Danish Diamonds Recipes

DANISH DIAMONDS

Steps:

• Combine unsalted butter and 1 cup sugar in large bowl. Using wooden spoon, stir mixture until well combined. Whisk eggs and whipping cream in small bowl to blend. Gradually mix egg mixture into butter mixture. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, ground cardamom and ground nutmeg into medium bowl. Add to butter mixture and mix until soft dough forms. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Wrap each dough piece tightly in plastic; flatten each into disk. Refrigerate dough pieces overnight.
• Roll out 1 dough piece on floured work surface to thickness of scant 1/4 inch. Cut dough into 2-inch-wide strips. Cut strips crosswise and diagonally at 3-inch intervals to form diamond shapes. Cut 1 1/2-inch-long lengthwise slit in center of each diamond. Gently push one end of one pastry corner through slit and gently pull end back toward its original position. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining diamonds. Gather scraps, reroll and cut out additional diamonds. Cover and refrigerate diamonds while rolling and shaping remaining dough disks.
• Pour vegetable oil into heavy deep skillet to depth of 2 inches. Heat to 350°F. Add 5 cookies to oil and fry until puffed and golden brown on both sides, turning once, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and drain. Repeat frying of remaining cookies in batches.
• Fill large plate with powdered sugar. Roll cookies in powdered sugar to coat. (Cookies can be made 1 week ahead. Store between sheets of waxed paper in air-tight containers at room temperature.)

DANISH CINNAMON SNAILS

Steps:

• Pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl and mash in the fresh cake yeast. Mix in 6 1/2 tablespoons of soft butter, eggs, cardamom, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, and 3 1/2 cups of the flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix the dough. If it's very sticky, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
• Cream together the 2/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in the cinnamon.
• Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until it's firm, about 3 minutes. Divide the dough in half; roll each half into a rectangle no more than 1/2 inch thick. Spread each rectangle with half the filling.
• Stack one layer of dough and filling on top of the other rectangle of dough, filling-side up. Roll the dough up, starting with the edge closest to you, to form a long log. Cut the log into 1 inch-thick slices.
• Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease a baking dish or two cake pans.
• Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. If you like pull-apart rolls, arrange them in a greased baking dish or cake pans, spacing the rolls about 1 inch apart. Place the uneven end pieces on the baking sheet cut-side up for the best presentation. Let the rolls rest 20 minutes before baking.
• Bake the snails in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pull-apart rolls will take longer to bake: after 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake the rolls until the sides are fully set, about 10 minutes longer. Cover the baking dish with foil if the rolls begin to get too brown.

DANISH PASTRY

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 2/3 cup of flour. Divide into 2 equal parts, and roll each half between 2 pieces of waxed paper into a 6 x12 inch sheet. Refrigerate.
• In a large bowl, mix together the dry yeast and 3 cups of the remaining flour. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, sugar and salt. Heat to 115 degrees F (43 degrees C), or just warm, but not hot to the touch. Mix the warm milk mixture into the flour and yeast along with the eggs, and lemon and almond extracts. Stir for 3 minutes. Knead in the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is firm and pliable. Set aside to rest until double in size.
• Cut the dough in half, and roll each half out to a 14 inch square. Place one sheet of the cold butter onto each piece of dough, and fold the dough over it like the cover of a book. Seal edges by pressing with fingers. Roll each piece out to a 20x 12 inch rectangle, then fold into thirds by folding the long sides in over the center. Repeat rolling into a large rectangle, and folding into thirds. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove from the refrigerator one at a time, and roll and fold each piece two more times. Return to the refrigerator to chill again before shaping. If the butter gets too warm, the dough will become difficult to manage.
• To make danishes, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. The dough can be cut into squares, with a filling placed in the center. Fold 2 of the corners over the center to form a filled diamond shape. Or, fold the piece in half, cut into 1 inch strips, stretch, twist and roll into a spiral. Place a dollop of preserves or other filling in the center. Place danishes on an ungreased baking sheet, and let rise until doubled. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Danishes can be brushed with egg white for a shiny finish.
• Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms are golden brown.