Easy Cheese Danish

It's the time of year for Potluck's, Family Gatherings, and Snooze buttons....you know what I'm talking about-that dreadful alarm clock telling you its time to get out of your warm & cozy bed to face the cold. This danish is so simple, but fancy enough to serve to guest, family or as breakfast. It literally only calls for 7 ingredients. No one will believe this is a product of crescent rolls. 

Ingredients:
1 tube of Crescent Rolls

8-oz. of Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons of Vanilla 

2 1/2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour

Frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar
4+ Tablespoons Heavy Cream or Milk

1 teaspoon of Vanilla 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla. Set aside.

Pop open crescent roll dough and unroll, leaving crescents in rectangles. On an ungreased baking sheet, lay the crescent roll rectangles together, lining them up width wise. Dough should be almost the entire length of a half sheet pan.

Press edges together to even out edges and seal any holes. Carefully spread cream cheese filling down the center of the dough to be about 2-3 inches wide.

 Cut 1/2 inch diagonal strips up each side of the dough.

Fold 1/2 inch dough pieces up over filling alternating sides to get a braided pattern. You may have excess dough once you reach the end of the danish, so fold them in as best as you can.

Bake for 18-25 minutes or until filling is set and crescent dough is golden in color. Cool before removing from baking sheet.

Once danish has cooled, remove to serving platter. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar, vanilla and cream to create icing. You may need to add more cream to get the desired consistency. Drizzle icing over danish.

 Cut into pieces and serve...Coffee Please lol!

Happy Eating!

 

Cinnamon Rolls 101

This is probably one of my most anticipated recipes; It has definitely become a staple. My family & friends start requesting these in October. I only make them this time of year--when the trees become bare and hot chocolate/coffee become a necessity. I don't know what makes these things  so addicting. I should, because I made them...Since they make so many batches I've started giving them as Christmas gifts, but the recipe can easily be halved.

Ingredients:

For the Dough

1 Quart of Whole Milk
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Sugar
2 Packages Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packets 

9 Cups All-Purpose Flour, Sifted
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder (heaping)
1 Teaspoon  Baking Soda (scant)
1 Tablespoon Salt (heaping)

For the Filling
3 Sticks of Butter, Softened
1 1/4 cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed

1 1/2 Teaspoons  Cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of Flour

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

For the Frosting

1 Stick of Butter, Softened

1 8oz Package of Cream Cheese, Softened

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla 

1 3/4 Cups of Powered Sugar 

1/2 Cup of Condensed Milk

Now comes the home stretch!! Once your rolls are freshly baked, pull them out of the oven and give them a healthy slathering of that frosting. If your frosting isn’t finished once the rolls are done, pull them out and cover them lightly with foil. You don’t want the tops of these getting hard!

You’ll only end up using about half the frosting right away and that will melt right into the rolls. Then once they have cooled off a little more, feel free to go back and re frost them.

  Your house will smell amazing! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Directions:

For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until warmed throughout NOT hot. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 2-3 minutes.

Add 8 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a relatively warm place (I leave my on the stove) for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 1 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. If the dough is still sticky add another 1/2-1 cup of flour. You can use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. 

Meanwhile in a medium size bowl, stir brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and vanilla together until combined. Cover and set aside.   

To assemble: Punch down dough and remove half. Flour a large clean table liberally with flour. Lightly flour dough as well. Roll dough out to be a 20×30 rectangle {or as close to that as possible} while moving dough around to ensure it’s not sticking to your work surface. 

Spread softened butter over dough, being sure to go right to the edges leaving a 1-inch strip untouched on one of the longer sides of dough. Dump brown sugar mixture onto the middle of the dough and spread with your hands, creating an even layer over top of the butter, still leaving that 1-inch strip of dough untouched. Lightly press the sugar mixture into the butter using a rolling pin. Roll the dough up into a tight log, finishing with the plain dough on the bottom to seal the entire thing together. 

Cut off the uneven ends to even out the log. Score log every 2 inches and then slice your rolls using those marks. Place into parchment paper lined, buttered greased pans. 12 into a 9×13, 3 remaining into a loaf pan, or 8×8 with the small ends. Cover pans with plastic wrap and dish towels. Let rolls rise another 1-2 hours or until they are touching and have risen almost double. My rolls always spread out more than up, so just be aware that they will most likely spread out more than up. Bake in a preheated 350 degree for 17 minutes, or until tops start to brown. Watch them carefully!!

For the Frosting:

In a medium bowl, wisk the butter and cream cheese until smooth, add the remaining ingredients and blend until you reach the consistency of peanut butter.  If you like a lot of icing you may need to double the recipe, or if you like thinner icing add more canned milk.

Happy Eating!

Sweet Potato Pie

I first made this Sweet Potato Pie for a bake sale just this year. It’s one of those rare recipes that hit the perfect note the very first time I attempted it, and I doubt I’ll ever stray from this version. I’m just going to put all modesty aside and declare it pretty much perfection. The sweetness is mild and the amount of spice is enough to enhance the earthy sweet potato without covering it up. All this pie needs is a dollop of cool whip! 

Ingredients

2 cups Peeled, Cooked Sweet Potatoes
1 cup of White Sugar

1/4 cups Brown Sugar
1/2 stick Butter, soften
2 Eggs, room temperature

2 tsp of Vanilla
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 cup of Half & Half
9-inch unbaked pie crust. See recipe.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the filling: Using an electric mixer, wisk the potatoes and butter. Combine the sugars, spices, salt, and vanilla. Add the eggs and half & half, blend well. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool 20-30 minutes before serving.

 

Cool Whip Please! lol

Happy Eating!

 

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes are legendary in my family. Back in the day when we would all gather for Sunday dinner, if a pan of scalloped potatoes or macaroni and cheese showed up on the table us kids went crazy. To this day if someone makes scalloped potatoes I start dancing in my head from excitement. This I broke out this particular recipe last year for Thanksgiving and it was met with rave reviews. The pan was demolished in no time.

I used a mandoline to slice my potatoes – it makes the process super quick and ensures that all of the potatoes are evenly sliced. It's an inexpensive investment for something that makes kitchen tasks painless, quick and easy. It's well worth it in the long run.

Ingredients
1-1/2 Pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes, Sliced 1/8-1/4 inch thick (Soaking)
5 Tbsp of Butter
3 Tbsp of Flour
2 cups of Half & Half
1/4 cup of Sour Cream (Optional)
2 1/2 cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese, ( I used, Extra Sharp, Sharp, and Mild White Cheddar)
1/4 cup of Onion, diced
1/2 tsp of Garlic Powder
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp of Garlic, diced
Salt & Course Black Pepper to Taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.


Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add Onion and saute until fragrant. Add the flour, stir constantly, cook about 2-3 minutes.

While butter is melting, grease a casserole dish. Place a layer of potatoes in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper.

Wisk in Half and Half. Mixture should thicken, if it's too thick add a 1/2 cup of half & half.  Add Sour Cream, Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper, and Garlic powder. Taste, adjust your seasoning. Remember you can always add, but you can't take away.

Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with grated cheese. Make 2 more layers finishing with cheese. Dollop with pieces of butter. Bake, uncovered, for 45-1 hour minutes or until potatoes are tender.

******Kitchen Tip: Whenever peeling potatoes they need to stay in water to prevent browning*******

 

Cheesy Golden Deliciousness!

Enjoy!!

Happy Eating!