Kringle Food

KRINGLE

Steps:

• For the Topping:
• For the Dough: In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast in the water to soften. Heat the cream to 100 degrees F and add it to the yeast along with the egg yolks and egg white. Whisk to combine.
• In a large bowl, combine the sugar, salt, cardamom, and flour. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is the size of tiny peas. This process also can be done easily in a food processor. Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Do not mix too much because you do not want to soften the cold butter. You should see small flour-coated pieces of butter throughout the dough.
• Overnight rise: Put the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and a tightly woven towel and refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.
• Shape: Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide in half. Roll each half into a 24-inch square. Fold the dough in half from top to bottom, then fold the dough in half from side to side to make a 12-inch square. Cover with a towel and let rest 10 minutes.
• Working with 1 square of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 12 by 24-inch rectangle. Spread half of filling evenly over two-thirds of the dough, filling an area of 8 by 24 inches. Fold the portion of dough that has no filling onto the center third of filled dough, then fold the other third of dough to the center, forming a 4 by 24-inch rectangle.
• Place the dough seam side down on a parchment-lined or well-greased baking sheet. Bring the ends of the dough almost together (about 4 inches apart) to form a horseshoe. Repeat with the second piece of dough. If you cannot get both Kringles on a baking sheet, cover the second one and put it in the refrigerator until the first Kringle finishes baking; then bake.
• Second Rise: Cover the with a tightly woven towel and let rise for 1 hour.
• Preheat Oven: About 10 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Final Preparation: For the topping, beat the egg white with a whisk or fork until frothy and brush over the loaves. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and then granulated sugar.
• Bake and Cool: Bake for 25 minutes until the internal temperature of the bread reached 190 degrees. Immediately remove the bread from the baking sheet and place on a rack to cool.
• In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, apples, pecans, butter, and cinnamon together until well mixed. Use to fill 2 loaves.

DANISH KRINGLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cut 1 cup butter into flour until crumbly, leaving pea-sized chunks. Stir in sour cream, and mix well; dough will be very sticky. Form dough into a ball. Cover tightly, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet. Prepare the filling by combining 1 cup butter, brown sugar, and 1 cup chopped walnuts.
• Divide dough into three equal parts; return two parts to the refrigerator to keep cold. Quickly form 1/3 of the dough into a rectangle, and flour lightly. On a heavily floured surface, roll out to approximately 12x17 inches. Position lengthwise on the work surface. Along the long edges of the dough rectangle, use a sharp knife to cut 4 inch long angled lines about 1/2 inch apart. Spoon 1/3 of the filling along the length of the rectangle's uncut center. Alternating from one side of the dough to the other, fold each 1/2 inch wide strip towards the center, crisscrossing the filling in a braid-like fashion. Lightly press together the ends of the strips to seal. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the remaining walnuts. Repeat with remaining ingredients to form 3 braided danishes. Arrange danishes on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Cool for approximately 30 minutes. While the danishes are cooling, prepare the icing: mix confectioners sugar and water until smooth. Drizzle in fine streams over warm danishes.

KRINGLE

Steps:

• Divide butter in half and spread each half on waxed paper to an 8x8 inch square.
• Chill.
• Dissolve yeast in warm water.
• Add lukewarm milk, sugar, salt, lemon extract and egg, mixing well.
• Add flour and mix until smooth.
• Roll dough on well floured board to an 12x8 inch rectangle.
• Place one piece of chilled butter on two thirds of dough.
• Fold uncovered third of dough over the middle third, then fold the remaining third over top.
• Again fold one end over middle third, and fold remaining third over top, making a square of nine layers.
• Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Roll dough again to an 8x12 inch rectangle.
• Add chilled butter and fold the same way.
• This makes 18 layers.
• Refrigerate 2 hours.
• Cut dough into 2 equal pieces.
• Lightly roll one piece at a time, until piece is about 20x6 inches.
• Spread center third of dough with butterscotch filling, then add fruit, nuts, raisins and so on-- or top with jam.
• Fold one of the long edges to the middle, moisten other edge and fold over top to cover filling.
• Seal well.
• Put kringle on a greased baking sheet and form into an oval shape, pressing ends of kringle together to form a continuous circle.
• Flatten dough with hands.
• Cover kringle for 1 hour at 70 degrees.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool, then ice with a mixture of powdered sugar and water.

DANISH KRINGLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Dissolve yeast in warm water; stir into flour mixture with warm milk and egg. Beat until smooth (dough will be very soft). Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours but not more than 24 hours. , Punch dough down. Divide dough in half; refrigerate one half. On a well-floured surface, roll remaining half into a 15x6-in. rectangle. , Combine filling ingredients. Spread half of the filling down center of rectangle in a 2-in. strip. Fold sides of dough over filling; overlapping 1-1/2-in.; pinch edges to seal. Shape into an oval; pinch ends together. Place seam side down on a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. , Preheat oven to 375°. Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes. Combine confectioners' sugar, water and vanilla; spread over the kringles. Sprinkle with nuts.

SCANDINAVIAN KRINGLER

Steps:

• Measure 1 cup flour into mixing bowl.
• Using a pastry blender, cut 1/2 cup butter into flour until particles are size of small peas.
• Sprinkle with water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with a fork until flour mixture is moistened and soft dough forms.
• Divide dough in half.
• On ungreased cookie sheet, press each half into a 12x3 inch strip.
• In medium saucepan, heat water and 1/2 cup butter to boiling.
• Remove from heat; immediately stir in 1 cup flour until smooth.
• Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.
• Stir in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
• Spoon over crust, spreading to 3/4 inch from edges.
• Bake 50-60 minutes until golden brown and puffy- Cool.
• Blend powdered sugar, butter, almond extract and milk until smooth.
• Frost, sprinkle with nuts.
• Cut into 10-12 slices to serve.

BIG-BATCH KRIS KRINGLE COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375ºF.
• Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Stir in remaining ingredients.
• Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto baking sheets.
• Bake 9 to 11 min. or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 3 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

KRINGLE

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, combine all-purpose flour, bread flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Pulse a few times to blend. Add butter and pulse 10 times, or until butter chunks are broken down by about half.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and egg. Scrape flour mixture into the bowl and use a flexible spatula to stir together until nearly all the flour is moistened. Use your hand to quickly knead the dough to bring it together. Transfer dough to a work surface, pat into a rectangle, and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll chilled dough into a roughly 8-by-15-inch rectangle. Fold the two short sides of the rectangle toward the center, folding the rectangle into thirds, like a letter. Rotate dough 90 degrees, then roll out again into a 8-by-15-inch rectangle; fold into thirds again. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes.
• Roll the dough out into a roughly 8-by-15-inch rectangle, fold into thirds, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes two more times. At this point, wrapped dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or freezer for 2 months.
• Prepare the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine almond paste, butter, confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons of the egg whites and the salt. Beat to combine, then beat in lemon juice, adding more to taste, if you like.
• Line two rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and cut in half.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll each half into a 6-by-24-inch rectangle. Spread 1/2-cup filling on each in an even strip down the center (about 2 1/2-inches wide).
• Fold one long side over the filling, leaving the remaining third of the dough exposed. Use a pastry brush to the open border of dough with reserved egg whites on both the long side and two short ends. Fold the second long side over the first; pinch and press the seam tightly along the length and at both short ends, sinking your fingertips into the pastry to create a tight seal.
• Remeasure dough to make sure it's at least 24 inches long; if necessary, stretch it back out. Form into an oval, then tuck one end into the other. Pinch and press the seam together, then transfer oval to prepared sheet pans and flip over so it's seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 30 to 45 minutes, or until slightly puffy.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush pastry with more egg white, then bake until golden, about 25 minutes, rotating sheet pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through.
• As soon as the pastries come out of the oven (and the pastries are piping hot!), do something that seems a little crazy: Compress each pastry slightly by using the sheet pan with the other pastry on it, setting the sheet pan on top of the pastry and pressing gently to eliminate the air pocket between the pastry and filling. Transfer the sheet pans to wire racks and allow pastries to cool completely.
• Prepare the icing: In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, vanilla, fine sea salt and 4 teaspoons water. Spread icing over tops of the kringles. Let icing dry before slicing and serving.

DANISH ALMOND KRINGLE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and milk. Let stand until the yeast dissolves and begins to foam, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Fold in the yeast mixture just until the dough is moistened. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
• Turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin, pound the dough until flattened to a 2-inch thickness, then roll the dough out into a 24-inch square.
• To prepare the filling, blend the almond paste, almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and almond extract together. Spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edges of the square, and roll the dough up as tightly as possible.
• Sprinkle the sugar for the topping on the work surface. Roll the dough firmly into the sugar to coat it well, and, at the same time, stretch it to form a log of dough 36 to 40 inches long.
• Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the roll on the paper in the shape of a pretzel. Brush the surface with the egg white and sprinkle with the almonds. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes, or until puffy but not doubled.
• Position the oven racks so that they are evenly spaced. Preheat the oven to convection bake at 300°F. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack.