Croissants

While their name is French, croissants actually started as a specialty of Austrian bakers. Made of multiple thin layers of pastry dough layered with plenty of butter, they are extraordinary flaky, featherweight but rich. Pastry purists insist that croissants not be tampered with, but it is common practice in bakeries and coffee shops to wrap croissant dough around fruit, almond paste, or chocolate, or offer such savory fillings as cheese, sausage, or ham. Most such filled croissants are created not in the traditional crescent shape but as rectangular pillows. A rectangular chocolate-filled croissant properly is known as pain au chocolat.