of the pastry.
• 17 lift the dough and rotate it 90°; roll again from the center to within an inch or so of the far edge.
• 18 repeat - lifting, turning, rolling - until the rectangle is a little less than 1/8-inch thick (if the dough sticks at any point during the rolling, lift it gently with a metal spatula and sprinkle a little flour under it).
• 19 using a ruler and a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 3-inch squares.
• 20 for each cookie, roll 1 teaspoon almond filling between your palms to form a cylinder about 2-inches long and 1/2-inch in diameter.
• 21 place a square of dough so that it's oriented as a diamond, and place the cylinder horizontally across it 1/2-inch down from the top point.
• 22 lift the top point up and fold it over so that it covers the filling.
• 23 then, starting with the folded edge, roll the dough up tightly jelly-roll fashion.
• 24 pinch the ends firmly closed, and gently shape the roll into a crescent.
• 25 arrange the crescents about 1-inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown (20 minutes).
• 26 transfer to wire racks and sprinkle them evenly with 1 tablespoon orange blossom water.
• 27 one at a time, dip the pastries in the powdered sugar to coat them lightly, and return them to the racks to cool.
• 28 while the first batch is baking, roll out and cut the remaining half of the dough, and repeat the process for filling and shaping.
• 29 while the first batch is cooling, bake the second batch until golden brown (20 minutes).
• 30 transfer to wire racks and sprinkle them evenly with the remaining tablespoon orange blossom water.
• 31 roll in powdered sugar, and let cool to room temperature before serving.