“While I’m in Paris” will feature guest posts from seven different ladies. Each post will have a unique twist, but a common love for Parisian and French culture! I hope you’ll enjoy this series while I galavant around the city of Paris, and we can all pretend we’re together. Make sure to show these girls some love by commenting below and visiting their blogs! 

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I was born and raised in Alpena, Michigan and moved to Portland, Oregon shortly after graduating from Michigan State University four years ago. I now reside in inner NE Portland with my partner, Jesse and our two cats, Mila and Dutch. I am a yoga, fitness, health & nutrition enthusiast and enjoy cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. I adhere to a paleo/scd (specific carbohydrate diet) lifestyle, which has successfully helped me heal from digestive and small intestine problems. Thus, I am a strong advocate for such a way of eating and living! Currently, I am a freelance writer, fitness coach, fitness technology student and seller of homemade treats at a local paleo food cart. I am still quite new to the blogging world, but am learning a lot and enjoying the process. Come visit me at my blog, Paleo in Portland.

When Jenna put out a call for entries recently, I felt elated about the potential opportunity. And how awesome for her to need guest posts because she’s traveling to Paris! I’ve never been to Paris, but have been to France – Colmar, specifically, when I was 17. If I were to travel back to France now and go to Paris, I think the first thing I’d do – aside from check into my hotel or wherever I’m staying – is visit the Eiffel Tower. I know that sounds super generic, but it’s a beautiful and world-renowned site and I’d be inclined to check it out firsthand before doing anything else. Afterward, I’d scour the city, farmer’s markets and butcher shops for good things to eat.

Anyway, I immediately knew what I wanted to test and blog about … grain-free croissants with sea salt, honey and herbs de Provence infused grass-fed butter. When Jenna replied back and said she liked my idea, I was tickled pink!

I tested two different recipes – one that I adapted on my own and the second from Tasty Eats At Home. My recipe turned out surprisingly well and the dough wasn’t too difficult to roll. The second recipe was another story, and I’ll just say that 100-degree weather and a non air-conditioned house don’t mix when trying to make and roll buttery, grain-free croissants. I’m not going to lie … I did get extremely frustrated and kind of wanted to throw a fit (or throw my ball of dough), especially because I wanted this trial to be better than the first, and planned to use it specifically for this post.  The reality was disastrous though. I rolled mutilated pieces of dough and had to piece each roll back together. No matter how much I chilled the dough, it didn’t matter. I don’t know how the blogger at Tasty Eats At Home did it, but hers turned out so beautifully and nearly perfect in the photos. I do have one other caveat about her recipe though … it didn’t taste nearly as good as mine. I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, but they were too dry and salty. I’ll still eat them, of course, but if I make croissants again, I’ll stick with my variation. Also to note, I did not sprinkle the croissants with turbinado sugar as she called for in her recipe.

In the midst of all my fuss, I realized it didn’t matter if the recipe didn’t work perfectly. That’s what happens when you test the waters and experiment … it’s not a guaranteed success. The success is in trying and failing and then trying again. It’s a process and I am not perfect, nor is life. That’s just how the story goes and you know what? It’s okay.

The butter came out creamy, slightly sweet and full of rosemary flavor from the herbs de Provence. I think I could eat this stuff with a spoon … no exaggeration either. It’s wonderful on the croissants and would taste great on some cooked vegetables or chicken too.

Please know, these croissants are much more biscuit-like and different from the real deal. It’s to be expected when baking grain-free, but if you attempt to make these in hopes of getting something light, buttery and flaky, think again.

Grain-free Croissants

Ingredients:

• 2 cups blanched almond flour, plus extra for dusting
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ cup grass-fed ghee or butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp honey

For the butter:

• ½ stick softened grass-fed butter
• 2 tsp herbs de Provence
• 3-4 grinds of fresh-ground sea salt
• ¼ – ½ tsp honey
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-slip baking mat.
2. Combine almond flour, sea salt and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together eggs, honey, and melted ghee. Mix wet ingredients into dry until a nice dough forms.
3. Lay one sheet of parchment paper down on a flat surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of almond flour.  Place dough in center of parchment paper and sprinkle with additional almond flour.  Place another sheet of parchment paper over dough and roll dough into a rectangle, 1/8-1/4 inch thick.
4. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into 6 – 8 squares. Then cut each square in half diagonally (Note: I actually forgot to do this and rolled mine from the square rather than the triangle. It’s fine; they just turned out a bit thicker).
5. Carefully roll each triangle into a crescent shape. Curve the ends.
6. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown

Au Revoir,

Alisa

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