Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease muffin top pan cups.

Bottom Crust Layer

Combine flour and salt in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add cubed butter and pulse several times until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ¼ cup cold water; pulse a couple of times until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed.

Turn out onto a work surface; knead once or twice, until dough comes together. Do not overmix.

Divide in to 12 pieces, about 1 tablespoon of dough, and press into muffin top cups. Wet your fingers, and flatten dough into a circle.

Puff Layer

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the water and butter to a boil. When butter is melted, add the salt and then add the flour all at once. Stir the mixture with a spoon until all the flour is absorbed and a dough forms,  this will happen very quickly. Keep stirring to continue cooking the flour another minute or two.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat it at medium speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just to cool dough down a little.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat until the dough loses its "slimy" look, and each egg is totally absorbed.

Mix in the vanilla extract.

Spoon the dough into a large gallon-sized plastic bag (or piping bag.) Use your hands to squeeze dough towards the bottom corner. With scissors, snip off the cornerof the bag. Pipe dough on top of crust layer until it completely covers the entire bottom layer of dough. Use wet fingers to smooth it out.

Bake the pastry for 40 - 45 minutes, or until it's a deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and transfer each pastry to a wire rack.

Topping

Spread each warm pastry with 1 tablespoon of jam.  (The pastries may start to sink in the middle, which makes it easier to spread the jam. If yours don't, like mine didn't, you can puncture the top with a fork to help deflate them a bit.)

Sprinkle the toasted almonds on top of the jam.

Icing

Stir together the sugar, vanilla, and enough milk or water to form a thick but "drizzlable" icing.

Drizzle the icing over the top of the pastries.