Ever wondered how to ruin a perfectly good French croissant? Meet the trendiest new pastry in Paris: the cookie croissant, also known as the crookie. Here is how it’s made: you take two perfectly good things (in this case, a cookie and a croissant) and smash them together into something unnecessary.
But that’s ok. We survived the sushi pizza, coffee served in a donut instead of a cup and burgers on a stick as a Bloody Mary garnish. So yes, we’ll get through this one, too.
If you’re wondering how the crookie came to be, we see it as born out of Parisian bakers’ attempts to entertain those traveling to see the upcoming Paris Olympics with a new twist on a classic croissant. In our opinion, however, the traditional French croissant doesn’t need any meddling. It’s classic for a reason.
But what’s so special about French pastries, anyway? Can’t anyone just follow a recipe for a croissant? Not so much, according to French chefs, who claim it is impossible to have a true French pastry outside of France. And it isn’t just semantics. You will never confuse an authentic French-made croissant, with its crispy golden exterior, tender layers of buttery folds and large pockets of air, with a croissant found in the frozen section of your local grocery store.
The art of French pastry is so delicate that every detail matters—from the milling quality of flour, freshness of the milk and heaviness of butter to the air temperature at which you mix your ingredients, humidity of your surroundings and even atmospheric pressure in this particular part of the world that allows the dough to rise just the proper amount. It’s akin to how New York City tap water lends itself to creating the best bagels.
If the crookie has made you question the je ne sais quoi quality of the French pastry, don’t fret. To restore your faith in Parisian culinary genius, we’ve prepared a list of 10 French pastries you need to try this summer.