In my last post I gave the recipe for Danish Pastry dough. Here's a good beginner's recipe to make some modestly-sized treats for family and friends.
Four Corner Danish Pastries
1 batch of Danish Pastry Dough
Preserves, pie filling, chutney, etc.
Prepare a 9” x 13” baking sheet with parchment or vegetable cooking spray. Divide dough in half. Leave half, wrapped, in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll portion of dough into a 9” x 9” rectangle. When you roll out the dough it’s almost impossible to get the edges perfectly straight, so roll it out 10” x 10” and trim it as needed. Using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, divide dough into 9 squares. I often use a vintage 3” x 3” cookie cutter I found in a monastery junk drawer.
1 batch of Danish Pastry Dough
Preserves, pie filling, chutney, etc.
Prepare a 9” x 13” baking sheet with parchment or vegetable cooking spray. Divide dough in half. Leave half, wrapped, in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll portion of dough into a 9” x 9” rectangle. When you roll out the dough it’s almost impossible to get the edges perfectly straight, so roll it out 10” x 10” and trim it as needed. Using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, divide dough into 9 squares. I often use a vintage 3” x 3” cookie cutter I found in a monastery junk drawer.
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On each square, bring the corners to the center and press down with your fingers to make an indentation about the size of a quarter. Add a tablespoon of filling to the center and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with second portion of dough or use to make some other pastry.
You can use the trimmings to make spiral pastries as shown here. Knead the dough scraps together, divide and roll into ropes, flatten each one slightly and shape as shown. Place on the baking sheet and add the filling. I like this better than trying to roll the leftovers out to cut more squares. Besides, they make nice samples for the kitchen help!
Preheat oven to 350° F. Cover the baking sheet with a clean dry towel and allow pastries to rise for 30 to 45 minutes or until nearly doubled. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Drizzle with powdered sugar icing.
There are a lot of different ways to shape Danish pastries. Here's a couple of ideas from Craftsy (where I just happen to have a couple of online classes!) I'll be posting some additional ideas in the days ahead. But right now, I think I'll have a little breakfast.
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