Orange Danish Recipes

ORANGE DANISH

Steps:

• Mix yeast and warm water together to proof yeast.
• Cream shortening and margarine with sugar.
• Add yeast and water mixture.
• Add three cups flour and mix.
• Continue adding flour until soft dough forms.
• Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead until dough becomes smooth and elastic.
• Place in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double (about an hour).
• Punch down.
• Roll out into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface.
• Mix all of the filling ingredients cutting the butter or margarine in until it is well blended.
• Spread evenly over the dough and roll, jelly roll style from the long side.
• Cut into 1 inch slices, place on lightly greased baking pan.
• Let rise 20-30 minutes.
• Bake at 350° for approximately 30 minutes.
• Mix frosting until smooth.
• Pour over rolls while they are still slightly warm.
• Note: I usually mix the frosting and then add a store bought tub of vanilla frosting.
• It gives a better texture to the frosting.
• If you choose to do this, I recommend having the"homemade" part slightly thicker than the desired end product.
• If you are adding the store bought frosting, the margarine/butter is not necessary.

DANISH ORANGE MARMALADE CHEESE POCKETS

Steps:

• Make the pastry dough: Whisk yeast into warm water. Wait 1-2 minutes, then whisk again. Whisk in milk.
• Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix.
• Cut 4 tablespoons butter into thin slices and add to processor. Pulse to a fine texture -- not too much where it becomes pasty.
• Cut remaining butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to processor. Pule twice, 1-2 seconds each time. Remove dough and place in mixing bowl.
• Whisk eggs into yeast mixture and add to dough. Using a rubber spatula, hold blade horizontally. Press/dig spatula down into dough, repeating until dough comes together, turning the bowl while you work. The dough will be soft and sticky.
• Leave dough in bowl, covering dough surface tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
• Place the chilled dough on a floured surface and sprinkle flour on top. Press dough into a rectangle (twice as long as it is wide).
• Starting at narrow edge farthest away from you, firmly press with a rolling pin in short parallel strokes. Seal any sticky areas with a bit of flour, and don't allow dough pieces to stick to rolling pin. Repeat, then press once across width of dough. You should have a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.
• Sprinkle flour above and below dough.
• Rolling Directions: Create a rectangle 18 x 8: Starting on the edge nearest you, roll once away from you in length and once in width. Do NOT roll over the end/edge of the dough.
• Folding Directions: Fold the two narrow ends in toward the middle, leaving a 1 inch gap in the center. Fold the top to bottom to form 4 layers. Turn dough so folded edge is on the left.
• Repeat rolling and folding directions. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but no more than 12 hours.
• Filling: Add filling ingredients (except marmalade and chocolate chips) to a medium-size bowl. Beat together with a spatula (I use my KitchenAid mixer).
• Place HALF of the chilled dough on floured surface and sprinkle with flour.
• Using a rolling pin, press the dough in firm, parallel strokes to soften it. Flour surface and dough again if needed. Roll dough out into a 12 x 16 inch rectangle.
• Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Slide dough onto first cookie sheet and refrigerate 10 minutes (until firm).
• Repeat the above process with the second half of the pastry dough and place on second cookie sheet and chill 10 minutes until firm.
• Remove dough from refrigerator, leave dough in place on parchment paper. Cut each sheet of dough into 12 4-inch squares, keeping them in place on the parchment paper.
• Drop a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the center of each square. Top with a heaping teaspoon of marmalade or chocolate chips.
• Fold the dough corners into the middle, overlapping the filling by about 1/4 inch. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes until they begin to puff. I did not notice much puffing.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Prepare the egg wash and brush to top of each pastry. Sprinkle with almonds or additional chocolate chips.
• Bake 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is set. My pastries were done at 15 minutes, so start checking after 10 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack.
• Combine icing ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over very low heat until lukewarm. Drizzle icing over slightly cooled pastry and allow to set.

ORANGE DANISH CRESCENT ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Unroll and separate dough into 8 triangles.
• In a small bowl, heat cream cheese in microwave for 30 seconds to soften slightly. Stir in marmalade.
• Put a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture on each dough triangle. Spread evenly over the surface of the dough. Roll into a crescent shape and place on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool.
• Stir together powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over cooled rolls and serve.

EASY CREAM CHEESE DANISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• Line bottom of baking pan with 1 can of crescent rolls. Pinch all seams together to seal.
• In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, white sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract and sour cream. Spread filling on top of rolls. Place second can of rolls on top of filling.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar, milk and butter. After Danish has cooled, drizzle with icing.

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.

DANISH CHRISTMAS CAKE WITH ORANGE COCONUT TOPPING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition., Combine the buttermilk, vanilla, orange juice and zest. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beating well after each addition. Fold in the dates, cherries and pecans. , Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack., For topping, in a large saucepan, combine the sugar, orange juice and zest; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in coconut; cook 1 minute longer. Slowly pour over warm cake. Let stand overnight.