Yuletide Danish Pastry Recipes

YULETIDE DANISH PASTRY

Steps:

• 1. PASTRY: In a large bowl, place water and warm milk. Sprinkle yeast over the mixture and then sprinkle sugar over the yeast. Add softened butter, salt, eggs, and 2 cups flour. Beat for 2 minutes with mixer. Add 2 more cups flour and beat again with mixer for 2 minutes. Add remaining flour and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rise until double, about 45 minutes. Punch down. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. On a lightly floured board, roll each part into a rectangle. Spread 1/4 Cream Filling on each; then 1/4 Almond Filling on each. Roll up jelly-roll fashion on the long side. Cut about 10 slashes through top of rolls with a serrated knife. Place each roll on a greased cookie sheet, then form into a wreath shape or candy cane shape. Sprinkle with Streusel Topping. Let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Drizzle warm bread with Almond Icing and sprinkle with slivered or sliced almonds.
• 2. Cream Filling: Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, then mix in egg yolk. Stir a tablespoon or two of warmed milk into egg mixture, then add egg mixture to the heated milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture is bubbly and thick. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and cool.
• 3. Almond Filling: Combine all ingredients with a fork, wire whisk, or electric mixer until well blended.
• 4. Streusel Topping: Mix all ingredients with a fork, wire whisk, or electric mixer until well blended.
• 5. Combine powdered sugar with enough milk or cream to make a slightly runny icing. Stir in almond flavoring.

DANISH KRINGLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cut 1 cup butter into flour until crumbly, leaving pea-sized chunks. Stir in sour cream, and mix well; dough will be very sticky. Form dough into a ball. Cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. Prepare the filling by combining 1 cup butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup chopped walnuts.
• Divide dough into three equal parts; return two parts to the refrigerator to keep cold. Quickly form 1/3 of the dough into a rectangle, and flour lightly. On a heavily floured surface, roll out to approximately 12x17 inches. Position lengthwise on the work surface. Along the long edges of the dough rectangle, use a sharp knife to cut 4 inch long angled lines about 1/2 inch apart. Spoon 1/3 of the filling along the length of the rectangle's uncut center. Alternating from one side of the dough to the other, fold each 1/2 inch wide strip towards the center, crisscrossing the filling in a braid-like fashion. Lightly press together the ends of the strips to seal. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining walnuts. Repeat with remaining ingredients to form 3 braided danishes. Arrange danishes on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool for approximately 30 minutes. While the danishes are cooling, prepare the icing: mix confectioners sugar and water until smooth. Drizzle in fine streams over warm danishes.

DANISH KRINGLE

Steps:

• Warm the milk in the microwave: Pour the milk into a microwave safe cup or bowl. Heat the milk in the microwave in 15 second intervals until it is warm to the touch but not scalding, about 100°F. If it scalds or burns, then it's too hot for the yeast. You can also use a thermometer to check the temperature of the milk to be sure it has reached 100°F.
• Enclose the filling: Use a pastry brush to brush the edges of the dough with water. Fold the long bottom edge up and over the filling, then fold the top edge down, overlapping the bottom edge to enclose the filling completely. Gently press the seam to close. You should end up with a long log.
• Arrange oven rack and preheat the oven: Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

YULETIDE DANISH PASTRY

Steps:

• To make pastry:.
• Mix all pastry ingredients in a large mixing bowl only until will blended.
• Cover and let rise till doubled.
• Meanwhile, make fillings and toppings.
• For Cream Filling:.
• Heat milk in saucepan.
• Mix egg yolk into dry ingredients.
• Add a little warm milk to temper, then mix with heated milk.
• Stir and cook till thick.
• Remove from heat and cover with plastic wrap.
• Cool.
• For Almond Filling:.
• Mix all ingredients with until well blended.
• For Streusel Topping:.
• Mix all ingredients with fingers or pastry blender until mixture resembles course crumbs.
• For Almond Icing:.
• Combine powdered sugar with enought milk or cream to make a slightly runny icing.
• Add almond extract.
• Punch down dough.
• Divide dough into 4 equal parts.
• Using one portion of the dough, roll out into a rectangle on a lightly floured board.
• Spread 1/4 cream filling on each; then 1/4 almond filling.
• Roll up jelly-roll fashion.
• Cut about 10 slashes through top with a sharp knife.
• Repeat with remaining 3 portions of dough.
• Place each roll on greased cookie sheet.
• Shape into wreath or candy cane shape.
• Sprinkle with streusel topping.
• Let rise in a warm place till double in bulk.
• Bake at 375* for 20 minute.
• Drizzle with Almond Icing and sprinkle with almonds.

DANISH PASTRY

Steps:

• Heat milk to luke warm, about 100 degrees. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and whisk in yeast. Set aside while preparing other ingredients. Place flour, sugar and salt in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade; pulse to mix. Add the 4 tablespoons butter and pulse until butter is absorbed and mixture is powdery in appearance. Add eggs and milk mixture and continue to pulse until dough forms a ball. If the dough refuses to form a ball, add up to 3 tablespoons more flour, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing once or twice between each addition.
• To mix by hand, combine flour salt and sugar in a bowl and stir well to mix. Rub in butter by hand, being sure to leave mixture cool and powdery. Beat eggs until liquid and add to flour mixture along with yeast-milk mixture. Stir vigorously with a rubber spatula to form a dough.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest 5 minutes. Scrape dough to floured surface and fold dough over on itself 6 or 8 times, sprinkling with up to 3 tablespoons more flour if dough is very soft. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 to 8 hours.
• After the dough has chilled, prepare butter: Place half the flour on work surface and place butter on it. Scatter remaining flour on butter and pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it to a malleable consistency. Scrape butter together and form into a cylinder. Immediately remove dough from refrigerator and press in into a 6 by 12-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Distribute dabs of butter in a 6 by 9-inch rectangle at the closer end of the dough, covering dough as completely as possible. Fold the top (unbuttered) portion of dough down over the middle section and the bottom (buttered) portion up to cover it. Position the dough so the fold is on the left and roll the dough back to its original size, flouring the surface and dough as necessary. Fold both short ends in to the middle of the dough and fold again at the middle, making 4 layers. Reposition the dough so that the fold is on the left again and repeat rolling and folding. Double-wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate dough several hours or overnight before using.

CHRISTMAS DANISH PASTRY

Steps:

• Read and Follow Carefully!
• Pastry: Place butter and sugar in 4-quart bowl, pour heated milk over fat.
• Let stand while yeast dissolves in 1/2 cup water and 1 tbs sugar.
• Stir and let stand for 5 minutes.
• When yeast is dissolved and bubbly, add eggs and beat well.
• Add yeast/egg mixture to cooled milk mixture.
• Add salt to flour in sifter and sift in to bowl of above ingredients.
• Beat with a spoon until all flour is added to make a soft dough.
• Let rise until double.
• Custard: Heat milk.
• Mix sugar, salt and flour together and stir into hot milk.
• Stir until thick, beat egg yolk and gradually add hot mixture TO YOLK until hot and then add back to original mixture.
• Cook 1 minute more.
• Let cool.
• Almond Filling: Beat all ingredients together with mixer.
• Crumb Mixture: Combine flour, sugar and walnuts; mix in the 1/2 cup butter until well mixed.
• Assembly: Divide dough into 3 portions, or, make up to 12 small pastries.
• Roll out to about 1/4 to 1/2 thick rectangles, long side perpendicular to you works best.
• Place fillings down center of rectangle in this order: Custard, almond filling, crumb mixture.
• Cut equal number of slits on both sides of rectangle, leaving the center 1/3 of dough intact with fillings.
• Braid the strips you just cut over the fillings.
• Place pastries in foil lined pans, brush with egg white beaten with 2 tbs water.
• Place halved maraschino cherries, like buttons, down the top and sprinkle with more crumb mixture.
• Bake at 350°F for 20 min for small pastries, 30 minutes for medium, and 35-40 minutes for large.