A Croissant to Remember

Maddie LaKind  

There are few things I enjoy more than waking up to a hot coffee and freshly baked pastry, reading the paper, and taking the time to relax before facing reality. While this city is bursting at the seams with high quality coffee—think Comet, Lab, The Espresso Bar, Zingerman’s, Café Ambrosia, and Mighty Good—outstanding pastries are a commodity much more difficult to come by; or so I thought, until the Pastry Peddler came into my life.

It’s questionable when I first actually stumbled upon this mecca of pastry goodness given the inordinate amount of visits I’ve paid there over the years. I do however, remember that first instant of pastry revelation—that breakthrough moment when I realized that in a city of what I thought were “just okay” baked goods, there lay something pretty remarkable underneath the surface.

Operated in a petite storefront next to Campus Corner on Packard, Pastry Peddler cranks out all of the traditional bakery offerings with a serious commitment to quality. From raspberry Danish, to gooey sticky buns dripping with chopped pecans, scones of every flavor, muffins, and pasties—a savory Northern Michigan specialty reminiscent of a handheld potpie—as well as an extensive espresso drink section, the whole menu is a showstopper. There is one specialty though, that in my humble opinion, ranks high above the others, redefining what a great baked good should be, and never ceasing to disappoint—the almond croissant.

I tasted my first of a long string of these nutty delights not at the Pastry Peddler storefront but at Comet Coffee; the Peddler is one of the premiere suppliers of pastry to Ann Arbor’s coffee shop scene. Upon seeing it for the first time, I knew this thing had to be good; a dark golden croissant, shaped in a perfect crescent to expose layers upon layers of buttery pastry, topped with a thick, even layer of sliced, toasted almonds.

While beautiful in its simplicity, this seemed just like your basic almond croissant set-up to me, until I brought it to the table and dove in. After peeling apart the bottom half from the top, I discovered a thin layer of almond cream delicately nestled in the belly of the pastry. As if it wasn’t decadent enough already? Similar to the texture of pudding, this satiny addition serves as a superb textural compliment to the crunch and chewiness of the pastry itself. Also, as the almond crème seeps into the bottom layer of the pastry, it creates a sugar-soaked, super crispy, almond-scented base for this baked gem, beckoning you to delve in and enjoy—immediately!

As the croissant enthusiast I am, I have developed a unique way of eating this pastry to maximize eating time and savor it with joy. This method requires peeling the top and bottom layers apart and then slowly taking little bites of each half, alternating as you please. The top half should maintain a nice flake to it and give off that toasty, nutty aroma and flavor, while the bottom should hit you with both a crunch of pastry and the smoothness of almond crème.

Despite perfecting this technique over the course of three years in Ann Arbor, I still can’t manage to make these croissants last longer than seven or eight minutes. Eaten alongside a foamy cappuccino or shot of espresso, the almond croissant from Pastry Peddler is the perfect way to indulge in breakfast, brighten a bad day, or pick you up from an afternoon slump. If you’re anything like me, you will be counting down the days until your next croissant purchase. Just be careful—these babies can lead you down a slippery slope of minor Peddler dependence. Trust me though; there are much worse problems you could have.

Pastry Peddler, 619 Packard St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, (734) 929-2976