A bear claw is a sweet, yeast-raised pastry, a type of Danish or Viennoiserie originating in the United States during the mid-1910s.

[5] France also has an alternate version of that pastry: patte d'ours (meaning bear paw), created in 1982 in the Alps.

The name bear claw as used for a pastry is first attested in March 1914 by the Geibel German Bakery,[1] located at 915 K Street in downtown Sacramento.

Regional Dialect Survey Results, Question #87, "Do you use the term 'bear claw' for a kind of pastry?

"[9] Most Danishes include the same basic ingredients such as eggs, yeast, flour, milk, sugar, and butter.