2bleus Pecan Danish Recipes

2BLEU'S PECAN DANISH

Steps:

• PASTRY: Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add in sugar and salt, then the egg and shortening. Mix in half of the flour. Gradually add the rest of the flour until dough is easy to handle. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator about 2 hrs or until doubled. (Can set overnight and used early the next morning).
• Punch down dough. Roll out into an oblong shape (about 6"x14") and brush well with melted butter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over pastry followed with the dried fruit and then the chopped pecans. Starting from the long side, roll up jellyroll fashion.
• FOR RING SHAPE: Place on large baking sheet joining ends together to form circle of dough. Using kitchen scissors, snip 2/3 way thru in 1 inch intervals. Lay sections on top of the next like dominos, turning them a little outwards. Let raise 1 hr or until doubled. Preheat oven to 350°F Bake until 30-40 minutes or so until done.
• FOR ROLLS: Slice the log into 1" slices and place disc down onto a lightly greased baking sheet for individual danish rolls. Bake 20-30 minutes.
• ORANGE GLAZE: Combine orange glaze ingredients adding a little orange juice at a time to make a semi thick glaze and set aside. Remove pastry from oven and allow to cool about 10-15 minutes.
• Brush with a thin layer of glaze then quickly sprinkle with almond slices over top and press gently to set. Spread (or pour slowly) the remaining glaze onto cooled danish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SUGARED DANISH BUTTER COOKIES WITH PECAN HALVES

Steps:

• Sift the flour and white sugar together in a mixing bowl, and stir in 1 egg and the vanilla extract until well combined. Using a pastry cutter, cut the cold butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Divide the dough in half, and roll into two 11-inch-long logs. Wrap one of the logs in waxed paper and then plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Place 3 tablespoons of coarse sugar crystals on a flat plate. Brush the second log with beaten egg, and roll it in the sugar crystals, coating it thickly. Carefully wrap the sugared log in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. (See Cook's Note.)
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cut the unsugared log of dough into round slices about 1/8-inch thick, and place the rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1/2-inch apart. Top each round with a pecan half. Cut the sugared log of dough into 1/8-inch thick slices, and place them onto prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle each sugared cookie with more coarse sugar crystals, if desired.
• Place one baking sheet of cookies at a time into the preheated oven, and bake until the edges barely turn golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the cookies to wire racks to cool.