Recipe: BANKET (Bahnket - is the Dutch spelling) Sometimes called Dutch Letters (as in the Dutch Festival in Pella IA) or Almond Roll.
Dough
1 pd butter
4 cups flour
1 cup water
cut chilled butter into flour using a pastry blender.
Gradually add water until a dough forms. Mix thoroughly.
Wrap dough in parchment paper and chill over night.
Filling
1 lb almond paste
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp almond extract
Mix almond paste, sugar eggs and almond extract with mixer or food processor.
Place in an airtight container and refrigerate over night.
Measure 6 oz dough and roll out to a rectangular shape of 12-15 inches x 4-5 inches. Lay a 4 oz strand of filling down the center of the dough leaving 1 inch at the ends to fold over. Fold over excess dough and lap crust over sealing the seams and ends with finger tips. Lay stick on cookie sheet and brush with Egg white. Vent stick with 8 small slits with the tip of a knife to allow air to escape during the baking process. It should be about 2 inches wide and 10-12 inches long.
Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Leave stick cool on cookie sheet until firm and it can be moved to a wire cooling rack.
Things you should know:
Dough is very flaky and light and if it is rolled too thin it can seperate in the oven.
Keep it cool and roll it to about 1/4" thickness for the best results.
The filling is very sticky but bakes up to a creamy marzipan like treat. At times some of the filling will bake out of the stick, the result is a chewy candy like "blister". My brothers and I used to run to the kitchen when we were kids to be the first to grab these as my mother took the Banket
(Bahnket - is the Dutch spelling) out of the oven.
