Danish Orange Marmalade Cheese Pockets

Submitted by Kathy

"In a wild and crazy moment, I decided my life wasn't complete if I didn't attempt making danish pastry from scratch. The results were great, but I have a new appreciation for the time and effort that goes into producing a breakfast pastry! This recipe originated in a cookbook by Nick Malgieri. I received the recipe via chef chocolat, who made some modifications; and then I made my own changes. Never having seen the original recipe, I'm not sure how much it has changed. You can make a plain cheese version, but it's a tad boring in my opinion. If you're going to invest the time to make this recipe, add a spoonful of marmalade or other jam/preserves or a sprinkling of chocolate chips to the filling."

 

• Ready In: 6hrs
• Ingredients: 20
• Serves: 24

ingredients

• Quick Danish Pastry Dough

• 3 1⁄2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1⁄4 cup warm water
• 1⁄4 cup skim milk, scalded and cooled
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces cold unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• Filling

• 16 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
• 1⁄2 cup orange marmalade (or other fruit of your choice) or 1/2 cup chocolate chips (about 10-15 chips per danish)

• Egg Wash

• 1 egg
• 1 pinch salt

• Topping

• 1⁄2 - 1 cup sliced almonds

• Icing

• 1 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar (sifted after measuring)
• 2 tablespoons skim milk (I prefer milk because it makes a creamier icing) or 2 tablespoons water (I prefer milk because it makes a creamier icing)
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

directions

1. Make the pastry dough: Whisk yeast into warm water. Wait 1-2 minutes, then whisk again. Whisk in milk.
2. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix.
3. Cut 4 tablespoons butter into thin slices and add to processor. Pulse to a fine texture -- not too much where it becomes pasty.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Leave dough in bowl, covering dough surface tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
7. 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).
8. 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.
9. Sprinkle flour above and below dough.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. Repeat rolling and folding directions. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but no more than 12 hours.
13. Filling: Add filling ingredients (except marmalade and chocolate chips) to a medium-size bowl. Beat together with a spatula (I use my KitchenAid mixer).
14. Place HALF of the chilled dough on floured surface and sprinkle with flour.
15. 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.
16. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Slide dough onto first cookie sheet and refrigerate 10 minutes (until firm).
17. Repeat the above process with the second half of the pastry dough and place on second cookie sheet and chill 10 minutes until firm.
18. 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.
19. Drop a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the center of each square. Top with a heaping teaspoon of marmalade or chocolate chips.
20. 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.
21. Preheat oven to 400°F.
22. Prepare the egg wash and brush to top of each pastry. Sprinkle with almonds or additional chocolate chips.
23. 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.
24. Cool on wire rack.
25. Combine icing ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over very low heat until lukewarm. Drizzle icing over slightly cooled pastry and allow to set.