Flaky croissants, crisp baklava, airy cream puffs and buttery pie crusts all have one thing in common: pastry. National Pastry Day, on December 9, celebrates the doughs that turn simple ingredients like flour, butter and water into something extraordinary. December is peak pastry season, with holiday pies, tarts and treats on every table, so it's a great time to visit a bakery or try a new technique at home.
History of National Pastry Day
Pastry has ancient roots. Cooks in the ancient Mediterranean made thin doughs layered with honey and nuts, and some historians see these as early relatives of phyllo-based desserts like baklava, which developed in the kitchens of the Ottoman Empire.
In medieval Europe, pastry was often a sturdy container for cooking meat and preserving food rather than something to eat. Over time, bakers learned to make richer, more delicate doughs, and by the 1600s, French and Italian pastry cooks were creating refined desserts.
French pastry became especially influential. Chefs refined puff pastry, made by folding butter into dough many times to create hundreds of thin layers, and choux pastry, which puffs up from steam to create hollow shells for éclairs and cream puffs. In the 1830s, an Austrian entrepreneur named August Zang opened a Viennese bakery in Paris, and its crescent-shaped pastries helped inspire the French croissant.
Today, pastry is generally grouped into a few main types: shortcrust, puff, flaky, choux and phyllo. Who started National Pastry Day isn't recorded.
Why National Pastry Day Matters
Pastry shows how technique transforms ingredients. The same flour and butter can become a tender pie crust or a towering puff pastry, depending on how they're handled.
It's also a beloved part of cultures around the world, from French viennoiserie to Middle Eastern baklava, Latin American empanadas and Indian samosas.
How to Celebrate National Pastry Day
- Visit a bakery: try a pastry you've never had, like a kouign-amann or a mille-feuille.
- Make shortcrust: practice a simple pie or tart crust using cold butter.
- Use store-bought puff pastry: make quick palmiers or savory tarts.
- Try choux: bake cream puffs and fill them with whipped cream.
- Explore global pastries: make empanadas, samosas or baklava.
Celebrating at Work, School and Home
At work, bring in a box of assorted pastries from a local bakery for a morning meeting, or organize a 'holiday pastry' potluck. In culinary and science classes, students can compare how different pastries rise, using steam, fat layers or yeast, and observe the results. Younger children can make simple jam turnovers using store-bought puff pastry. At home, try a beginner-friendly project such as palmiers, which only need puff pastry, sugar and cinnamon, or hand pies filled with leftover holiday fruit. Keep ingredients cold while working with pastry: chilling the dough between steps makes it easier to handle and creates flakier results.
Fun Facts About National Pastry Day
- Puff pastry gets its layers from folding butter into dough repeatedly.
- Choux pastry rises from steam, not yeast or baking powder.
- August Zang's Viennese bakery in Paris helped popularize the croissant.
National Pastry Day FAQs
When is National Pastry Day?
National Pastry Day is December 9.
What are the main types of pastry?
Shortcrust, puff, flaky, choux and phyllo are the most common.
Why should butter be cold for pastry?
Cold butter stays in pieces that melt and release steam during baking, creating flaky layers.
Is a croissant a pastry?
Yes. It's a laminated, yeast-leavened pastry known as viennoiserie.