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.

Samoas Bars with homemade caramel

I have a particular fondness for Samoas of all of the Girl Scout Cookie options.  I used to be the only one in the house that would eat them, but my son discovered them last year and kept raiding my stash.  I saw a link to these bars posted a few days ago on an online forum I frequent, and I just couldn't get them out of my mind.  The drawback was the caramel.  I have a thing about corn syrup.  I really dislike it.  There are a very small handful of things I'll use a tablespoon or two of it in, but I really try to avoid it.  Lo and behold, another person posted a link to this recipe for caramel sauce that doesn't require corn syrup.  Voila!  So happy!

I was in a hurry when I made these this morning, so I didn't have time to cut them into individual squares and dip the bottoms in chocolate.  More's the pity, because I'm sure they'd be divine that way.  I sense another batch in my future.  They're quite good with chocolate drizzled just on top.

I used short flake unsweetened coconut and toasted it in my large skillet.  This went much more quickly than doing it in the oven for 20 minutes as suggested in the original recipe.  I would caution you to stir it frequently and to pull it off the heat as soon as it starts to turn golden.

Samoas Bars with Homemade Caramel

Cookie base:

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 large egg

1/2 t. vanilla

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 t. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13 pan or else line it with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla, then gradually beat in the flour and salt until well combined.  (The original recipe says that it may look crumbly - mine came together just fine as a nice dough ball.)  Press into an even layer in the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned.  

Meanwhile, prepare the caramel:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 T. vanilla extract

pinch of kosher or sea salt

Cook butter and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar melts.  Stir in 1/2 cup whipping cream, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.

3 cups  short flake unsweetened coconut

Heat up a large skillet over medium low heat and pour the coconut in an even layer.  Stir frequently, and pull it off the heat as soon as the coconut begins to turn golden.  Stir it into the caramel, the pour it out on the crust, spreading it around evenly.

Allow to cool completely before cutting into 1" squares and preparing to drizzle/dip in chocolate.  If you intend to just drizzle chocolate on top, you will need  to melt 1/2 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips + 1 t. shortening.  For a more serious chocolate experience, melt a total of 2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips + 1 T. shortening.  Dip each square, bottom end down, into the chocolate, then set on a piece of parchment or wax paper until set.  Drizzle remaining chocolate over the tops.

Triple Layer Brownies

I'm a big fan of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  We were given a copy as newlyweds and it is a solid go-to book for all of your basic cooking needs, plus I'm discovering a lot of more adventurous stuff in it lately.  Because you can never have too many cookbooks, my sister gave me the BH&G 75th anniversary edition a couple of years ago when I spied a recipe in her copy that I was dying to have.  It has a fun section in the back that highlights favorite recipes from each decade.  This one caught my eye a few days ago, and we happily devoured most of the pan aside from the few I managed to tuck into the cute box in the picture to give to a friend.  I made a few modifications from the original recipe, mostly just in the amount and quantity of chocolate.  I used milk chocolate chips because that's what I had on hand.  It calls for unsweetened chocolate.  I thought they came out delicious with the milk version.  I also added some short flake unsweetened coconut to the crust base, which I often do to cookies because it lends a lovely chewiness and also seems to help them stay moist and soft for longer.

Triple Layer Brownies


1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 T. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup short flake unsweetened coconut (optional)

1 egg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips (original recipe calls for 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate)
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. baking powder

1/2 cup milk or semisweet chocolate chips (original recipe calls for 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate)
2 T. butter
1 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1-2 T. hot water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, 1/2 cup flour, brown sugar, and baking soda.  Stir in the 1/2 cup melted butter.  Pat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 11x7" pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the middle layer, stir together the egg, granulated sugar, 2/3 cup flour, milk, 1/4 melted butter. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring well in between, until smooth.  Stir into the batter and add the vanilla and baking powder and stir until smooth.  Spread in an even layer over the crust.  Bake 25 minutes more, then cool on a wire rack while preparing the next layer.

In a medium saucepan, heat and stir the chocolate and 2 T. butter until melted.  Stir in the powdered sugar and 1/2 t. vanilla.  Stir in enough hot water to make a mixture that is almost pourable.  Spread over the brownies and allow to set up before cutting into squares to serve.

These are very rich, so I suggest cutting them into 1" squares to serve.  I think they'd be marvelous with other flavors thrown in, particularly peanut butter in the crust.

Chinese New Year Chicken Potstickers

Warning:  this food is ugly.  But very tasty.  Honestly, I haven't ever seen much Chinese food that is terribly visually appealing, so I suppose this fits right in.  My oldest daughter is in a Chinese Immersion program at school, meaning that half of her school day is taught entirely in Chinese.  She is loving it, and has picked up on stuff amazingly fast.  Tomorrow is Chinese New Year, so we celebrated a day early and I gave potstickers a try for the first time.  They came out quite well, though I will have to tinker with my gas stove and how fast it heats the oil up.

 First, I sauteed diced chicken and mushrooms in a little olive oil (to be more authentic, I should have used sesame oil but I didn't have any on hand).  Then I added in some freshly grated ginger root, minced garlic, and seasoned it with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, a bit of brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste.  Then I transferred the mixture to my new zippy little food processor (Christmas gift - hooray!).

 A few quick pulses and it was finely chopped, perfect for filling the potstickers.  I like chunks and discernable veggies in my egg rolls, but not potstickers.  They need to be smooth.

Use small round wrappers, found with the egg roll wrappers, usually in the produce section.  Lay out 8-10 on a work surface.  Meanwhile, in a large lidded skillet, heat up a thin layer of vegetable oil.

 Plop a scant tablespoon full of filling in the center of each one.  Dip your fingers into a little bowl of water and moisten the wrapper half way around the rim.

 Pinch each closed, squeezing excess air out.  Now you're ready to cook!

 I took a picture of my first batch, which turned out to brown a bit too quickly.  I still haven't gotten used to the remarkable power of a gas range.  I had it at medium for these, and it was too hot - they browned within seconds of being put into the oil.  I cooked the rest of them much closer to low.  Anyway, fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned, then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan.  I learned the hard way that it spatters like CRAZY.  I suggest having the lid nearly in place, and just sneak the water in and immediately close the lid the rest of the way.  Allow them to steam until all of the water evaporates, about 5-6 minutes, and remove to a serving plate.

 Yep, ugly.  But delicious.  I like the soft-but-chewy-in-places exterior, and the savory, flavorful filling.  I dipped some of mine in orange sauce, but mostly just enjoyed them plain.  These got universal thumbs up from the peanut gallery except for my 3 1/2 year old who was suspicious of the filling.

Chinese New Year Chicken Potstickers


1 raw chicken breast, diced into 1/2" chunks
6 large mushrooms, quartered
1 T. olive oil (or sesame oil)
1 t. freshly grated ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. low sodium soy sauce
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. brown sugar
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Potsticker wrappers
canola oil

In a medium skillet, saute the chicken and mushrooms over medium heat until the juices run clear from the chicken.  Stir in the remaining ingredients down to the salt and pepper and saute for another 2-3 minutes until the flavors are well mixed.  Scoop the mixture into a food processor and pulse a few times until everything is finely chopped.

Lay out 8-10 potsticker wrappers on a work surface.  Meanwhile, pour a thin layer of oil in a large lidded skillet and let it heat up over medium low heat.  Scoop a scant tablespoon of filling onto each wrapper, moisten half way around with your finger dipped in water, and pinch to close, squeezing out the excess air.  Lay the potstickers down in an even layer in the hot oil and let them cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until lightly golden.

Then, position the pan lid so that it's almost closed and pour 1/4 cup water in.  Immediately close the lid the rest of the way and let the potstickers steam for 5-6 minutes, until all of the water has evaporated.  Remove with tongs.  You may allow them to drain some of the oil off on a paper towel, then serve immediately either plain or with your favorite dipping sauce.  This will yield about 24.

Rachel's Rosemary Chicken Pot Pie

Alas, I have no photo for this post.  You'll have to imagine a piping hot pie with golden crust, lovely green peas and succulent chunks of chicken peeping out of the vent holes.  My 7 year old has a passion for all things gravy, and chicken pot pie happens to combine all of her favorite elements into one tidy dish.  In the past, I usually made the filling, then topped it with a thick biscuit layer.  Then last year, a very sweet friend of mine showed up on my doorstep when I was having a bad day with a chicken pot pie encased in an actual crust.  Rachel was thrilled, and begs me to make it that way on a regular basis.

It's not rocket science, and really, you can shift the vegetables around to different types and different ratios to whatever pleases your palate, but this is how I made it last night and got rave reviews from the peanut gallery.

Rachel's Rosemary Chicken Pot Pie


Double crust for a 10" pie plate*

1 medium sweet vidalia onion, diced
2 cups diced carrots
4 T. butter, divided
2 raw chicken breasts, diced into 1/2" chunks
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. minced dried or fresh rosemary
1/2 t. dried thyme
few grinds each of salt and pepper
1/3 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium size nonstick frying pan, melt 2 T. of butter over medium heat.  Stir in the carrots and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for about 5-6 minutes until the onions are soft.  Remove to a bowl and set aside.  Melt the other 2 T. of butter and add the chicken to the same pan.  Saute for about 7-8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.  Season with the garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper, stir in the carrot and onion mixture, then stir in the flour until the chicken chunks are evenly coated.  Pour the broth into the pan and stir until the flour is dissolved and it begins to thicken.  Add in the peas last, then remove from heat.

Place the bottom crust into a 10" pie pan.  Pour the filling mixture in and spread in an even layer, taking care to not let it slurp over the edges.  Keep the flat top edge clean so that it'll seal well.  Dip your fingertips with a little water and moisten the top edge all the way around.  Cut vent slits into the top crust, then center it on top of the filling.  Press the edges together to seal, trim the excess crust, and flute the edges.

If you want to get all fancy, beat an egg and brush it on top of the crust, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Otherwise, pop it into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden.

This is a very hearty and filling pie, and will serve 6.

*This is where I confess that I haven't found a homemade pie crust recipe that comes out consistently well for me, and I resorted to being a slacker and used a Pillsbury crust.  I figured out their secret when I read the label - they use lard!  Appetizing, eh?  Shortening already gives me the squiggies, but I use it because some recipes really need it, but I can assure you that a tub o' lard will never grace my pantry shelves.

Oat Pan Rolls

I do not recall exactly where I got this recipe, but I've had it in my archives for several years.  I believe it came from Taste of Home.  I passed it around a few times a while ago, but then hadn't made a batch for probably 3 or more years.  Then suddenly in the last couple of months I've had a half dozen people mention to me that this is one of their favorite recipes.  So I figured I'd better make them, take a picture, and post the recipe!  The oats make them hearty and just a bit chewy, an excellent accompaniment to a bowl of soup or as a roll for shredded pork sandwiches.  The original recipe calls for 2 T.(!!) of yeast, something I used to not bat an eye at, but I find that I prefer much less yeast and a little bit more patience with the rising process.  The texture is better and so is the flavor, in my opinion.  I used 1 1/2 T. with this batch because I was crunched for time, but will use 1 T. in the future.

Oat Pan Rolls

 

2 cups oats (quick cooking is best but old fashioned works also)

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup butter, cubed

1 T. salt

2 ½ cups boiling water

1 - 1 1/2 T. dry active yeast

½ cup warm water

5 ½ to 6 cups all purpose flour (may substitute half whole wheat flour)

Additional butter, melted

In a bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, butter and salt; stir in boiling water.  Allow to cool to 110-115 degrees (the way I test for this temperature is to stick my finger in and see if it's hot, but not so hot I can't stand it - super scientific).  In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in ½ cup warm water; let stand for 5 minutes.  Add oat mixture and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. 

 Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 20 pieces.  Place in a greased 9x13 pan.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pan to a wire rack; brush with melted butter.

Help Leigh Anne win a cooking contest!

Leigh Anne, a fellow friendly foodie, is in a contest with 15 other food bloggers for a $10,000 prize.  It's super simple to help her - just vote once a day, and you don't even have to register.  It's just a click.  (I don't know about you, but I really hate having to sign up for some random website to vote for someone's picture or whatever.  Perhaps I'm a commitment-phobe.  Or I just can't remember all those password/sign in combinations.)  I voted this morning and checked her standing.  Currently she's in second place, so let's all do our part to help nudge her up to the top and keep her there!