Monday's Menu

 Some people might consider this week's recipe breakfast food and some might consider it dessert. I usually fall into the latter category but, when I recently made this recipe, several of my family members treated it as a breakfast food while some just at it all day long. So I guess it's up to you. 

Regardless, cream cheese danishes are reallllly good! I found the original recipe here and she suggests that you could even add something like fruit or fruit pie filling or spices to the cream cheese filling to make it even better. Trust me, though, it doesn't need it. The cream cheese filling is great by itself.

And, despite what you may think when you hear danish, it is pretty easy to do. You only need to make the dough and chill it (something you could do the evening before for a breakfast danish OR in the morning and make it in the afternoon). Then you roll out the dough and make little cuts in it. Spread the filling down the middle.

Then, you alternate folding over the sides to make it look like a braid. I did find that when I gave the piece a little twist before laying it over the middle, it looked better but you certainly don't have to.

When you're all done, you just tuck the ends and bake.

Then stand over it and protect it with a wooden spoon while you get a slice.

Because once you pull it out of the oven, you're gonna know exactly how many people are in your house. Every one of them will be standing there waiting for their own slice.

I mean, can you blame them?

Cream Cheese Danish

1/4 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, begin making the dough. First, mix together the sour cream and the butter on low heat. Stir continually until the butter melts so that it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the sugar and the salt into the sour cream and butter mixture. Stir on low heat until the sugar is melted. Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool for a bit before adding the yeast.

Add the egg to the sour cream mixture and then mix in the yeast. Add in the flour and mix well. Cover the dough and let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Mix together the filling. Stir 1/4 cup sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract until well combined. Roll the dough out in a large rectangle. Cut slits along both sides of the dough (on the long edges) about 2 inches long and at least 1 inch apart. Spread the cream cheese mixture down the center of the dough, between the slits. Fold the flaps of dough back over to the center to make it look like a braid. Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown on the top.You may need to bake it longer than this!

Note 1: 
Create a glaze, if desired, with powdered sugar and milk to drizzle across the top. Start with 1 cup of powdered sugar and add 1-2 tablespoons of milk, stir well and add in more powdered sugar as needed, until desired consistency is reached. For extra flavor, add in a splash of lemon juice or vanilla flavoring.
Note 2:
Jam, fruit, or pie filling may be added along with the cream cheese if desired.