Danish Puff Pastry Christmas Stars Recipes

DANISH PUFF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place flour in a bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle with water; toss with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough in half. On greased baking sheets, press each portion into 12x3-in. rectangle., For topping, in a saucepan, heat butter and water to a rolling boil. Add flour and salt all at once and beat until blended. Cook over low heat, stirring vigorously until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth. Add extract; continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Spread half of the mixture over each rectangle., Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 1 hour. Cool on pans 10 minutes., Mix first four icing ingredients until smooth; spread over warm pastries. Sprinkle with almonds.

HOLIDAY DANISH PUFFS

Steps:

• Place flour in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each into a 14x2-1/2-in. rectangle. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet; curve one end of each pastry to form tops of canes. Refrigerate while preparing topping., Preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, combine water, butter and salt; bring to a rolling boil. Add flour all at once and beat until blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring vigorously until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and forms a ball. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes., Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth. Add extract; continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Spread over pastry dough., Bake 60-70 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool on pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack; cool completely., In a small bowl, beat confectioners' sugar, butter, water and extract until smooth. Spread over pastries; sprinkle with almonds. Refrigerate leftovers.

EASY CHEESE DANISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper.
• Beat the whole egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl; set aside.
• Beat the egg yolk, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.
• Lay out the 2 sheets of puff pastry and cut each into 4 squares. Fold the corners of the squares over by about 1 inch to make octagon shapes. Spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly into the center of each (about 2 tablespoons per); do not spread the cream cheese. Brush all of the exposed pastry with the egg wash, then dust generously with sugar.
• Bake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 18 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

DANISH PUFF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place 1 cup flour in medium bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup softened butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; toss with fork.
• Gather pastry into a ball; divide in half. Pat each half into 12x3-inch rectangle, about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• In 2-quart saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil; remove from heat. Quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Spread half of the topping over each rectangle.
• Bake about 1 hour or until topping is crisp and brown; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely.
• In medium bowl, mix all glaze ingredients except nuts until smooth and spreadable. Spread over top of pastry; sprinkle with nuts.

PUFF PASTRY DANISHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Beat first 4 ingredients until smooth; beat in 1 egg yolk., Mix water and remaining egg yolk. On a lightly floured surface, unfold each sheet of puff pastry; roll into a 12-in. square. Cut each into nine 4-in. squares; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets., Top each square with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture and 1 rounded teaspoon jam. Bring 2 opposite corners of pastry over filling, sealing with yolk mixture. Brush tops with remaining yolk mixture., Bake until golden brown, 14-16 minutes. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

PUFF PASTRY CHEESE AND PRESERVE DANISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small bowl combine the mascarpone, egg yolk, sugar, flour and vanilla. Stir until just combined and then set aside.
• Dust the puff pastry with flour and roll with a rolling pin to flatten and smooth.
• Place the puff pastry on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Schmear the mascarpone down the middle of the puff pastry lengthwise into a 3-inch wide strip. Spoon the fruit preserves on top of the mascarpone.
• Using sharp kitchen shears cut the long sides of the pastry into 1-inch wide strips. Cut towards the cheese filling but stop about 1-inch before you get to the filling. This result will look like fringy pastry. Alternating sides, fold 1 piece of the fringe over the cheese and jelly mixture. The result will look like a braided pastry with fruit preserve peeking through. Brush the dough with the beaten egg yolk mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool before serving. Cut into strips to serve.
• Call yourself a super star!

DANISH, PUFF PASTRY, CHRISTMAS STARS

Steps:

• Put prunes, water& sugar in a saucepan.
• simmer for 20 minutes, cool, drain off any excess liquid & puree coarsely.
• Roll out the thawed puff pastry to make 4 12x12 inch squares.
• Cut into 3" squares and place a level teaspoon of prunes into the center of each square.
• Cut a 1 1/2 slit from each corner toward the center of each square.
• Fold alternate points toward the center and press together in the middle.
• Let rest on an ungreased baking sheet or baking stone (cover the stone with a sheet of baking paper) for 15 minutes.
• Brush with beaten egg.
• Place in 450F oven and bake for about 10 minutes or until flakey and golden.

PUFF PASTRY (DANISH PASTRY DOUGH)

Steps:

• In a large bowl sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Add the egg, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk gently to combine. Set aside.
• Toss the diced butter and flour together in a medium bowl. If there are any larger pieces, break them with your fingers. Add the flour and butter mixture to the wet ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until the flour is completely moistened. Transfer the dough to a smaller bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a heavily floured surface, pat it into a rectangle about 8 x 6 inches, and then roll it into a larger rectangle about 14 x 24 inches. Brush off any excess flour and fold both edges in so that they meet in the center. If the dough is sticking underneath, release it with a long flexible metal palate knife.This is called a "book fold".
• Rotate the rectangle of dough 1/4 turn on the table.This is called a "turn". Roll into a rectangle measuring about 24 x 12 inches, loosening the dough underneath with a the metal spatula, reflouring as necessary.
• Brush off any excess flour and give it another book fold. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and repeat this process two more times, rolling the dough out each time to 12 x 24 inches.
• There are 4 book folds in all. After the final turn, shape the package into a rectangle measuring about 9 x 6 inches.
• Brush off any excess flour, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to one month.

CHRISTMAS STAR TWISTED BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water until foamy. In another bowl, combine milk, egg, butter, sugar and salt; add yeast mixture and 3 cups flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 4 portions. Roll 1 portion into a 12-in. circle. Place on a greased 14-in. pizza pan. Spread with one-third of the jam to within 1/2 in. of edge. Repeat twice, layering dough and jam, and ending with final portion of dough., Place a 2-1/2-in. round cutter on top of the dough in center of circle (do not press down). With a sharp knife, make 16 evenly spaced cuts from round cutter to edge of dough, forming a starburst. Remove cutter; grasp 2 adjacent strips and rotate twice outward. Pinch ends together. Repeat with remaining strips., Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden brown, 18-22 minutes. (Watch during final 5 minutes for any dripping.) Remove from oven; brush with melted butter, avoiding areas where jam is visible. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.