Danish Crunch Recipes

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.

Steps:

• To make the butter crunch mixture, melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, stir in almonds, and pour out into prepared pan, spreading the mixture with the back of a spoon to fill the pan. Before the butter crunch hardens, but when it is firm enough to handle, turn it out onto a large parchment-covered cutting board and peel away the foil. Allow the butter crunch to cool completely. To finish the butter crunch, wipe the top surface of the candy with a damp paper towel to remove excess butter and allow to dry a few minutes. Have another cutting board or the back of a jelly-roll pan ready to turn the candy over onto. Use a small offset metal icing spatula to spread half the tempered chocolate quickly over the butter crunch. Scatter half the chopped almonds over the chocolate. Cover this finished surface with a piece of parchment paper or foil and place another cutting board or the back of a large jelly-roll pan. Remove top board and paper and quickly spread with remaining tempered chocolate and scatter on remaining almonds (it isn't necessary to wipe the second side because it wasn't against a buttered surface). Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set chocolate. Break the butter crunch into 2-inch pieces. Store candy in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover and keep at a cool room temperature for up to a week.

Steps:

• Combine the flour, granulated sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse to combine. The butter should be the size of small marbles and peas. Transfer this mixture to a medium bowl.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and 2 tablespoons/30 milliliters water.
• Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture until it is evenly moistened. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, shape into a small rectangle, and wrap well. Chill for at least 3 hours, and up to 2 days.
• On a lightly floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to an 8-by-15-inch rectangle. With a short side facing you, fold the dough in thirds like a letter, bringing the top third of the dough down, then folding the bottom third up. Use a bench scraper to help lift and fold the dough if necessary. At this point, the dough will be rough and shaggy with visible butter pieces; as you roll and fold the dough it will come together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Repeat the rolling and folding process, then rotate the dough once more and roll and fold again. As you work, dust the work surface, your hands and the rolling pin with flour as necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Repeat the entire rolling and folding process one more time for a grand total of six turns. If the dough starts to fight you and become difficult to roll at any point, just pop it in the fridge for an extra rest. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.