Light & Flaky Pastry Recipes
The best pastry is rich and crisp but light and flaky. Here are 18 of our favorite pastry recipes.
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Aromatic rosemary adds a lovely hint of flavor to the zesty cranberry filling in this festive pastry.
These tender doughnuts are just as good when filled with your favorite jam or preserve.
The word "beignet" is French for "fritter." Originally developed in New Orleans, these delightful, bite-size treats are embellished with a generous dusting of powdered sugar.
Layers of puff pastry sheets tuck around spiced apples and rich cream cheese in this decadent breakfast pastry.
Starting with purchased crescent roll dough makes these tender, rich pastries a snap to whip together.
Light and flaky layers of phyllo dough create the pastry crust for this decadent filled treat. Tangy Granny Smith apples are perfectly accented by the creamy vanilla-basil sauce.
Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger add warmth to the pumpkin filling in these little bundles of deliciousness. Cream cheese gives the strudels a bit of decadence.
Topped with an apple-spice glaze, these doughnuts are better than any you can buy in a bakery.
Greet the day with these sweet pastry braids that are so tender they fall apart at the touch of a fork.
This classic doughnut recipe from the 1953 edition of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book is our favorite. We've updated it to use butter (and more of it) instead of shortening, but kept its classic cinnamon-nutmeg spiciness.
These delightful little bites can easily change flavor. Try brushing them with different kinds of jam -- raspberry, peach, or apricot -- or even orange marmalade.
A bit of apple peeking out of the pastry adds color to this shortcut version of a traditional favorite that uses refrigerated crescent roll dough instead of pastry made from scratch.
Packed with a luscious filling of almond paste and fruit preserves, these flaky petite treats are perfect paired with a cup of coffee.
Coated in sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon, these old-fashioned pumpkin doughnuts are sure to become a holiday brunch favorite.
Loaded with a creamy vanilla filling and golden raisins, this classic breakfast pastry is perfect for a special occasion.
Beignets are fritters that are typically sprinkled with powdered sugar. Be sure to use a deep saucepan for deep-fat frying, leaving about 3 inches between the fat and the top of the pan.
Filled with a tangy-tart mixture of cream cheese and lime, these flaky pastries are sure to impress guests.
Ricotta cheese is the secret ingredient in these moist and delicious fried doughnut holes.
