INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

On a sheet of parchment paper, roll out the puff pastry into a
paper-thin rectangle. Prick it deeply all over with the tines of a
fork. Slide the paper and pastry onto a baking sheet. Cover with
plastic wrap; chill for at least 2 hours. Prepare the pastry cream:
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and cinnamon sticks. Place
over high heat and bring to a boil, then immediately remove from
heat. Cover; let sit for 5 minutes. Strain, discarding cinnamon
sticks. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour and cornstarch; whisk
to blend. In another bowl, whisk whole eggs until frothy, then add
them to the dry ingredients. Whisk the mixture vigorously, and while
whisking, pour the hot milk into the bowl. Return the mixture to the
saucepan; place over medium heat. Whisk without stopping until the
pastry cream comes to a boil; cook 1 minute longer. Pour the cream
onto a piece of plastic wrap laid on a baking sheet. Cover with more
plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 1 hour. Prepare the royal icing:
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, or by hand with a whisk, beat
egg whites on low speed until foamy. Gradually add powdered sugar;
beat until the icing is shiny and thick as taffy. Remove puff pastry
from the refrigerator. Using an offset spatula, spread the royal
icing evenly over pastry. Set aside at room temperature until the
icing dries, 1 to 2 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a cookie
cutter to cut out the cookies. Release the cookies from the cutter by
blowing into the cutter. Put the cookies on a baking sheet lined with
parchment paper; place in the oven. Immediately turn the oven off and
bake until the icing tops separate from the puff pastry bottoms.
Remove from oven; return oven to 400 degrees. Carefully pull icing
tops off pastry bottoms; place tops on a large plate and set aside.
Return bottoms to oven; bake until pastry is golden and caramelized,
about 10 to
15    minutes. Let cool on a rack. To serve, whisk chilled pastry
cream to loosen it; put in a pastry bag with a star tip. Pipe a little
pastry cream onto each pastry bottom (or put on a small dollop with a
spoon). Cap with a royal icing top. Yields about 60 cookies.
Recipe Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 12-07-1998
Formatted for MasterCook by Susan Wolfe - vwmv81a@prodigy.com
Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

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