Do-Lit-Yourself: Libritos!

Do-Lit-Yourself is a column for book lovers with a crafty streak. This pinteresting monthly is written by LPG Education and Engagement manager Lauren Perruzza.Now that winter is actually here (in Ontario, at least), we’re sure you and your book clubs are starting to retreat indoors, cranking those thermostats and digging woolies out of summer storage. Last year, we came up with four tea blends to beat the chill, and this year, we’re adding a snack to go with them. They’re adorable, they’re book-shaped, they’re full of butter: they’re libritos!Libritos are an Argentinian pastry dessert, shaped like little books (“booklets” is an approximate translation to the name). If you’re ambitious, you can make your own sweetened puff pastry (here’s a recipe for Argentine pastry dough), but we like the shortcut of just covering storebought pastry in sugar (your dentist will thank us).While the traditional version is just a folded over piece of puff pastry, famed pastry chef Alain Ducasse serves up an “opened” version in his Be Boulangepicier, which you can totally do at home.You’ll need:

• Puff pastry, thawed
• Butter, melted
• Egg
• Sugar

To do:

1. Roll out your puff pastry, just a little bit bigger than its original size. Just don’t completely flatten it out.
2. Cut your puff pastry into little rectangles, approximately 2” x 3”.
3. Lightly butter the top of one of your rectangles, and place another rectangle on top. Repeat until there are 5-6 rectangles stacked atop one another. Create more stacks until you run out of pastry.
4. Using a skewer, gently press down the centre of the stack (on the short side) until the “pages” splay up on either side of the skewer. Go slowly, so that you don’t cut through the pastry accidentally. Repeat with the remaining libritos.
5. Whisk the egg in a bowl with a teaspoon of water or milk, and brush generously over your libritos. Dip each one in sugar, or sprinkle with sugar (if desired).
6. Bake according to package directions (they should be gold in colour).

 

Eat with your book club, or just by yourself. We won’t tell. Get napkins and your dayplanner, because things are about to get flaky. Inspired to make more treats? Check out Butter Cream (Signature Editions), Denise Roig’s memoir about ditching it all to attend pastry school.