Danish Cheese Pockets Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper.
• Beat the whole egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl; set aside.
• Beat the egg yolk, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.
• Lay out the 2 sheets of puff pastry and cut each into 4 squares. Fold the corners of the squares over by about 1 inch to make octagon shapes. Spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly into the center of each (about 2 tablespoons per); do not spread the cream cheese. Brush all of the exposed pastry with the egg wash, then dust generously with sugar.
• Bake until puffed and golden brown all over, about 18 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. In small bowl, mix filling ingredients until smooth; set aside.
• In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, butter and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until crumbly. Stir in 2/3 cup milk until dough forms; beat with spoon 15 strokes.
• On cookie sheet, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. Make a shallow well in center of each with back of spoon; fill each with about 1 teaspoon filling.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, mix glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over warm Danish. Store covered in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Make the pastry dough: Whisk yeast into warm water. Wait 1-2 minutes, then whisk again. Whisk in milk.
• Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix.
• Cut 4 tablespoons butter into thin slices and add to processor. Pulse to a fine texture -- not too much where it becomes pasty.
• Cut remaining butter into 1/2 inch cubes and add to processor. Pule twice, 1-2 seconds each time. Remove dough and place in mixing bowl.
• Whisk eggs into yeast mixture and add to dough. Using a rubber spatula, hold blade horizontally. Press/dig spatula down into dough, repeating until dough comes together, turning the bowl while you work. The dough will be soft and sticky.
• Leave dough in bowl, covering dough surface tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
• Place the chilled dough on a floured surface and sprinkle flour on top. Press dough into a rectangle (twice as long as it is wide).
• Starting at narrow edge farthest away from you, firmly press with a rolling pin in short parallel strokes. Seal any sticky areas with a bit of flour, and don't allow dough pieces to stick to rolling pin. Repeat, then press once across width of dough. You should have a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.
• Sprinkle flour above and below dough.
• Rolling Directions: Create a rectangle 18 x 8: Starting on the edge nearest you, roll once away from you in length and once in width. Do NOT roll over the end/edge of the dough.
• Folding Directions: Fold the two narrow ends in toward the middle, leaving a 1 inch gap in the center. Fold the top to bottom to form 4 layers. Turn dough so folded edge is on the left.
• Repeat rolling and folding directions. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but no more than 12 hours.
• Filling: Add filling ingredients (except marmalade and chocolate chips) to a medium-size bowl. Beat together with a spatula (I use my KitchenAid mixer).
• Place HALF of the chilled dough on floured surface and sprinkle with flour.
• Using a rolling pin, press the dough in firm, parallel strokes to soften it. Flour surface and dough again if needed. Roll dough out into a 12 x 16 inch rectangle.
• Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Slide dough onto first cookie sheet and refrigerate 10 minutes (until firm).
• Repeat the above process with the second half of the pastry dough and place on second cookie sheet and chill 10 minutes until firm.
• Remove dough from refrigerator, leave dough in place on parchment paper. Cut each sheet of dough into 12 4-inch squares, keeping them in place on the parchment paper.
• Drop a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the center of each square. Top with a heaping teaspoon of marmalade or chocolate chips.
• Fold the dough corners into the middle, overlapping the filling by about 1/4 inch. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes until they begin to puff. I did not notice much puffing.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Prepare the egg wash and brush to top of each pastry. Sprinkle with almonds or additional chocolate chips.
• Bake 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden and filling is set. My pastries were done at 15 minutes, so start checking after 10 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack.
• Combine icing ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over very low heat until lukewarm. Drizzle icing over slightly cooled pastry and allow to set.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!
• Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.
• Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.