Overnight Fruit and Cream Cheese Danishes

 I have a raging sweet tooth - that should be no secret based on the recipes I've been posting lately - and a particularly soft spot for a well made breakfast pastry.  Bored of my usual fare, I grabbed a stack of old issues of Taste of Home magazine, and was pleased to spot a recipe for Overnight Cherry Danishes in the December/January 2010 issue (page 22).  I had a little birthday breakfast party scheduled for Friday morning and I just knew these would be perfect.

In evaluating the recipe, I saw immediately that it had a lot more yeast than I'd like, so I cut the amount in a little more than half and allowed for a bit more rise time at the end.  I find that I've become sensitive to large amounts of yeast and I prefer the texture and flavor of doughs that rise more slowly.  The dough is enriched with cream, butter and egg yolks, so the crumb is very soft.  It was an interesting dough to work with in that it does not require kneading, and in fact the kneading would encourage the formation of gluten strands and make the dough chewier, which is obviously not the desired result.  I was a little skeptical when I stirred it all together and had a shaggy sticky glob in my bowl, but by the morning, it had risen nicely.  Because of how moist it is, you have to work with it straight out of the refrigerator.  I took the big chunk of now firm and chilled dough, cut it into four equal pieces, and rolled each piece lightly in flour to make it easier to handle.  It was a nice texture to work with, and I could tell as I got to the last piece that as it starts to warm up it gets a bit sticky again.  Definitely don't let it sit around!

I added the cream cheese layer to the filling.  Definitely a must.  I also used homemade cherry preserves and a hastily thrown together homemade fresh blueberry filling rather than canned stuff.  If you haven't been around here very long, you may not know my hatred of high fructose corn syrup.  Nasty stuff.

Last of all, I had some leftover almond struesel topping from a batch of these delicious muffins, and I sprinkled it on about half of the pastries.  I loved it and thought it was a great addition.

The one thing I will do differently next time is to add a bit more fruit filling.  I put these together, then headed out on a nice 8 mile run, so by the time they went into the oven, they'd risen quite a bit more and the filling to pastry ratio shifted to a point of the filling looking skimpy.  We can't have that!  They tasted lovely, still, but I'd be even happier with a bit more fruit.

Plan on about 15 minutes of prep time the night before, and 30 minutes of prep + 60 minutes of rise time + 15ish minutes for baking the day of.  These remained very soft throughout the whole day.  I would even recommend this as a beginner recipe because the dough is so easy to handle.  Don't be put off by the length of the recipe, because it really was simple to put together and the results were so worth it.

Overnight Fruit and Cream Cheese Danishes
(adapted from Taste of Home magazine)

Dough:
2 t. active dry yeast
1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 cups milk
6 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 t. kosher salt
1 cup cold butter
6 egg yolks, beaten

Heat the cream and milk until warm, about 110 degrees.  Stir the yeast in and let it dissolve while you prepare the other dough ingredients.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt, then cut the butter in with a pastry blender until crumbly.  Stir in the egg yolks and cream/milk/yeast mixture until it forms a soft sticky ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, prepare two baking sheets by misting lightly with cooking spray.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into four equal sections.  Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll each dough chunk around until evenly lightly coated with flour.  Roll each chunk into a 12" x 4" rectangle, then cut into 1"x4" strips.  Pinch two strips together at one end, twist in opposite directions and pinch the other ends together.  Then bend the strip around to form a wreath and pinch to close.  Pinch together the center and press down to make a divot for filling.  Space 12 pastries evenly on each baking sheet for a total yield of 24.

Allow to rise for 45 - 60 minutes while you prepare the fillings below.

Cream Cheese Filling:

8 ounce package cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 t. vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the remaining ingredients until well combined.   Make a little well in the middle of each pastry, pinching the middle of it together if necessary to close any gaps, and spoon a dollop of cream cheese filling into each.

Fruit Filling:


1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 T. cornstarch

In a medium saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch until well combined.  Stir in the water and berries, then bring to a low boil over medium low heat, stirring frequently.  Smash a few of the berries with the back of your spoon to release the juices, and simmer for a few minutes until thickened.  Remove from heat and allow to cool before using as pastry topping.  (I find that frozen berries actually work better for this than fresh berries.)

Alternatively, you may use prepared fruit preserves or any fruity pie filling of your choice.

Press the divot in the center of each pastry down again now that they have risen, and spoon a generous spoon full of fruit topping on to each pastry, on top of the cream cheese filling.

Optional Almond Struesel


1/3 cup flour
2 T. sugar
2 T. cold butter
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 t. cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a small food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs form.  Sprinkle on top of the fruit filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Allow to cool slightly, then drizzle with one of the glazes below.

Basic Glaze


2 T. melted butter
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-3 T. milk, added in small amounts to reach drizzling consistency

OR

Lemon Cream Glaze (excellent on top of blueberry filling)

2 T. melted butter
2 T. cream
2 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.

Decadent Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bliss Cupcakes

My oldest snuck bunny ears in just as I was snapping this photo.  After making these cupcakes a few weeks ago, I've been pondering all of the cupcake possibilities since then.  There's been a huge trend in my area of cupcake shops popping up all over the place.  I've visited a few.  Some have been delicious and worth the two bucks.  Some have been utterly disappointing - revoltingly thickly sweet and tasting heavily of cake mix chemicals.  In my opinion, the ones that are best are the ones with surprises in the middle.  Hence my enthusiasm over the peppermint and chocolate ones. 

The center for these little guys is a mixture of chocolate and peanut butter.  Today I also added in some butterscotch chips, but I think they detracted from the nutty flavor I was really looking for.  I'm going to post it without the butterscotch.  Since the frosting is made of cream cheese, they need to be stored in the fridge, but even at that, the center core remained soft.  It's a delicious bit of heaven.  To counteract the sweetness of the cupcake base and frosting, I sprinkled chopped dry roasted salted peanuts on top.  That still wasn't quite enough saltiness for me, so I added a pinch of an amazing greek sea salt on top.  The balance of textures and flavors is fantastic - reminiscent of a snicker's bar but with tasty cream cheese frosting in place of mysterious nougat.

I made some regular size and some minis.  Have to say that the minis are my favorites.  The proportion of cake to yummy filling is much better.  Plus, the whole bite size thing helps me not feel so guilty for eating quite possibly more than I should and they're fun to give away.  Tiny cakes make people smile.

Decadent Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bliss Cupcakes

Cupcakes:


1/2 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/3 cups water
2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

In a medium mixing bowl, cream the shortening and sugar together.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla, cocoa powder, soda and salt.  Add half the water and beat well, then half the flour and beat again.  Add the remaining water and beat and the remaining flour and beat.  Scrape the batter into a gallon ziplock bag and snip the corner off.  Squeeze the batter into cupcake pans prepared with paper liners, either 48 mini cupcakes or 24 regular cupcakes, filling each paper 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes for minis and 14-18 minutes for regulars, until the cake springs back lightly when touched.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate peanut butter filling by melting 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave in a small bowl.  Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is smooth.  Stir in 1 cup smooth peanut butter until well combined.

Poke a hole in each cupcake with the handle of a wooden spoon, pushing all the way down.  Pour the filling into a quart ziplock bag and snip the corner off.  Squirt filling into each hole, then drizzle a bit extra around the top of each cupcake.

Frosting

1 8 ounce brick cream cheese
1/2 cup real butter
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
3 T. caramel syrup (optional)
2 T. milk
4 cups powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth.  Beat in the salt, vanilla, optional caramel syrup, and half the powdered sugar.  Beat in the milk, then remaining powdered sugar and whip until fluffy.  Scrape into a frosting bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe a swirl on top of each cupcake.

Garnish each cupcake with chopped salted peanuts and an additional sprinkling of sea salt if desired.  Store uneaten cupcakes in the fridge.

Creamy Pear or Apple Tart

This is a lovely combination of flavors and textures.  The original recipe comes from a Junior League of Denver cookbook I received for my wedding.  I have made it several times over the years, and am reminded why it's on the favorite list each time.  The nutmeg in the crust is unusual and delicious.  This time, I used freshly grated nutmeg and it added an extra pop to it.  The original recipe calls for apples, which is what I usually use, but the pears were calling my name at Costco and I succumbed...  The results were very tasty, and I actually think I like it better with pears.  I made this a few days ago for a party, and munched on some leftovers of it today and it was still great - the crust was not soggy, and the flavors had improved with time.  This was technically listed as a breakfast tart in the original cookbook, but it serves well as a dessert too.

If you've never invested in a tart pan, I highly recommend that you bite the bullet and spend the 15 or so bucks.  It is so much easier to make impressive looking desserts in a tart pan than any other pan - just press the crust into the fluted edging, and pop the outer rim off once it's ready to serve.  Voila!  Fancy dessert!  I now have three, two sizes of round pans and this rectangular pan.  I like 'em all.

Creamy Pear or Apple Tart

Crust:


1 ¼ cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
¼ t. nutmeg
½ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
½ cup butter, chilled
1 egg
1 T. milk

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
2 egg yolks (or one egg if you're lazy like me - I don't notice a difference)
½ t. vanilla

Topping:

2 large McIntosh, Fuji or Granny Smith apples, cored and thinly sliced OR 2 large pears, same treatment
1/3 cup sugar
½ t. cornstarch
½ t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 10 inch tart pan or pie pan. In large bowl, combine the dry crust ingredients. Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly. In small bowl, beat egg and milk and add to flour mixture. Blend until dough forms a ball and pat dough into prepared pan.

Blend cream cheese and ¼ cup sugar, then add egg yolks and vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread evenly over crust. Layer apples over cream cheese mixture in circular pattern, slightly overlapping slices. In small bowl, combine remaining topping ingredients and sprinkle over the apples.

Bake 30 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown.

This is best if served at room temperature or chilled.  It holds up well if made in advance, even up to two days in advance, and kept in the refrigerator.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites with Spicy Nuts

 This recipe is a hybrid of several.  I love to browse my cookbooks and magazines to get ideas, and then I let them percolate in my head until I come up with what I really want to make.  I think these would be a great alternative to plain pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, and the beauty is that they work very well to make ahead.  It's even more fun if you have a special kitchen helper like me to assist (and a 50mm/f1.4 lens to take cool pictures...I rediscovered the fun of low aperture).

 I discovered these gingerbread flavored graham crackers a couple of weeks ago.  I imagine that they're only a seasonal item, so snatch them up if you see them!  I've used gingersnaps for crusts before, but it's hard to find ones that are the right texture.  These are the perfect graham texture with a zippy kick of ginger, and the inspiration for this recipe.

 Don't forget to stop and snitch a little bit.  After all, what's the good of cooking if you don't get to taste test?

 I'm all about convenience.  Mash your graham crackers up, and then pour the melted butter into the same bag to mush it all around nicely.  I lined the pan with foil - two layers going opposite directions - both for easy clean up, but also to lift the bars out for easy slicing.

 You will do the filling in layers.  Smooth the plain cream cheese layer down, then dollop blobs of the pumpkin stuff evenly spaced on top and carefully spread it out until it covers the plain layer completely.

 (I would like you to note that this handmixer, #6 in the last 12 years, is on it's way out.  #5 lasted 2 whole weeks.  This one has been kicking around since spring but started making desperate noises this week when I forced it to plow through all of the cream cheese.)

 While the cheesecake is baking, make your white chocolate ganache.  It needs to chill for a while before being whipped.  It's quite simple and can either be done on the stove top or in the microwave.

 Bake the cheesecake until it is uniformly puffed across the top surface and no longer jiggles.

 Another task while waiting for the cheesecake to bake or chill is to make the spiced nuts.  Don't be afraid of cayenne pepper!  Once these are sprinkled on top of the creamy cheesecake, the kick is totally mellowed out.  I think next time I'll put even more pepper.

 Chill the cheesecake for a while.  At least 3-4 hours.  I was in a hurry and only chilled it for 2, but when I tasted leftovers later that evening that had chilled longer, I was far more impressed with the flavors.

 Use the handy dandy foil to lift the cheesecake out of the pan, slice it into 36 even squares, whip the ganache and pipe it on top, and sprinkle with chopped spiced pecans.

Voila!  Sweet, spicy, creamy, smooth, crunchy - all sorts of wonderful flavors in one little tasty mouthful.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites with Spicy Nuts

Crust:
12 gingerbread graham crackers
4 T. butter, melted

Filling:
3 8 oz. bricks cream cheese
3 T. cream
1 cup sugar
2 T. real vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 t. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
2 T. flour

Ganache:
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup + 3 T. cream, divided

Pecans:
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1 cup pecan halves

Crush the gingerbread grahams and mix with melted butter until evenly distributed.  Line a 9x13 pan with foil with pieces going both directions and overhanging the edges.  Press the graham crumbs evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat 3 bricks cream cheese (softened at room temperature) until smooth, then beat in the cream, sugar, vanilla and eggs until well incorporated.  Reserve 2 cups of cream cheese mixture and spread the remainder in an even layer over the graham crust.

Into the reserved cream cheese mixture, beat pumpkin, spices and flour.  Spoon dollops evenly over the plain cream cheese layer, then spread carefully until the pumpkin layer completely covers the plain layer.

Bake for 60 minutes at 325 degrees, until it is puffed all the way through and no longer jiggles.  Remove to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes before putting in the fridge to chill for 3-4 hours.

Meanwhile, make the ganache.  You may either bring the 1/2 cup cream just to a simmer in a saucepan on the stovetop, remove from heat, add the chips and let them sit for a couple of minutes before whisking until smooth, or melt the chips in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between until smooth, then whisk the cream in.  Either way works just fine.  Chill the ganache in the fridge for an hour or so.

Make the nuts by pouring the nuts into a skillet over medium heat.  Cook for about 5 minutes until they start to lightly brown and smell toasty.  In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cayenne and cinnamon.  Pour all but 2 T. of it over the nuts and stir constantly as the sugar melts to coat all the nuts evenly.  Once the sugar is melted, remove from heat and immediately pour the remaining 2 T. of sugar on and toss to coat.  Pour the hot nuts out onto a piece of parchment paper to allow them to cool.  Chop into medium pieces.

Once you are ready to assemble the bites, pull the ganache out of the fridge and add 3 T. of cream.  Whip with a handmixer for 2 minutes, or until it is fluffy and reaches a piping consistency.  Lift the cheesecake out of the pan with the foil handles and cut into squares.  Pipe the ganache on top with a large star tip, then sprinkle pecans over the ganache.  You may either serve immediately, or return to the fridge until you are ready.

Cherry Almond Streusel Muffins

These luscious beauties are really so much a treat that it seems sinful to eat them for breakfast.  But that didn't stop me.  Nosiree!  I've had my eye on this recipe for a long time, one of the many gems that I found in my Jackson Hole Cooks cookbook.  That book alone made our trip to Yellowstone worth it!  The original recipe calls for raspberry jam, but I have such a fondness for the Bonne Maman cherry preserves that I had to try it that way.  I was not disappointed.  The list of ingredients looks long and daunting, but it really only took a few minutes to put together and they were very worth the effort.  These earned universal thumbs up from everyone but my 2 1/2 year old, but her opinion doesn't count ;).

I found that the quantity of cream cheese filling in the original recipe was roughly double what I needed.  I used the excess in a pan of cream cheese brownies - a real tragedy to be sure - but I'd rather not have to deal with extra so I am posting it with half the amount.  The batter is very thick and reminiscent of biscuit dough.  I recommend dividing it in half before you begin filling the muffin cups to make sure you don't run out of it for the tops.  I lightly pressed it into the cups, leaving a little depression in the middle to cradle the filling.

Even so, I didn't have as much batter for the tops and I was concerned that the filling would make a mess.  I was generous with the streusel topping, which proved to help seal things together nicely.

The finished product.  Soft, slightly nutty topping, creamy filling in the middle and 100% decadent.  Enjoy!

Cherry Almond Streusel Muffins

Muffin: 

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 t. each baking powder and baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup cold, firm butter (no substitutes!)

1 egg

3/4 cup sour cream

1 t. almond extract

Muffin filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 egg yolk

2 T. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla extract

2/3 cup cherry preserves (or other fruit preserves of your choice)

Streusel topping:

1/3 cup flour

2 T. sugar

2 T. cold, firm butter

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12 cup regular sized muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla, and beat until smooth and creamy.  Set aside.  In a small food processor, combine all of the streusel ingredients and pulse a few times until combined and roughly chopped.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry muffin ingredients.  Cut in the butter using a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream and almond extract until smooth, then add to the flour mixture, stirring until the mixture is just moistened.

Divide the batter in half and place equal amounts of the first half in each muffin cup, leaving a slight depression in the middle.  Divide the cream cheese filling equally between the cups, and top off with a dab of jam.  Divide the remaining batter between the muffin cups and spread it as close to the edges as you can to cover the filling.  Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel topping over each muffin.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool muffins for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and serve immediately.

Hint of pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

I kinda hit pumpkin burnout by Thanksgiving, but still was hankering for a little bit of it. For my sister's birthday, I tinkered around with a recipe found in the Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary cookbook, and came up with these beauties. Just a little bit of pumpkin, the perfect amount to round out the spice flavor nicely. And for once, the cream cheese frosting came out PERFECT. As in, not sloppy and slurpy. It piped well, held it's shape, and tasted great. I used a little less cream cheese than usual and I also used a generic store brand rather than Philadelphia, because it happened to be on sale. The texture of the cheese was quite a bit stiffer, so I believe that was the real key to success.

Hint of Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. each ginger, nutmeg, cloves
1 cup milk or buttermilk

Line two dozen cupcake tins with paper or foil liners and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Beat in the pumpkin puree. Beat in the spices, then beat in half the flour, half the milk, then the other half the flour and the remainder of the milk. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons), slightly softened
4 ounces of cream cheese (generic brand is better - see above)
1 T. vanilla
4-5 cups powdered sugar

Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in the powdered sugar a cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. Pipe on top of the cupcakes in a swirl pattern with a large star tip.

Red, white and blue tart

This is a spinoff and simpler version of my favorite lemon curd and cream cheese tart. I was looking for a pronounced lemon flavor but without the fuss of making lemon curd (even though it's just so darn delicious, it's totally worth the effort...I just simply ran out of time). I used the same cookie base. If you want a finer, shortbread like texture, cut the butter in cold rather than smushing softened butter into the flour. I found that the texture of the crust improved and the lemon flavor deepened after a day in the fridge, which makes this a super duper make ahead recipe. As long as you dry your berries thoroughly before placing them on top and choose strawberries that aren't even a little bit mushy, it'll be fine.

Cookie crust:
1 ½ cups flour
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup finely ground pecans or almonds, optional

Mix crust ingredients together until dough forms. Press firmly and evenly against the bottom and side of ungreased 10 or 11 inch tart pan. Bake 10-12 minutes or until light brown, cool.

Lemony cream cheese:

1 8 ounce brick cream cheese

zest and juice of one lemon

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Blueberries and strawberries, washed and thoroughly dried

Do NOT microwave the cream cheese. Beat it chilled. I promise it'll whip up fine given a few minutes and a little patience. If you nuke it, it'll go runny on you. Beat the cream cheese until it's lump free, then beat in the lemon juice and zest, and then the sugar. Beat for several minutes on high until it is fluffy and the sugar has dissolved sufficiently to no longer give a granular texture. (I used granulated rather than powdered sugar, because powdered sugar in small quantities added to cream cheese tends to contributed to runniness. Not sure why, but it consistently happens to me.) Spread into the cooled crust, arrange the berries over the top and chill for at least an hour before serving.