I’m revisiting an old friend today, in the form of a leftover batch of danish pastry from my first Daring Bakers challenge.
It had been sitting in the freezer all these months, waiting for the inspiration to strike. I’d been neglecting it for all that time because I was still recovering from the ordeal involved in making danish braid the first time around (in case you haven’t figured it out yet, gentle reader, I’m actually incredibly lazy… the only reason I bother cooking at all is because I happen to love food even more than I love being lazy)
Thankfully, it wasn’t long before I realised that there’s a lazier way to feed my danish craving without all the fuss and bother of making a pretty braid.
Simply roll out the dough to 1/4″ thick, and then cut into 3″ squares. Onto the middle of each square, place a generous spoonful of berries, fruit preserves, or whatever other filling strikes your fancy, and then fold the corners over into the middle, like an envelope, and pinch together into a neat little package. Place your little danish parcels on a parchment-covered baking sheet and bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and flaky (they will unfurl as they bake, like little pastry blossoms). Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving, if desired.
All you need to do then is wait for the hungering hordes to descend upon your table, drawn there by the smell of baked goodies. You may want to dust a little flour on your face so that it looks like you worked really really hard… how easy it was will be our little secret.
Easy peasy. Too bad I’m out of danish dough now… guess that means I’ll have to work to get my danish fix after all. Sniff.
PS: Scraps of dough, should you happen to have any, can be sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and baked up with the danishes.
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