Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Danish Puff - Dessert Recipe, Easy, Light, and Delicious Pastry





This is not a gluten-free dessert. This is not sweet. The only sugar in it is the drizzle of powdered sugar frosting which is optional. But this is so delicious that it's a danger to have in my house - for me. It doesn't last long around here.

I usually eat gluten free. Unlike my daughter who is a stickler for remaining absolutely gluten-free, I tend to eat gluten free for 90% of the time, then crave wheat flour products, indulge, then regret it for a couple days, and so the cycle goes.

If ever I am tempted to break my gluten-free diet, I can tell you right now that THIS is one of the two things that would be worth it. The other is homemade bread fresh out of the oven with butter on the thick crust - oh yeah, especially in October or November, when we first get into the chilly months.

Here's the recipe for Danish Puff. Again, this is NOT gluten free.

Danish Puff - Recipe

In a bowl, place 1 c. flour and 1/2 c. soft butter. Cut butter in like you would for a pie crust. (Actually, the last two times I've made this, I used my food processor for that and it worked great!) You may want to add up to a tablespoon of water to get it to stick together, but it may not need any water. Form into a ball with your hands, then cut the ball in half.

Spray a large jelly roll pan with Pam, then shape each dough ball into a long 'snake,' (it will help to put a bit of flour on the counter and form your 'snake' by rolling it on the counter - remember, like you used to do with modeling clay when you were a kid!) set it on the pan, and press each 'snake' until it's about 3-4"wide and 15" long. They will lie parallel to each other on the pan.

Bring 1 c. water and 1/2 c. butter to a boil. Remove from heat. Quickly and thoroughly whisk in 1 c. flour, then whisk in 3 eggs, one at a time. Add 1/4 t. almond extract, 1/4 t. vanilla, 1/4 t. salt. This mix will resemble a very thick pudding.

Place spoonfuls of above mixture on the pastry strips in the jelly roll pan. Use a spoon to spread the mixture out so that the pastry is covered almost edge to edge with the pudding-like topping. You may want to dip the spoon into water now and then to keep it from sticking as you're trying to smooth out the topping.



Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 - 45 minutes. Check after 40 minutes. When crust is golden and makes a hollow sound when tapped, the Danish Puff is ready to take from the oven.

When it has cooled, place about 3/4 c. powdered sugar in a bowl. Stir in 2 T. soft butter and a little cream or milk, and a bit of almond extract or vanilla, maybe 1/4 t.

Beat by hand until frosting is a smooth consistency that can be drizzled over the Danish Puff. You're almost done. Now, sprinkle some sliced or chopped almonds over the top.

Slice on the diagonal and serve. Don't turn your back on this stuff or it will be gone when you go back for a second piece. Just a warning.

P.S. (It's even better with a freshly-brewed cup of coffee!)


***


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27 comments:

  1. Oh my can ya send me a slice to have with my coffee?
    I love to bake.
    Thank you for sharing.
    Woolie HUGS
    Trace


    www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com

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  2. Oh my gosh, the sound delicious!!

    And guess who is pulling out the bread machine today? I could smell bread baking as you were talking about it! There goes the diet. Lol!

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  3. Oh dear, this looks far too tasty!!

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  4. Yummy! I would love a slice right now with my morning coffee! And if that does not work for you, how about this afternoon with tea. :)

    Thanks for sharing! I am going to try this.

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  5. looks and sounds divine... now if only you had scratch and sniff on your blog

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  6. Looks scrumptious! YUM! My stomach growled.

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  7. Judy, it looks delicious and very pretty too.Have a great day.

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  8. Oh, this looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing! Have a lovely day! xo Heather

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  9. My mouth is just watering. I make sure that I include a lot of other grains in my diet such as oats, felt, rice, etc so that wheat is not the main flour or bread.

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  10. OMG does that look delish, especially with coffee...
    heavenly

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  11. I bet this is delicious. I have some wonderful all purpose gluten free flour that could probably substituted.

    Hugs,
    Laura

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  12. Oh my, Judy! That's looks and sounds delicious! May have to give it a try. I have started watching my intake Monday-Friday, but treat myself to whatever I want on the weekends. This would sure make a nice treat!! Thanks!

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  13. Judy, Judy, Judy - I am day two of my diet. Lol. It looks GREAT. I am going to pin this. sandie

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  14. Yum......

    That does look, and sound delish.

    I can bet your house smells so good.

    Jen

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  15. Oh Yum-I am not anything free:}

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  16. this looks just divine! thanks for sharing x

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  17. wake up morning coffee fresh aroma?

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  18. Oh, my word, I'm practically drooling over my keyboard! Which segues into today's post about shorthand - never learned it, but it's beautiful; it looks a bit like Arabic. I find I'm still a pen/paper girl, despite seeming to spend my entire life at a keyboard. These machines are necessary evils - I'd much rather sit and chat with you over a cup of coffee and some of this gorgeous pastry than via email! But this medium will have to do 'til I get across that pond ....

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  19. This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!

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  20. Speaking of freshly brewed cups of coffee- I'm having one right now. Sure wish I had some Danish Puff to go with it! BTW- I made your Brussels Sprouts stir fry last weekend- it was delicious!

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  21. Delicious! Thank you for sharing at All My Bloggy Friends last week. I look forward to seeing what you share this week :)

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  22. Looks delicious! Mmmm would love to have a piece with a nice cup of earl grey tea. :) Found you on the Homeacre Hop!

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  23. Yum! Thanks so much for sharing this on The HomeAcre Hop!

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