Aunt Nancys Danish Puff Food

AIR-FRYER PUFF PASTRY DANISHES

Steps:

• Preheat air fryer to 325°. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla until smooth; beat in 1 egg yolk., Mix water and remaining egg yolk. On a lightly floured surface, unfold each sheet of puff pastry; roll into a 12-in. square. Cut each into nine 4-in. squares., Top each square with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture and 1 rounded teaspoon jam. Bring 2 opposite corners of pastry over filling, sealing with yolk mixture. Brush tops with remaining yolk mixture., In batches, place in a single layer on greased tray in air-fryer basket. Cook until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

DANISH ALMOND PUFF

Steps:

• Place 1 cup of flour in a medium bowl. Mix in butter using a fork or a pastry blender. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water over, and stir with a fork until dough comes together. Divide into two balls. Pat dough into two long strips on an ungreased baking sheet, about 14 inches long and 3 inches wide. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of butter and 1 cup of water. Bring to a rolling boil. Add 1 teaspoon of almond extract and remove from the heat. Immediately stir in 1 cup of flour until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan. Gradually stir in the eggs until well blended. Divide evenly, and spread over the two crusts on the baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 1 hour. Allow to cool almost to room temperature before frosting.
• To make the frosting, mix together the confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon of almond extract and a splash of milk in a small bowl until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to make a pourable glaze. Drizzle over the Danish, and decorate with candy sprinkles if desired.

AUNT NANCY'S CHEESE PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Combine cream cheese, onion, and egg yolks in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until blended. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on bread and lightly sprinkle with paprika. Place on baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese puffs start to slightly brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

ALMOND DANISH PUFF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Cut 1/2 cup softened butter into 1 cup flour, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until particles are size of coarse crumbs.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; mix with fork.
• Gather pastry into ball; divide in half.
• Pat each half into rectangle, 12x3 inches, about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Heat remaining 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil in 2-quart saucepan; remove from heat.
• Quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour.
• Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat.
• Add eggs; beat until smooth. Spread half of the topping over each rectangle.
• Bake about 1 hour or until topping is crisp and brown; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.
• Spread with Creamy Almond Glaze; sprinkle with almonds.
• Creamy Almond Glaze:
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar; 2-3 tbsp butter, softened; 1/2 to 1 tsp almond extract; 1-2 tbsp warm water or milk.
• Mix all ingredients until smooth and spreadable and glaze the Danish puff.

VANILLA DUTCH BABY (PUFFED PANCAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Put the butter in a large, ovenproof, nonstick saute pan and place in the oven.
• Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the eggs, flour, warm milk, sugar, vanilla extract and pinch of salt, and blend on medium-high speed until uniform. (If mixing by hand, combine the eggs with the milk until the mixture is light yellow and no longer stringy, about 1 minute. Add the flour, sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt, and whisk vigorously to remove the lumps, about 30 seconds.)
• Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. The butter should be melted. Swirl the butter around the pan to coat completely, and then pour the remaining butter into the batter and pulse to blend. Pour the batter into the hot pan and return the pan to the oven. Cook until the pancake is puffed in the center and golden brown along the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Using a spatula, remove the entire Dutch baby from the pan and place on a cooling rack for a few minutes to allow the steam to escape without condensing along the bottom and rendering the pancake soggy. Dust with confectioners' sugar when cooled slightly. Slice the pancake into 8 wedges on a serving platter or cutting board.

PUFF PASTRY CHEESE AND PRESERVE DANISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small bowl combine the mascarpone, egg yolk, sugar, flour and vanilla. Stir until just combined and then set aside.
• Dust the puff pastry with flour and roll with a rolling pin to flatten and smooth.
• Place the puff pastry on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Schmear the mascarpone down the middle of the puff pastry lengthwise into a 3-inch wide strip. Spoon the fruit preserves on top of the mascarpone.
• Using sharp kitchen shears cut the long sides of the pastry into 1-inch wide strips. Cut towards the cheese filling but stop about 1-inch before you get to the filling. This result will look like fringy pastry. Alternating sides, fold 1 piece of the fringe over the cheese and jelly mixture. The result will look like a braided pastry with fruit preserve peeking through. Brush the dough with the beaten egg yolk mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool before serving. Cut into strips to serve.
• Call yourself a super star!

AUNT NANCY'S FLAKY PASTRY CRUST

Steps:

• Cut shortening into flour with a pastry blender or with two butter knives until it resembles a coarse meal.
• Add cold water gradually and mix until the flour/shortening comes together to form a ball that holds its shape and is not sticky. If necessary, add more water or flour.
• Divide ball in two, and roll each separately into a circle large enough to fit your pie pan.
• For a double crust filled pie, place one shell into pie pan. Add pie filling and top with other crust. Bake as directed on pie filling recipe.
• For 2 single crust pies, place each shell into 2 pie pans, add filling and bake as directed on pie filling recipe.
• For 2 single crust pre-baked shells, place each shell into a pie pan and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before filling.

AUNT NANCY'S PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE

Steps:

• Mix in bowl- peanut butter and marshmellow cream and set to side.
• Mix sugar, butter, milk in saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Boil for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Mix everything together. (easier if you use a mixer on stir).
• Put in cookie sheet. (lined with a wax paper).
• Let cool and harden.

AUNT NANCY'S CAJUN RICE AND BEANS

Steps:

• Put the rice and 2 2/3 cups water or broth in a pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. After rice has been cooking 15-20 minutes, continue as follows.
• In a skillet, soften the onion and garlic in a little water.
• Stir the next 8 ingredients into the skillet (tomato to pepper). Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
• When no water is left on the rice and it's just beginning to stick, remove from the heat and let it stand covered. This is important, to allow it to dry and fluff up a bit before serving.
• Slightly mash half of the beans. Stir them all into the skillet. Cook partially covered, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
• Serve over rice, garnished with green onions if desired.

AUNT NANCY'S DANISH PUFF

Steps:

• Part 1 Cut together: 1 cup flour 1 cube butter (1/2 cup) 3 TBSP water Pat out into 3" X 12" strips Part 2 Add 1 cube butter to 1 cup water. Heat until butter melts Remove from heat. Add 1 cup flour Stir in quickly: 3 eggs, one at a time Add 1 tsp. almond flavoring Mix like a creampuff Pour over strips Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr. Frost with Betty Crocker vanilla frosting. (White and Creamy) Sprinkle with sliced almonds.