It’s Cozy Cottage Weekend time! Come on in to my kitchen today, as I share one of my favorite recipes!

To me, cottage living harkens to days gone by when times were simple. Grandma or Mom putting on their hand sewn aprons and making breads or rolls from scratch. Nothing else smells quite like home to me as much as fresh breads baking in the oven! I can’t take credit for inventing today’s recipe, as I clipped it from a magazine. The magazine was either Country Woman or Taste of Home, and I can’t remember which one (I used to get both). I have a whole sack full of clipped recipes to try, and the ones that get rave reviews go in my handwritten cookbook to make again. Today’s recipe for cream cheese danishes from scratch is my mom’s favorite! I typically make this for her on Mother’s Day. We especially like to eat these warm out of the oven with the cream cheese centers all soft and gooey!

Homemade Cream Cheese Danishes (From Scratch!):

Ingredients:

3 3/4 to 4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 packages ( 1/4 oz. each) active dry yeast
1 and a 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 egg
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Glaze:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 tsp. water

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, yeast, and salt. In a sauce pan heat the milk, butter, and water to 120-130 Degrees F. Add to dry ingredients. Beat on Medium speed for 2 min. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour. Beat on High for 2 min. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 18 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Roll each ball into a 15 inch rope. Holding one end of rope, loosely wrap dough around, forming a coil. Tuck end under. Pinch to seal. Place coils 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled; about 1 hour.

♥♥ Rebekah’s Handy Tip ♥♥ : to divide into 18 pieces evenly, start by dividing dough in half. Keeping halving each ball of dough until you get 18 pieces!

3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg yolk, vanilla, & remaining sugar; beat until smooth. Using the back of a spoon, make a 1 inch wide indentation in the center of each coil. Spoon a rounded Tablespoon of cream cheese mixture into each indent. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 10-12 min. or until lightly golden. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

4. In a small bowl, combine confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and enough water to achieve drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled rolls. Store in refrigerator.

♥♥ Rebekah’s Handy Tip #2 ♥♥: For the best tasting baked goods (when it comes to things you want soft- like cake, cookies, breads, etc) , do not over bake! I often remove my baked goods just a tad before they are “done” according to the directions.

♥♥ Rebekah’s Handy Tip #3 ♥♥: You can drizzle icing on with a spoon or knife, but for a clean more precise way of doing it, pour icing mixture into a plastic Ziplock bag. Snip off one of the bottom corners of the bag. Snip a teeny bit off for a fine drizzle, and snip a little more off for a thicker drizzle. Don’t get your icing TOO runny 🙂

Yum! These are making me crave some NOW :D. Well, Mother’s Day IS coming up soon. It won’t be toooo long of a wait!

What are you favorite Home Baked Memories in the Kitchen?

What is your favorite type of bread recipe to make?

~Stay Inspired, Rebekah