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Grandma Betty’s Banket

If you have been following along you know that my grandma Betty was a great baker and every year we made Christmas Cookies together. Banket was one of her best (closely guarded) recipes. Since she passed, my mom and I were attempting this for the first time on our own this year.
 
 
 
 I’m happy to report it turned out great! Warning: this recipe is not for the faint of heart – it has 42 million steps, not to mention the dough needs to rest over night. It is so worth it though, delicious flaky crust with a sweet almond paste filling. It is perfect with a cup of coffee and is just so Christmas to me (probably because it is the only time of year we convince ourselves to go thru all the work of making it.)
 
plate of pastries
 
Ok here we go, 
 
A person holding almond paste
 
First you need to find Almond Paste (I usually get mine from a dutch bakery here but you can find it in the refrigerated section at most grocery stores). Grate it in bowl, mix well with eggs and sugar.
 
Then make your dough for your crust – make sure not to overmix! Sorry no pics of this, it is hard to take photos when your hands are coated in butter and flour.
 
Here is the first unusual part get 2 pie plates and put your dough in one, your almond filling in the other. Cover with wax paper and refrigerate over night.
 
Almond paste
 
The next day cut your “pies” into 8 equal sections. This will help keep your portions the right size, because you are going to make 8 rolls. Oh, didn’t I mention this makes enough for an army? Don’t worry you can freeze it.
 
 
Almond paste
 
Get your flour, rolling pin, and muscles out. This part I have down, my grandma’s arthritis bothered her the last few years, so this has been my job for a while.
 
 
Take one of the little slices of pie dough and roll out into a long, thin rectangle.
 
 
Are you still with me? We are almost to step # 3,742…
 
Cut one of your slices of almond filling into quarters.
 
Almond paste in a pie plate
 
Place each slice on the rolled out dough, closer to one side, forming into an even line.
 
Roll up, folding the ends under. Pinch together slightly so the filling doesn’t ooze out.
 
Dock the rolls with a fork, brush with egg yolks.
 
A piece of food
 
And we’re done! Now sit back and look at all your hard work :)
 
At this point you can stick the pans in your freezer until the Banket is frozen hard. Then you can wrap them up and bake off as needed. I baked 2 rolls and froze the rest.
 
A close up of a banket rolls
 
Slice them up and enjoy.
 
 

 
Plate of pastries

Grandma Betty's Banket

dutch pastry filled with almond paste
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 day
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings: 64
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Dutch
Calories: 95
Ingredients Method Nutrition

Ingredients
  

Pastry Crust
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 pound butter cold and diced
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
Filling
  • 1 pound almond paste grated
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs

Method
 

Make the Pastry
  1. Combine dry ingredients into a large bowl.
  2. Add diced cold butter and mix with a pastry blender, fork or hands until the texture is crumbly like wet sand.
  3. Add cold water and knead until a dough forms. This should be like pie crust.
  4. Place in a pie tin and cover with wax paper. Refrigerate overnight.
Make the filling
  1. Grate the almond paste into a bowl.
  2. Add eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Mix well.
  3. Place in a pie tin, cover with wax paper. Refrigerate overnight.
Assemble the pastry rolls
  1. Cut almond paste and pie crust into 8 equal pie slices.
  2. Flour a clean surface and remove a 1/8 section of the dough. Roll out into a long rectangle.
  3. Cut a 1/8 section of the filling into 4th's. Place along one side of the pastry in a line.
  4. Roll the dough over the filling and seal the ends with water.
  5. Dock the dough with a fork on top.
  6. Repeat with the rest of the slices until you have 8 rolls.
  7. Mix 1 egg with a splash of water to make an egg wash. Brush on each roll.
  8. You can bake the rolls at this point in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Or you can freeze them to bake later.

Nutrition

Calories: 95kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 50mgPotassium: 42mgFiber: 1gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 19IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 24mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!
 
almond pastry on a plate
 
 
 
 

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6 Comments

  5. At the step where you cut the dough into 8 pieces, I’m a little confused because the next step is to cut the filling into 8ths, and then each 8th into quarters. Do you line up 4 of the quarter pieces on each slice of dough or did I miss something? Thanks, looks delicious!

  6. YUM!! Sometimes you make things and I am like, why the heck does she live so far away! {that sounds a little stalker-ish considering we have never “met” LOL!} Looks so delish!!

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