Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Easy Cream Cheese Danish


This is what I made for Father's Day Breakfast.  I don't make it very often and soon you'll see why.  It takes about an hour, which I don't usually have time for in the morning, and it's very rich and heavy on the calories.  This is another great recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up!


Dough:
1 1/2 C warm water
2 T sugar
1 T yeast (I use active dry)
1 t salt
3 1/2- 4 C flour
2 T melted butter

Filling:
1 -8 oz package cream cheese softened
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
dash salt
1 C raspberry, mixed berry, or strawberry jam

Glaze:
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/4 t vanilla
2 T milk
1 T butter

The Dough
1. Mix the water sugar, sugar and yeast in the bottom of your Kitchen Aid, or mixing bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes until nice and bubbly.
2. Add the salt and the flour 1 C at a time while mixing  until the dough scrapes the edges of the bowl clean. When all of the flour is added mix on high for 5 minutes.
3. Pour the 2 T of butter into the bottom of a large jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Spread it all around to cover the pan. Set the dough on the buttered pan and let it rest for 5 minutes.  Your dough will be hard to handle unless it rests.
4. Press the dough out to the corners of the pan.

The Filling
1. In a small mixing bowl mix the softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg and salt together. Mix on high for about 2 minutes or until all ingredients are smoothly incorporated.
2. Spoon the cream cheese filling onto the dough and spread it around to cover the dough with a knife.
3. Warm your jam up in the microwave for about 30 seconds. This will make it easier to spread. Spoon it onto the cream cheese filling in little globs.
4. Run a knife or spoon through the cream cheese filling and jam to make a marble like pattern.
5. With a pizza cutter cut the dough into 12 large (5 inches or so) squares. Then cut each square in half diagonally to make 24 triangles.
6. Let the dough rest and rise for about 10 minutes. You don't want it to rise very much. It should only rise up to be even with the rim of the pan. Just watch it carefully then  bake it when it reaches the rim of the jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until the top and the bottom both get golden brown. When they are done take out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
7. Run your pizza wheel back through the cutting lines you cut before baking. It will be kind of sticky and gooey. Clean off your pizza wheel several times as you go.

The Glaze
1. In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the glaze until smooth and silky. Put into a Ziploc bag and cut a very small opening in the corner. After the danish is mostly cool separate the danishes from each other and remove from the pan, pipe the glaze onto the danish and serve!