Apple Pie Danish with Vanilla Glaze

Heavenly...

That's what I've got to say about these Danish's.  I don't make Danish's very often, but when I do, I do it right. Everything works on these little pastries. The apple pie filling delectable, the crust perfectly golden brown, the almonds are oh-so crunchy, and of course, that creamy, wonderful glaze. Breakfast was awesome this week. The hubby was a little shocked I hadn't made him his normal Cream Cheese Danish, but I had 2 apples that were on the cusp of going to the other side. He was quickly convinced after eating one of these, however.

Apple pie is one of my favorites. It's another one of those things that reminds me of childhood, because I always, always, always think of my mom's apple pie. My mom's is the perfect Old-Fashioned Apple Pie, with the traditional top and bottom crust. And oh boy, that crust! I loved when Mom would accidentally under-bake the pie and the bottom crust would be a little moist and softened. But the filling was always the star of the show. Apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon make one of the most intoxicating combinations around, and one that's hard to beat. The filling in these Danish's definitely captures the essence of apple pie. I cook the filling on the stove to soften up the apples a bit, since Danish doesn't bake in the oven nearly as long as a pie. This resulted in perfectly cooked apples in the middle of the Danish.

Now, I'm still a small-time blogger with constraints on what I can do. I do what I can with supplies, techniques, lighting, ingredients, etc. However, I furnish all of these items myself. I do not have a stand mixer yet. It's on my list, but when you have a brand new house, sometimes putting up a fence and pouring a driveway is more important than buying items for Jessica's hobby. To that, yes, I use commercially made puff pastry. I will definitely give that go when I've got my mixer, but even professional chefs use commercial puff pastry due to its laborious nature. I watched an episode of Anne Burrell's "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" in which she talked all about store-made puff pastry. If it's ok for her, it's ok for me. If you have a knockout recipe for Danish dough, by all means, go for it!

Is everyone happy it's Friday? I sure am! The hubby has the day off, and we've got a lot of preparation to do around the house before my brother and his wife arrive. It's also supposed to be 70º today, so I'm planning on sneaking in an easy 5 miles. I didn't run as much as I would have liked over the cold months (due to my hatred of the Treadmill), so I'm feeling like I lost some endurance. Not good when one of this year's goals is to run a 10k. But it's only March, I guess I've got plenty of time to get my endurance back up. Starting with today!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (makes 4 pastries):

Danish-

1- puff pastry sheet, slightly unthawed

1/4 cup butter

1 and 1/2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2- Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced

1 egg, lightly scrambled

Icing-

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp butter, melted

1/4 tsp vanilla

1-2 tbsp milk

Garnish- toasted almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. Melt butter on stove in a small saucepan over medium heat. When melted, add flour to form a paste. Cook for 1 minute, then add water, sugars, and apple. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes, or until apple starts to soften. Remove from heat.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry sheet. Cut pastry into 4 squares. Divide apple filling among 4 pastries. Using a pastry brush, brush the 4 corners of the pastry with egg. Fold pastry into a little packet around the filling, pinching the seams shut. Place the packets on the cookie sheet.

4. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven, and allow to cool completely before icing.

5. To prepare icing, in a small bowl mix powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Slowly drizzle milk into mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture resembles heavy cream. Drizzle glaze over pastries, top with toasted almonds. Serve immediately!

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Cunning Ladies' Friday Party