CHRISTMAS DANISH PASTRY

Steps:

• Read and Follow Carefully!
• Pastry: Place butter and sugar in 4-quart bowl, pour heated milk over fat.
• Let stand while yeast dissolves in 1/2 cup water and 1 tbs sugar.
• Stir and let stand for 5 minutes.
• When yeast is dissolved and bubbly, add eggs and beat well.
• Add yeast/egg mixture to cooled milk mixture.
• Add salt to flour in sifter and sift in to bowl of above ingredients.
• Beat with a spoon until all flour is added to make a soft dough.
• Let rise until double.
• Custard: Heat milk.
• Mix sugar, salt and flour together and stir into hot milk.
• Stir until thick, beat egg yolk and gradually add hot mixture TO YOLK until hot and then add back to original mixture.
• Cook 1 minute more.
• Let cool.
• Almond Filling: Beat all ingredients together with mixer.
• Crumb Mixture: Combine flour, sugar and walnuts; mix in the 1/2 cup butter until well mixed.
• Assembly: Divide dough into 3 portions, or, make up to 12 small pastries.
• Roll out to about 1/4 to 1/2 thick rectangles, long side perpendicular to you works best.
• Place fillings down center of rectangle in this order: Custard, almond filling, crumb mixture.
• Cut equal number of slits on both sides of rectangle, leaving the center 1/3 of dough intact with fillings.
• Braid the strips you just cut over the fillings.
• Place pastries in foil lined pans, brush with egg white beaten with 2 tbs water.
• Place halved maraschino cherries, like buttons, down the top and sprinkle with more crumb mixture.
• Bake at 350°F for 20 min for small pastries, 30 minutes for medium, and 35-40 minutes for large.