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1
For the pastry, mix the flour with the oil and the eggs very thoroughly.
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2
Bind with just enough orange juice to hold it together, adding it by the tablespoon, then knead into a soft, malleable dough.
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3
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
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4
Mix all the filling ingredients together and work with your hands into a soft paste.
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5
Divide the pastry dough into four for easy handling.
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6
Then roll it out into thin sheets on a clean surface (it does not need flouring because the dough is very oily and does not stick).
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7
Cut the sheets into 4-inch squares.
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8
Take a lump of almond paste and shape it into a thin, little sausage 3 1/2 inches long.
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9
Place it in the middle of a square, diagonally, on the bias, about 1/2 inch from the corners.
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10
Lift the dough up over the filling (a wide-bladed knife helps to lift the dough) and roll up, then very gently curve the roll into a crescent.
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11
Pinch the dough to seal the openings at the end.
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12
Repeat, making crescents with the remaining dough and filling.
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13
Arrange the crescents on oiled trays.
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14
Bake them in an oven preheated to 325F for 30 minutes.
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15
The crescents should not turn brown, but only just begin to color.
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16
When cool, dip them in plenty of confectioners sugar so that they are entirely covered.
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17
Another way of making the crescents is to cut the pastry into rounds, place a line of filling on one half and fold the other half of the pastry over the filling to make a half-moon shape.
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18
Then pinch the edges together, trim some of the excess rounded edge, and curve the pastries slightly into crescents.
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19
Instead of dusting with confectioners sugar, dip the pastries in warmed honey mixed with a drop of water to make it runnier (see page 127).
