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Yummy Danish Pastry Recipe

I have not met one person - yet - who did not like this Danish pastry recipe. I make it for brunch, breakfast, snacks, pot-lucks, picnics and even dessert.

If you are a brunch - or breakfast - lover then I think this Danish recipe will certainly make your short list.

And please, do not worry, you do not need to be a chef from a French pastry school in order to make these Danishes. They are quite easy to bake even of you have never made a yeast bread before.

I would - however - strongly suggest you use a stand mixer as this yeast dough will be much stickier than regular bread dough made with dry yeast.

When it comes to finding a Danish pastry recipe, you certainly do not want to reproduce the rubber like texture of the store bought varieties...laden with ingredients you cannot pronounce and infused with enough preservatives to let the pastries last for days - if not months or years - on the store shelves.

No, what you want is a dough which is flaky, buttery, flavorful and that melts in your mouth.

In my opinion, this recipe for Danishes fits that bill...it is delicious and it will produce flaky and flavorful Danishes. The dough for these Danishes will be just like you like it...it will just melt in your mouth.

You can make these breakfast Danish pastries with either a simple jam filling or more elaborate cream cheese filling or - to accommodate all taste buds - both varieties. For your convenience, I have included a cream cheese filling recipe.

If the task of making this Danish pastry recipe seems difficult...be assured that it is actually very easy. The main trick is to remember that you need to set aside enough time in order to let your dough rise twice before baking.

In all kindness I must warn you that every time you make this Danish pastry recipe - and after the Danishes are long gone - you will be asked for the recipe. But all in all...that is a nice problem to have!

So why don't you make this breakfast pastry recipe yourself and then come back and leave a comment, a tip or even better...a review...with pictures of course!

Read others' comments and reviews about these Danish pastries.

Jam Filled Danish Pastry Recipe

Ingredients For This Danish Pastry Recipe

1/4 cup warm water - 110 to 115 degrees

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm milk - 110 to 115 degrees

4 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup melted butter - cooled and no substitute

4 egg yolks gently mixed

Optional - 2 egg whites

Jam of your choice or cream cheese filling recipe

~*~*~*~

Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 to 4 tablespoons milk

Breakfast Pastry Recipe

In your stand mixer bowl, place the warm water and the yeast. Let the mixture sit until the surface looks foamy - about 5 minutes.

Add the flour, salt, melted butter (cooled a tad. If too hot, it will kill the yeast), the warm milk, sugar and egg yolks. Mix well until all the ingredients are combined. The dough will still be very sticky...that is the way it is supposed to be.

At this point, you can choose between two methods which work equally well:

1. Cover the top of your bowl with some plastic wrap and place the whole thing in the fridge - overnight.

2. Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap - or kitchen towel - and let the dough stand at room temperature for about one hour - and up to one hour and a half.

If you placed your dough in the fridge, remove it and roll out on a floured surface to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Do the same thing, if you chose the other method.

With a biscuit cutter - about 3 inches in diameter - cut some circles in the dough and I place them on a greased cookie sheet.

Note: I use stainless steel cookie sheets as I do not like aluminum for health reasons.

Let the Danishes rise for 20 to 30 minutes.

Then with the back of a soup spoon - or your thumb, I like that method myself - make some little indentations in the center of your pastries. Fill each indentatin with either jam or the cream cheese filling.

Place the Danishes in your oven heated to 350 degree for 14 to 20 minutes.