Hello!

This week’s recipe takes a little time to do. But it is very much worth the time you will invest in it.

It’s kind of similar to the Overnight Cherry Danish recipe that I had a couple of months ago, to me those are more like a doughnut type of Danish and this is a braid. The kicker on this one is that it has cream cheese in it. You know when it has cream cheese it’s got to be good, right?

I ran across this recipe many years ago while I was thumbing through one of my older “Taste of Home” magazines. We had just finished supper and I wanted to make something really good on a cold snowy winter’s night. So, I decided to go ahead and try this. We had to wait for it but once I put it in the oven and the smell it created while it was baking, we almost couldn’t wait. It smelled incredible. Believe me it didn’t disappoint. Between the three of us, there wasn’t much left once it cooled enough to eat. I barely got the glaze on it.

I have made this several times over the years and it’s great as a dessert and even breakfast. But our favorite was that warm late night snack while the snow and the wind was blowing outside and we sat at that old kitchen table enjoying the warmth from the wood stove and the wonderful flavors of this Danish.

You can use different canned pie fillings like berry and apple, but I always used the cherry in this because it brings back that beautiful memory of my little family on a cold winter night.

Cherry Cream Cheese Danish

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons warm water

1 Tablespoonb dry yeast

½ cup warm milk

¼ cup butter + 1Tablespoon melted butter to brush onto pastry before baking

¼ cup sugar

2 eggs well beaten.

¾ teaspoon salt

2 ½ cups flour + a little extra if needed but keep I mind too much flour will make the bread dry.

For cream cheese filling:

¾ cup cream cheese

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 ½ Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

For Cherry Filling:

2 cups canned cherry pie filling About 16 ounces.

For Glaze

1 ½ cups powdered sugar.

3 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:

1. Add yeast to the warm water (water should be about 110 degrees) and let it bubble up to activate and soften the years.

2. Melt butter in milk by placing 1/4 cup butter in ½ cup milk in a glass measuring cup or microwave safe bowl and microwave it for about 30 seconds or until melted then let cool.

3. In a large mixing bowl: add yeast, sugar, beaten eggs, and salt. Stir gently. Add cooled milk/butter. Add 1 ¾ cups flour and beat well for 5 minutes. Add the remaining flour and mix until a soft dough forms. Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise in warm place until double in bulk. After it has risen, punch dough down.

Form Braid:

1. To form braid, roll dough into a long rectangle about 18-inches by 8-inches. I usually put some butter on my countertop and roll out the dough, it just seems to make it easier. If you want to at this point you can transfer the dough to a baking sheet or a long cookie sheet.

2. Carefully mark dough lengthwise in thirds.

3. Beat together ingredients for cream cheese filling until softened and blended. Then spread cream cheese filling down the middle third of the dough. Make sure to

leave an inch clear at top and bottom of the dough.

4. Spread cherry pie filling down the middle third of dough over cream cheese mixture. Leave an inch clear at the top and bottom of the dough.

5. Using a sharp knife, cut slash marks about 2-inches long and 1 inch wide down each side of dough.

6. Tuck top and bottom of dough up over filling. Bring top right and left tabs of dough to middle and overlap them about an inch, then twist together. Repeat this method until all tabs are joined.

This braiding method allows filling to show through and make a beautiful presentation.

7. Place braid on greased baking sheet or parchment paper. Let braid rise about 45 minutes or until nearly double in size.

8. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until dough is lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool. When braid has cooled some, but not completely, mix glaze ingredients together and place in a pastry bag or sandwich bag with corner cut. Pipe on glaze in a zig-zag pattern across braid.

Enjoy!