French Twist Recipes

PUFF PASTRY TWISTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment or buttered waxed paper.
• Unroll the puff pastry on a work surface. Brush the pastry generously with melted butter.
• In a small bowl, toss together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the pastry.
• Working lengthwise, cut the pastry in half and then cut each half into 6 even strips, each 3/4-inch wide. Twist the strips to make long twisted "straws".
• Transfer to the prepared pan, pushing the ends down with your thumb to help them stay in place on the pan and remain twisted. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• To make the sauce, heat the milk in a saucepan. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and whisk to melt it. Whisk in the peanut butter until smooth. Keep sauce warm until ready to serve.
• To serve, place the twists on a tray and serve with the sauce along side for dipping.

CINNAMON TWISTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Add 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt, milk, butter, egg and remaining water; beat on medium speed 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch down dough. Roll into a 16x12-in. rectangle. Brush with butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter. Let dough rest for 6 minutes. Cut lengthwise into three 16x4-in. strips. Cut each strip into sixteen 4x1-in. pieces. Twist and place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Bake at 350° 15 minutes or until golden.

FRENCH TWISTS

Steps:

• Preperatory steps - Preheat the oven to 350º. Also, lightly butter or grease a baking baking sheet (for convenience, I usually just use a no-stick spray). And last, pour about 1 to 1 1/2 ounces of maple syrup into 4 separate condiment cups; set aside.
• Stir together the cinnamon and sugar, and place the cinnamon/sugar mixture in an even layer in a shallow dish.
• Remove dough from package, and separate dough into 12 individual breadsticks. Roll each breadstick in the cinnamon/sugar mixture until both sides are evenly coated. Twist each coated breadstick 2 or 3 times, to make a spiral.
• Place twisted breadsticks on the lightly coated baking sheet. Bake in a 350º oven for 12-15 minutes or until breadsticks are puffy and lightly golden brown.
• Let cool for a minute on the baking sheet.
• The recipe is intended for 3 French Twists and 1 1/2 ounce serving of maple syrup (for dipping the French Twists) per serving. But feel free to adjust serving sizes to suit your needs.

FRENCH TWIST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan.
• In a small, heavy saucepan, bring the sugar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup and 1/2 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat, without stirring, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Boil until the caramel is a light golden color or a candy thermometer registers 240º, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Working quickly and carefully, remove the thermometer and pour the maple caramel into the prepared cake pan. Set aside.
• In a large bowl or baking dish, whisk the milk, eggs and the remaining 1/4 cup maple syrup.
• Soak the croissant halves in the custard until moistened, then layer the croissants on top of the maple caramel in the prepared cake pan, pressing down gently to flatten.
• Pour any remaining custard over the croissants and let the bread soak and soften, pressing down occasionally to flatten the croissants.
• Set the cake pan in a large roasting pan and carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
• Bake until the croissants are golden and the custard is set (a toothpick inserted in the center of the French toast should come out clean), about 45 minutes.
• Remove the French toast from the hot-water bath, cut into wedges and serve warm.