Kyong Millar, the sweet owner of my favorite boutique in Salt Lake City, graciously shared this recipe with me a few months ago, and I finally made it when we had some friends visiting just before Christmas. I couldn’t believe how good they were — satiny soft pastry wrapped around rich filling with the perfect vanilla-infused glaze on top. I dreamed about these cinnamon rolls for the next month until I had a chance to make them again and people, they are still so dang good.

This time around, I decided to make a half-batch of rolls, and made little miniature cinnamon rolls rather than big full-sized ones. Some late-night crazy brain and over-zealous dough rolling may have gone into that decision…but I’m totally happy with it! If mini cinnamon rolls means I can eat twice as many, I’m down.

I would highly recommend making these rolls at night (perhaps tonight?) and putting them in the refrigerator overnight rather than leaving them out for a second rise. In the morning, take them out of the fridge and set them on top of the oven while it preheats. Bake, glaze, and you’ve got the best breakfast ever.

Cinnamon Rolls
Kyong Millar of Koo de Ker

Makes 12-15 large rolls

This recipe is relatively easily divided; most of the measurements can be pretty easily halved, but please don’t bother trying to divide an egg in half, just use the yolk! For simplicity, here’s the full recipe. I must offer a huge thanks to Kyong for the lovely recipe — go check out her wonderful shop!

For the dough:
1/4-ounce package (2 1/4 teaspoons) quick rise yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk, scalded in microwave
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:
1/3  cup melted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar+ 2 tablespoons cinnamon
(save some to sprinkle in pan)

For the glaze:
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 6 tablespoons hot water

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes (or refrigerate overnight). Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

To be fair, these are more lemon than blueberry, which is completely fine with me. They made the house feel all buttery and cozy this morning, and made me want to put on my favorite Lululemon tank and some sweatpants and go back to sleep. I resisted, but the impulse is still there. Just saying.

Anyway — these scones are seriously good. And don’t even get me started on the glaze. I have some leftover and feel like it’s destined for blueberry donuts. I’ll keep you posted. My sweatpants are calling.

Blueberry Lemon Scones
Barely adapted from Take a Megabite

Makes 8-10 scones

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of ground ginger
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine*
3/4 cup lemon juice
3-5 tablespoons milk, as needed
zest from 2 lemons, about 2 teaspoons
1/2 cup blueberries, preferably frozen

*Frozen for 30 minutes and grated on the largest side of a box grater

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger. Rub the zest into the sugar until fragrant. Whisk into the dry ingredients. Add butter and toss to coat, breaking up the larger pieces of butter with your fingertips. Add about 1/2 cup of lemon juice and stir, add more/all of the lemon juice as needed. If the dough is still a bit dry add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until a dough forms. Pour onto a floured surface and knead until pliable.

Pat into a rectangle about an half an inch high. Press blueberries into the dough and cut into squares. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Glaze

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest + more for sprinkling
1/2 cup lemon juice

Combine melted butter and 3/4 cup powdered sugar and mix with an electric mixer until combined. Add zest and juice and mix until no longer lumpy. Add remaining powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time, mixing between additions.

Drizzle over the scones and sprinkle with zest.

I can very easily eat myself sick on fresh cherries alone, but I love the magic they create in the oven just as much. Desserts baked from fresh cherries are worlds apart from anything made with cherry pie filling from a can (although that’s tasty, as well). They make everything velvety rich and delicious, and need so little embellishment!

This galette is the perfect showcase for summer fruit at its finest – a rich, buttery crust holding up piles of barely-sweetened berries. Use any fruit you like, but I’d highly recommend cherries! Blackberries would be great, as well.

Cherry-Blueberry Galette
Adapted from Martha Stewart via Shutterbean

Serves 6

all-purpose flour, for sprinkling
1 recipe Pate Brisee, below*
3/4 cup pitted and quartered cherries
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon turbinado (or granulated) sugar

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to an 8 inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer dough to a parchment lined baking sheet & refrigerate until ready to use- up to one hour. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Toss the fruit in a bowl with the sugar, flour and lemon juice. Stir thoroughly and set aside.

Pile the fruit mixture on top of the chilled dough, leaving a 2 inch border for the crust. Fold the sides up, creating the crust and pinch folds together to secure. Brush egg on top and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake pie in the oven for about 30 minutes until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Let cool on the counter and serve.

Pate Brisee

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Form the dough into a disc on a floured surface  wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.

*As far as I’m concerned, this is the only pie crust recipe you’ll ever need. For this dessert I used a half-recipe, which makes enough for one standard pie crust. I make it frequently and it never fails to emerge flaky and delicious. It’s also perfect for savory pies like quiches — just omit the sugar and proceed.

I’m cheap, so I didn’t even buy the Ruby Red ones, just plain old Texas grapefruits, and I bought the five-pound bag because they’re cheaper that way. I told you! But still, I just can’t get enough.

And then, on Monday, the powers of Joy the Baker and daylight savings time and a really long day came together and I came straight home from work to bake these scones. And they are full of pink and spring and I love them.

These scones were a little too tart for Ryan’s liking, but I love their sweet little grapefruit punch. If you’re as grapefruit-obsessed as I am, you’ll love them too!

Grapefruit Yogurt Scones
Adapted from Joy the Baker

Please don’t call the scone police on me, but these are not classically trained picture-perfect scones. Like Joy says, they are softer and they do spread a little, so I didn’t even bother rolling out the dough. What can I say, I’m a rebel (and a lazy one, at that).

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1 grapefruit, zested and segmented
3/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt (I used fat-free)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

Zest the grapefruit and combined zest and granulated sugar on a clean cutting board. Rub together the zest and sugar with the back of a spoon or a plastic bench knife. The sugar will be tinted a pale orange color and smell of grapefruit. Measure 2 tablespoons of the grapefruit sugar and whisk into the dry ingredients. Save the remaining grapefruit sugar for topping the scones just before baking.

Dice cold butter into small chunks and add to the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, and working quickly, break the butter down into the flour mixture until butter chunks are the size of oat flakes or small peas.* The butter and flour combined will resemble coarse meal.  Add the yogurt and grapefruit segments. Toss together with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are moistened.

Drop dough by heaping (!!) tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with milk or buttermilk, and sprinkle generously with grapefruit sugar.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until light brown on top and firm but soft in the center. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with butter and jam. These scones are best served the day they’re made.

*Usually I like to use my food processor for tasks like this, but I didn’t want to wash four more dishes (washing my buttery hands is much faster) so I went about it the old-fashioned way. It’s not super fun, but it works!

High-Altitude Notes: Bake at 450°F for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

I reread this recipe one more time and that was it. So at 9:30 on Saturday night I made Pop Tarts and they were awesome. I think Ryan thought he’d died and gone to teenage boy heaven. I kind of felt that way too.

I know this sounds kind of crazy, making something from scratch that you can buy at the grocery store for about $2 (and which is in its own right, delicious), but we enjoyed it! Honestly it’s pretty easy as far as pastry goes, and that’s saying something coming from me, because I really hate rolling out dough.

Homemade Pop Tarts
Ever so slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 9-12 tarts

Pastry
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter or margarine, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk

1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)

Cinnamon Filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling

To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. Whisk together the first egg and the milk and pour into the food processor, if using, and pulse until combined. Otherwise you can stir it in by hand, but it’s a little trickier this way!

Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. Don’t skip this step – it will make rolling out the dough much easier! You can roll this out immediately or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8? thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9? x 12?. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough twice lengthwise and twice width-wise – you’ll form nine 3? x 4? rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

(At this point, if you’d like a couple of extra tarts, smush your dough scraps together, roll them out, and proceed from there. I got an extra two tarts out of my scraps and probably could’ve gotten one more, but I was tired.)

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts from the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

So one day last week, when my mom was here and Ryan took the morning off, I decided to try a pumpkin variation on these cinnamon rolls. They turned out so well the first time around that I figured it was worth a try. And oh my, were they delicious.

These rolls are moist and spicy-sweet with just a hint of pumpkin and the three of us had no problem polishing them off in a couple of days. They’re completely delicious and I’m contemplating making them again this weekend! Consider these for a quick and easy homemade breakfast treat.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from Fine Cooking

For the dough:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/8 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour; more for rolling
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the filling:
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted
2/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons cold low-fat or soy milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

Make the dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the pumpkin, 1/8 cup milk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined. Add the flours, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix just until the dough clumps together (don’t overmix). The dough will be soft and moist.

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times until smooth. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12×15-inch rectangle.

Make the filling:

Brush the dough with the melted butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border unbuttered around the edges. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture over the buttered area of the dough and pat gently into the surface. Sprinkle the nuts over the sugar mixture.

Starting at a long edge, roll up the dough jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, and leave the ends open.

With a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 equal pieces. Set the pieces, cut side up, in the prepared pan; they should fill the pan and touch slightly, but don’t worry if there are small gaps.

Bake until golden brown and firm to the touch, 20 to 28 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a spatula around the inside edge of the pan and remove the springform ring. Transfer the rolls to a serving plate.

Make the glaze:

In a small bowl, mix the confectioners’ sugar, 2 Tbs. milk, and vanilla to make a smooth glaze. It should have a thick but pourable consistency, so add up to 1 Tbs. more milk if necessary. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls. Let stand 15 minutes and serve.

I usually try to incorporate eggs into our dinner plans once a week because they’re a great meatless protein source and just so cheap. Quiche is one of my favorite ways to do this because it’s kind of like pizza: you can put almost anything in it. I’ll admit, I see both as ways to use up whatever random vegetables are left in the fridge. This time was yet another case of using what the CSA sent us: swiss chard.

I’m not really a big fan of swiss chard, so I figured quiche would make it better. I was right and actually, this was even better than my usual spinach variety. I’m told that swiss chard is full of all sorts of nutritional goodness, so hey, why not.

If you’ve never made your own quiche, it really couldn’t be much easier. I’ve taken to making my own crust but only because it takes about five minutes in a food processor. You could definitely use a store-bought puff pastry sheet or pie crust.

Swiss Chard and Leek Quiche
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s quiche and tart

1 basic pie crust (recipe below) or store-bought puff pastry sheet
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 small bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed, leaves chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
3 ounces cream cheese (reduced-fat is fine), softened
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
1/4 cup grated parmesan (the stuff in the green can is okay)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

If using basic pie crust, press into a 9-inch pie plate. You can roll it out first if you like, but I prefer to simply press the crust in with my hands. It’s easier! If using puff pastry, thaw according to package directions and gently lay inside the pie plate, then press into place. Set plate aside and preheat oven to 425°F.

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until leeks are very tender but not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add chard; saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.

Beat cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Add milk and eggs, and beat till combined. Fold in cheeses and chard mixture. Pour into pie crust.

Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake until slightly puffy and just set in the center, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Basic Pie Crust
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 1 crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, chilled and cut into pieces
1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt. Add butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse meal (about 10 seconds).

With the processor running, slowly add water through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky, less than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Form dough into a ball and place on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten into a disc and wrap tightly.Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

It’s no secret that we’re reaching the end of strawberry season, but there are still some beauties to be found at the grocery store and by golly, I’m going to use them. I’m going to soak them in lemon juice and plop them down atop chocolate and pastry. And if you know what’s good for you, I suggest you do the same.

These were quite possibly one of the best things I’ve made all summer. They’re rich and decadent, but somehow, just enough to satisfy the sweetest tooth.

Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Tartlets
Adapted from Miss Lemonie

I have a couple of issues with the original version of this recipe. One lies in the mere fact that it requires me to roll out the dough, which is really not my idea of a good time. I don’t know why; I just have no patience for such things. This is why I pressed mine into tartlet pans rather than making free-form galettes. My second issue is that it’s just kind of a pain. It required enough water to hold together that the end result was sticky and difficult to work with. Next time I’ll use Martha’s crust, which I know and love (as much as I can, at least). Finally, I halved the recipe and ended up with two tartlets.

1 cup flour
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter or margarine
4-5 tablespoons ice water
1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (approximately)
3-4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Whisk together flour, 2 tbsp sugar, and salt.

Cut in butter until chunks are pea sized. Slowly mix in ice water. Do NOT overwork the dough. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic then chill at least one hour or up to 24 hours.

Combine strawberries, lemon juice,  2 tbsp sugar, and cornstarch and stir thoroughly.

After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 450°F and divide dough into 6 equal pieces and roll into 4-5″ circles on a floured surface. Transfer circles to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you prefer, press dough into lightly greased tartlet pans.

Spoon and spread desired amount of chocolate-hazelnut spread onto each crust. If you’re not using tartlet pans, leave about a 1 ” border around the edges. Top each crust with berries. If you’re not using tartlet pans, fold edges of each crust over berries.

Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

This has led to several somewhat unusual (for me, at least) onion applications as of late, and this is one of them. I suppose it all comes down to the fact that I really just want to eat onions for dinner, but they can admittedly be a bit much by themselves.

This tart makes a great light winter dinner – satisfying without being too heavy. That being said, it left me just slightly disappointed and perplexed. I’m thinking that next time I might add some walnuts, and perhaps substitute swiss cheese for the sour cream. But don’t get the wrong idea. This is a great tart. The puff pastry is buttery, fluffy, and crisp all at once, and the onions, apples, and fennel are great friends. Yum.

Caramelized Onion Tart with Fennel and Apples
Evil Chef Mom

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into thin slices
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 400º F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in the apples, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until just tender, 2 minutes.

Place each sheet of pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Spread with the sour cream, leaving a ½-inch border. Top with the onion mixture and bake until the pastry is crisp and browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into pieces before serving.

Hi friends! Welcome to our humble online abode. Feel free to kick back and stay awhile, if you’d like.

One Sunday morning I was feeling ambitious and flipping through this book, and landed on this, a recipe for Danish pastry dough with a chocolate filling that looked almost ridiculously delicious. It did not disappoint, and in fact produced the sort of thing that makes you forego all thoughts of your waistline because it’s just that good. It’s the sort of thing that you have to take to work, partly because it’s so pretty and partly because you’d better get it out of the house.

All that said, it’s sort of an all-day undertaking, but would definitely be great for a holiday breakfast, visiting in-laws, or someone you’re trying to butter up (no pun intended). And once you’ve made the dough itself, you’re suddenly prepared for this pastry and something else equally yummy.

Chocolate Danish Braid
From Williams-Sonoma’s Essentials of Baking
Makes 1 large braid (6 large servings or 12 small ones)

1 lb Danish Pastry Dough

For the filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 large egg white

1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Sliced (flaked) almonds

Prepare the Danish Pastry Dough and refrigerate to chill as directed.

Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper, or butter lightly.

To make the filling, combine the granulated sugar, flour, butter, cocoa and cinnamon in a food processor or with a pastry blender/your fingers until crumbs form. Add the egg white and process or just until evenly blended.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry into a rectangle about 14 inches long, 9 inches wide, and 1/4 inch thick. Spread the filling down the center third of the rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut diagonal strips 1 1/4 inches wide down the outside of the pastry on both sides of the filling, cutting almost through to the filling. Cut off the first and last strip on both sides so that a (small) flap is formed at the top and bottom.

Fold the flaps over onto the filling. Starting at the top, fold the strips over the filling alternately from each side at an angle. When you get to the end, tuck the overhang of the last few strips underneath the braid to form a seal. Using a wide metal spatula, carefully transfer the pastry to the prepared pan. Place in a warm, draft-free spot, cover loosely with a kitchen towel, and let the braid rise until doubled in size, 30-40 minutes.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 425°F.

Lightly brush the braid with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Bake the pastry for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375°F and continue baking until golden brown and puffed, 15-20 minutes longer. Check the braid during baking, and if it browns early, cover with aluminum foil. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer the braid to the rack and let cool completely.

Danish Pastry Dough
From Williams-Sonoma’s Essentials of Baking
Makes about 2 lb dough

For the Danish dough:
2 packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water (105-110°F)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional — I left this out)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large whole egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
1 cup whole milk*
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed

For the butter package:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and a pinch of the sugar in the warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining sugar, salt, cardamom (if using), melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix on medium speed until combined. Add the yeast mixture and then add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix just until the dough clings together in a rough mass. If it is still very soft, add up to 1/4 cup flour.**

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Place on a half-sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 45 minutes.

To make the butter package, using a rolling pin or the heel of your hand, beat or knead the butter on a work surface to flatten it and warm it to about 60°F. Sprinkle the butter with the flour and gently beat the butter with the rolling pin to press the flour into the butter. Shape the butter into an 8-by-7-inch rectangle. If th ebutter has become too warm, wrap and refrigerate just until firm but still pliable.

To laminate the dough, on a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 10-by-16-inch rectangle. With a short side facing you, place the butter on the lower half, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Fold over the upper half to cover the butter and press the edges together to seal. Then, with a folded side to your left, roll out the dough into a 12-by-20-inch rectangle. With a short side facing you, fold the bottom third up, then fold the top third down, as if folding a letter. This completes the first turn. Return to the pan, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Return the chilled dough to the lightly floured work surface with a folded side to your left and repeat the process to make 3 more turns, rolling, folding, and chilling the dough each time, for a total of 4 turns. After the final turn, refrigerate the dough for at least 1 1/2 hours or for up to overnight before shaping.

*Confession: I used prepared powdered milk instead of whole milk. I know, I know — gross, right? Hey, I only use milk for baking and smoothies, so I wasn’t about to buy whole milk just for this. And my danish was delicious.

**My dough was super-sticky at this point (possibly due to my milk rebellion), so I ended up adding more like an additional cup of flour.