Cream Cheese Danishes

If you're looking to make a cheesecake this Shavuot (or, you know, Wednesday), then boy do I have you covered. But if you're looking for maybe something a little different this year, then step on into my kitchen, to discover the wonder that is soft, fresh, homemade cheese danishes.

Lemon Glazed Cupcakes

I know, I know, you've missed me. But I'm back. And I brought cupcakes. Lemon Glazed cupcakes that is. I love cupcakes for so many reasons. Firstly, they're just so cute. Secondly, you can justify eating several at a time, because they're so little. And thirdly, the decorating options are endless.
Not that I did any of that here. I just went with a basic glaze. I wasn't interested in waiting too long to eat them. Plus look at that just dripping down the side (and onto the counter). Mmm.
Well anyway, this recipe for Lemon Cupcakes came from recipezaar of course, and while I kept the recipe intact (actually I double it for 24 cupcakes), I ignored the recipe they included for lemon frosting, and went with a basic glaze made out of lemon juice and powdered sugar.
Here are the cupcakes before baking - this time I even used a scooper to try and make them even - you'll see soon how that turned out.
For once the doubling of the recipe actually went ok - so instead, I had to make one of the most basic mistakes to make up for it. I try to keep the mistakes on here interesting - missing ingredients, cakes that never come out of the pan, and the like. Just a few weeks ago I almost used curry powder instead of cinnamon. But not this time. Nope, this time, I put them in the oven, and set a timer. Then I sat down, and played a song on my computer. Do you see where this is going? About 35 minutes later, I realized I hadn't heard the beep. Aha. These cupcakes ended up baking about 10 minutes too long, but the results weren't disastrous. Here you can see just how my attempts at evenly leveled cupcakes came out. Don't worry, I ate that little sad one right away to put it out of its misery. Once these were cool, I mixed up the glaze, and just dipped the tops of the cupcakes in them, and let them set. Delicious!

Tip of the Day: This recipe calls for cream cheese in the batter, but if you want to keep it non-dairy, Tofutti makes a cream cheese alternative that is really pretty good.

Recipe:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3 ounces of cream cheese
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
7/8 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Beat together the butter, cream cheese, lemon zest and sugar. Beat in the eggs.
Gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake cups that have been lined with paper cupcake liners.
Bake at 325F about 25 minutes until firm to the touch.

Dainty and Delicious

These are really pretty looking and they taste great too - a repeat recipe of mine.
This recipe comes from America's Favorite Brand-Name cookbook - its basically pages of product placement, but there are a few great recipes included. This one is called Danish Raspberry Ribbons, and while it isn't the simplest cookie to make, the payoff is great with just a little bit more effort than usual. (recipe at the end of the post)
The one part that I've always found a little difficult is creating the ridge down the middle for the jelly. I've tried the handle of a wooden spoon, my finger, rolling a wooden skewer back and forth, a knife, and countless other options. Ultimately I'd say the best method is to do it with a spoon handle or similar sized object, and then go over it with your finger to neaten it up. It might not look great on the first attempt, but try, try again! These also call for raspberry jelly, but there's no reason not to try out strawberry, apricot, grape - the possibilities are endless!
Also, the recipe calls for you to refrigerate the dough for a while before using it - don't skip this step however impatient you may be. (Trust me, I've been there.) The chilled dough holds its shape better for the jelly.

Tip of the Day: One of your best baking investments is a plastic spatula - use it for scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl, marbleizing batter, spooning out dough, and every other use you can find!

Recipe:
Danish Raspberry Ribbons
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 2/3 cup flour
6 tbsp seedless raspberry jam

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, add egg, milk, vanilla and almond.
Gradually add 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir in remaining flour.
Form dough into disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
Cut dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape pieces into 12 inch long ropes on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Make a deep groove down the center of each rope.
Bake 12 minutes at 375 F. Remove from oven.
Spoon 1 tbsp jam in the center of each rope. Return to oven for 5 to 7 minutes.
Cool 15 minutes on sheets, then drizzle with glaze of 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp milk and 1 tsp vanilla.
Cut into 1 inch slices and allow to cool completely.