Delectable Danish

Making Danish is time consuming, so plan this for a day when you’re going to be lounging
around and can tend to it every few hours. Or start the night before, prolong the refrigeration
time and get up a little early to treat brunch eaters to some fresh pastries. You can fill the Danish
with any kind of preserves or pie filling you’d like—I love apple or raspberry.
1 packet (¼ ounce or 2¼
teaspoons) active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
¼ cup margarine, softened
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups fl our
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons ground fl axseed
1 stick (½ cup) cold margarine,
thinly sliced
preserves or pie fi lling
of your choice
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with a pinch
of sugar. Let sit about 5 minutes, or until foamy.
In a separate bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and
salt. Add ½ cup fl our, cinnamon and milk. Add fl axseed and
beat with an electric hand mixer for about 2 minutes. Add
yeast mixture and mix well. Add additional fl our in batches
until a soft dough comes together. Cover bowl with a
kitchen towel and let dough rise at room temperature until
it doubles in size, about 2 hours. Place covered bowl in
refrigerator for 3 hours.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Turn out dough onto a lightly fl oured surface.
Roll out dough into a large rectangle, about 12 x 15 inches.
Place half of the cold, thin margarine slices (about 15 to 20)
evenly onto the dough. Fold dough in thirds, and roll out
into another 12 x 15-inch rectangle. Place the remaining
half of the margarine slices evenly over the dough. Fold
dough into thirds again and roll out into a 9 x 12-inch
rectangle. Cut dough into 12 3 x 3-inch squares. Fold the
corners of each square into the middle and press down
with the back of a spoon to secure corners and make an
indentation. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a
warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Press down any loose
corners of the squares and fi ll centers with a scoop of
preserves or pie fi lling.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove
from pan to cool on a rack. Brush with melted margarine.
Once Danish are cooled, drizzle with White Icing. Store
leftover Danish covered in fridge.
Yield: 12 DANISH
Prep time: 1 HOUR ACTIVE, 5 TO 6 HOURS INACTIVE