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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Braided Cherry Danish

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After my braided garlic herb bread, I couldn’t resist trying a sweeter braid. I’ve long had Julie’s raspberry almond breakfast bread bookmarked, but since I had some extra cherry pie filling on hand (from the mini cheesecakes), I switched up the filling a bit.
This is one of those recipes that looks impressive on display, but is in fact ridiculously easy. I made the entire thing after work one Friday afternoon and before we headed out the door to babysit (I lead a wild and crazy life), I was already cutting a slice off to sample. 
The braid dough itself isn’t very sweet, which provided a nice contrast to the super sweet filling. However, I’d also like to use this same dough recipe to try a savory filling…the possibilities are endless! This was best warm out of the oven, although two days later it was still pretty fresh. If you wanted to serve for brunch, I think you could prep it the night before, cover and refrigerate, then bake in the morning. Next time I make a sweet version I’ll probably try jam, like the original recipe called for. That way I can feel a little less guilty eating it for breakfast ;)

One Year Ago: Oatmeal Raisin Bars
Two Years Ago: Pesto Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Spinach, Zucchini, and Goat Cheese

Braided Cherry Danish
dough from Willow Bird Baking

Ingredients:
-2 cups flour, sifted
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-3 oz cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
-1/2 cup unsalted butter
-1/2 cup milk
-1/2 tsp almond extract
-heaping 1/2 cup cherry pie filling

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F. In the bowl of a food processor, add flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and cream cheese and pulse 6 times.
2. Add milk and almond extract and pulse just until dough comes together. Remove dough from bowl and carefully pat into a circle on a piece of wax paper (you don't want to overwork the dough so don't worry about it being perfect!).
3. Cover dough with a second piece of wax paper and use a rolling pin to roll dough into a 12 x 8 rectangle. Transfer pastry to a baking sheet. Use a knife to carefully "draw" lines on the dough to cut it into thirds (lengthwise).
4. Place cherry filling along the center third of the dough. Use a pizza cutter or knife to slice diagonal strips into the outer thirds of the dough, about 1 inch wide. Do not cut into the center, cherry-filled area.
5. Fold strips, alternating sides, toward the middle, covering the cherry filling. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and the top is lightly browned.