Cream Cheese Danish Recipe

Cream Cheese Danish

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg yolk
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (I use kosher salt)
1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water (eggwash)

Directions:
Prior to starting you'll want to set the cream cheese and puff pastry out at room temperature to soften and thaw, respectively.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can preheat the oven in a bit.

Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a medium size bowl and stir until smooth. Add the lemon zest, vanilla, egg yolk & salt. Stir until just combined.

Unfold the puff pastry and cut each sheet into 4 squares. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the middle of each square. Brush all edges with eggwash and fold each pastry into a triangle. Press down the edges with a fork to seal. Brush the tops of the pastries with eggwash and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Bake pastries for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden and puff pastry is cooked through.

Lemon Blueberry Rice Pudding

Lemon Blueberry Rice Pudding

Ingredients:
1 cup arborio rice
5 cups milk
zest/peel of 1 large lemon
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine rice, milk, lemon peel, dried blueberries, and vanilla extract in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, add sugar, and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft.

Note: DO NOT increase heat above simmer or your milk will separate and appear curdled.