Crescent Bear Claws

I was wide awake at 5AM this morning.
Wide.
Awake.
Why? Why? Why? Seriously. Today was the perfect day to sleep in. It was a casual day, I could go in to work late if I wanted to, so why in the world am I up so early? Once I finally realized that I was not going back to sleep, I decided that I would make a special breakfast treat for the family. Now, I haven't baked in for-ev-er. I peeked through the fridge and the cabinets to see what ingredients we had on hand. I saw some Pillsbury crescent rolls that were close to their expiration date, so I popped on Pillsbury's website to see what breakfast recipes they had using crescent rolls. A recipe for bear claws stood out among the rest. I LOVE almond flavoring, so I figured I'd give them a shot. I found the recipe pretty simple to make. The flavor was just incredible. When my dad bit into the finished product he said, "Umm...look out Panera!" These bad boys look like they took hours to make, so feel free to fool your friends and tell them you slaved over a hot stove making them!

Crescent Bear Claws

Filling
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons almond extract

Glaze
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Rolls
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations™ refrigerated flaky dough sheet
1/3 to 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Icing
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. In medium bowl, beat egg lightly with wire whisk. Place half of egg (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) in custard cup; beat in milk until blended. Set aside. To remaining egg in bowl, stir in remaining filling ingredients until well blended.

2. Meanwhile, in heavy 1-quart saucepan, mix glaze ingredients. Heat to boiling. Remove from heat.

3. If using crescent rolls: On lightly floured work surface, unroll dough; press into 12x8-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: On lightly floured work surface, unroll dough; press into 12x8-inch rectangle.

4. Spoon filling into 12x2-inch strip lengthwise down center 1/3 of dough. Fold 1/3 of dough over filling. Fold filling-topped section over last 1/3 of dough so seam is on bottom of folded dough. With hand, gently flatten 1-inch-wide strip of dough along one long side of folded dough. Cut folded dough crosswise into 6 (2-inch) pastries. Along flattened edge of each pastry, cut 1-inch-long cuts about 1/2 inch apart.

5. Lightly brush egg-milk mixture over each pastry. Place almonds on plate; turn each pastry upside down onto almonds and press gently so almonds stick to dough. Place almond side up on cookie sheet, spreading each cut slightly to form claw shape. Sprinkle remaining almonds over top of pastries.

6. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to cooling rack; cool 5 minutes. Drizzle cooled glaze over each pastry. In another small bowl, mix icing ingredients until smooth (if icing is too thick, add 1/2 teaspoon water at a time until drizzling consistency). Drizzle icing over cooled pastries.