Danish Puff Pastry

When I was growing up every Christmas my Mom would make a danish puff coffee cake. That recipe was the inspiration for this. I tasted something the other day that reminded me of it, but had a filling that made it taste even better. I decided to play with the recipe and came up with the pecan, cinnamon and cherry filling. I love how this turned out. I hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas from my house to yours.

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• BASE
• 1 cup sifted all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 2 tablespoons water

 Preheat oven to 350*. Line a large cookie sheet with Parchment paper. Measure flour into bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender, sprinkle with water and mix with a fork. Form into a ball, then divide in half. Press each half out side by side on the cookie tray leaving several inches between.

• FILLING
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 T melted butter
• 1 10 oz jar maraschino cherries, drained and lightly patted almost dry

Mix everything except the cherries together. Divide the filling in half then spread evenly over base. Next arrange the cherries evenly over filling mixture. 

• TOP:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup sifted all purpose flour
• 3 eggs

In a medium pot, bring the water and butter to a boil. Make sure butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract. Add flour and stir with a whisk until smooth. It will be thick! Next, using a heavy spoon, stir in one egg at a time, getting a smooth consistency between each egg. Plop spoonfuls of dough on top of the filling layer, dividing between the two evenly. Carefully spread the dough all the way to the edge of the base covering the filling completely. I used a knife sprayed with cooking spray to make this easier. I sprayed the knife several times throughout the process because the dough is pretty sticky. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour until golden brown.

• GLAZE
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 T softened butter
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1-2 T half and half (or milk or water)

Stir together butter, sugar, and almond extract, then add the liquid a little at a time until the glaze is thin enough to pour and spread easily. Spread on both pastries dividing evenly then garnish with sliced almonds.

• GARNISH
• Sliced almonds