Saffron Star

Here's how:

• 1

  Saffron Stew

  Heat the saffron, water, and syrup to about 60 °C, stir, and remove from the heat. Feel free to add a couple of tablespoons of cognac or liquor to the saffron mixture to bring out even more color and flavor. The saffron mixture can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for about a week; cover it tightly with plastic wrap.

• 2

  Pour cold milk and water into a mixing bowl and dissolve the crumbled fresh yeast in the liquid. Add all the dry ingredients and the room-temperature butter. Knead the dough in a stand mixer for about 12 minutes on medium speed until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides. Double the time if you’re kneading the dough by hand. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

• 3

  Meanwhile, prepare the filling by mixing together the room-temperature butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and cornstarch.

• 4

  Place the dough on a clean surface, divide it into 4 equal parts, and shape them into buns. Roll out the first bun to about 30 cm in diameter and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

  Spread 1/3 of the filling on top. Roll out the next bun to the same size and place it on top of the first bun with the filling. Spread another 1/3 of the filling on top. Do the same with the third bun. Roll out the fourth and final bun and place it on top without spreading any filling on it.

• 5

  Carefully mark a cross on the dough, making sure all four sections are the same size. Now mark the dough so that you have eight equal parts, and do this one more time so that the dough is divided into 16 parts. Place a glass in the center of the dough. Using a sharp knife, cut through all the layers of dough to create 16 parts; the glass will keep the dough held together in the center. Now you can remove the glass.

  Take two pieces of dough side by side and twist them together three times so that all the layers are twisted together. Secure them neatly. Do the same with all the layers and all the pieces until a beautiful star is formed. 

• 6

  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 60–90 minutes, or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 180 °C using standard top and bottom heat.

• 7

  Brush the cookies with egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes or until they are a nice golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with a thin layer of powdered sugar before serving.