Cheese Danishes

I woke up sometime last week and all of a sudden my brain was screaming "make cheese danishes." I seriously couldn't stop thinking about it all week so I decided that I would do it Saturday. I was really expecting it to be some big project but in truth it wasn't nearly has hard as I thought it would be. It was also a great way to get rid of the cream cheese that was in our fridge.

As soon as I pulled them out of the oven I couldn't wait to sit down with one, a cup of coffee, and a book. When I finally got to it was as rewarding as I thought it would be. The shortening folded between the layers makes the dough rich but tender and the filling is flavorful. It's sweet with out losing the edge from the cream cheese. These would be great for Sunday breakfast.

Cheese Danishes
dough
1 package instant dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
4 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
3/4 cup shortening, divided
1 cup warm milk
3 eggs
filling
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

in a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. add the milk, 1/4 cup shortening, sugar, 2 eggs, salt, lemon peel, vanilla and 2 cups flour. beat until smooth. stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

turn onto a floured surface and knead until smooth an elastic. place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).

punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. roll into a 24×16 inch rectangle. dot half of the dough with 1/4 cup shortening; fold dough in half lengthwise. dot with shortening and fold lengthwise into thirds. dot with remaining shortening and fold widthwise into thirds.

roll dough into a 16×15 inch rectangle. cut into 8×3/4 inch strips, coil into spiral shapes, tucking end underneath the coil to form a bottom. place on a greased baking sheet and cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour).

in a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. beat remaining egg, make a depression in the center of each roll and brush with egg. fill each with the cheese filling.

bake at 375 F for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. remove from pans to wire racks to cool. while baking, combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla to form the glaze. drizzle over the danishes while they are still warm.