Cheese Danish Braids

from Robin on Sonlight

These are AMAZING! My family could not believe that I actually made these! We had one for Christmas breakfast, have one in the freezer and the other two got eaten just from nibbling. Seriously, make this recipe and you will love it! It may seem complicated, but it really isn't.

I made all the dough, but then kept 1/2 in the refrigerator and just rolled out and baked 2 at a time since I only have one oven. I rolled them right on my Pampered Chef stones. The rectangular flat stone was the easiest, because I could cut the dough slits right on it. Since that was so easy, I just did them and then transferred one to my round stone for rising baking and then did the second one and left it on that stone.

1 (8 oz) container of sour cream
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon salt
2 (1/4 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
2 large eggs, beaten
4 cups of all purpose flour
Cream cheese filling (recipe at bottom)
Powdered sugar glaze (recipe at bottom)

Heat first four ingredients in a saucepan, stirring occasionally, until butter melts. Cool to 105-115 degrees.

Combine yeast and warm water in a large mixing bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream mixture and eggs; gradually stir in flour (dough will be soft). Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

Divide dough into fourths. Turn out each portion onto a heavily floured surface, and knead 4 or 5 times.


Roll each portion into a 12x10 inch rectangle. Make 3/4"-1" wide strips along each side with a sharp knife. Spread each rectangle with one fourth of the cream cheese filling down the middle.

Then to give it that braided look, take one strip, fold and twist over the cream cheese filling and press into the other side. Repeat down both sides, alternating back and forth. Tuck in the dough at each end.


Cover and let rise in a warm place (85degrees), free from drafts, about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until browned. Drizzle warm loaves with powdered sugar glaze. Yield 4 (12 inch) loaves.



Cream Cheese Filling
2 (8 0z) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup of sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat all ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Use 1/4 of filling on each danish.

Powdered Sugar Glaze
1-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Stir together all ingredients and drizzle over warm danish.

Note: Braids may be frozen after baking. Thaw in refrigerator, and glaze before serving.

Ham & Eggs Braid

The Pampered Chef ®

Great for breakfast, brunch or even dinner! Very tasty and pretty!

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 green onions with tops, sliced
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
8 eggs, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash ground black pepper
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
2 packages crescent rolls
1/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese


1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Chop bell pepper. Slice green onions. Place cream cheese and milk in large bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 minute; whisk until smooth. Separate 1 egg; reserve egg white for later use. Whisk egg yolk, remaining seven eggs, salt and black pepper into cream cheese mixture until well blended. Add bell pepper and onion to egg mixture; mix well.
2. Melt butter in sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add egg mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs are set but still moist. Remove pan from heat.
3. Unroll crescent dough; do not separate. Arrange dough on rectangle stone with longest sides of rectangles across width of baking stone. Roll dough to seal seams. Starting on longest sides of baking stone, cut sides of dough into eight strips, about 1 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches long. Arrange ham evenly over center of dough. Scoop egg mixture over ham. Grate cheddar cheese over egg mixture.
4. Starting at one end, lift one strip of dough; twist one turn and lay across top of filling. Repeat, alternating strips of dough to form a braid. Fold bottom edges up at ends of braid. Lightly beat reserved egg white; brush over dough. Bake 25-28 minutes or until deep golden brown.
Yield: 10 servings

Cinnamon Rolls

Our favorite cinnamon rolls, hands down!

8 oz. warm milk (I usually microwave it for 45 seconds)
1 large egg
4 Tbs. butter
3 1/3 c. flour (all white or 1/2 & 1/2 whole wheat)
3 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast

Mix all ingredients and place in buttered glass bowl. Cover with towel and let rise 1 hour. Punch down and roll into 18 x 10 inch rectangle (no I don't measure!). Spread with 1/4 to 1/2 c. butter, then 1/2 c. brown sugar, and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon. Roll up along the long edge and seal. Cut into 12 large or 18 small slices. Place in buttered pan. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Icing
4 Tbs. cream cheese, soft
4 Tbs. butter, soft
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. confect. sugar
1 -2 Tbs. milk.
Mix to desired thickness and spread over warm rolls.