Recipe byThe ZestyPlate Kitchen
Delicate Algerian crescent pastries filled with orange-blossom almond paste, baked pale, dipped in honey and dusted with pistachios.
Cornes de gazelle are the slender crescent pastries of North Africa, where wafer-thin dough is wrapped around a scented almond and orange-blossom paste, then dipped in honey and crushed pistachios. They take a little care to shape, but they're the sort of thing brought out for weddings and feast days.
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Prep 45 min
Cook 20 min
Total 90 min
Hard
Scale:
- 2 cups Almonds
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 beaten Egg
- 3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 1 ½ tbsp Orange Blossom Water
- 3 tablespoons Pistachio
Nutrition (per serving)
220
kcal
6g
Protein
13g
Carbs
17g
Fat
Estimated per serving. How we calculate this.
Preparation
- Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment. Spread the almonds out and bake until fragrant and roasted, 20 to 25 minutes.
- While the almonds roast, make the dough. Combine the flour, ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon butter and salt in a bowl and rub them together to fine breadcrumbs, then add the egg, oil and 1½ tablespoons orange blossom water and knead to a smooth dough, working in a teaspoon of water at a time if it feels dry. Shape into a ball, wrap, and rest for 30 minutes.
- Let the almonds cool a little, then process them until finely ground. Add ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, the cinnamon, egg and 1 tablespoon orange blossom water in that order, pulsing after each addition until it comes together as a paste.
- With greased hands, take walnut-sized pieces of filling and roll them into small logs with thin ends, then set aside.
- Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Roll out half the dough very thinly on a lightly floured surface. Lay an almond log along the edge, fold the pastry over to cover it completely, seal the edges, and curve it into a crescent. Trim around it with a pastry cutter and move it to the sheet, then carry on with the rest of the dough and filling.
- Bake until lightly golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes, taking care they don't darken. Let them cool a little.
- Warm the honey in a small saucepan over low to medium heat, take it off and stir in 1 tablespoon orange blossom water, then dip the gazelle horns in the honey, set them on a serving plate, and scatter with crushed pistachios.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Roll the dough as thinly as your nerve allows, because that paper-thin pastry is what marks out a good gazelle horn.
- Shape the almond filling into logs with tapered ends so the crescents curve cleanly.
- Pinch the edges shut firmly and tidy them with a pastry cutter for a neat finish.
- Pull them from the oven while still pale rather than browned, which keeps the texture delicate.
Frequently Asked Questions
A fragrant water distilled from orange blossoms, and it's what gives these pastries their perfume. Use it sparingly, as a little carries a long way.
It's likely too dry. Work in water a teaspoon at a time as you knead, then let the dough rest before you roll it out.
About a week in an airtight tin. The almond filling keeps the insides soft and moist.
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