Some recipes seem to be a rite of passage. Danish Puff is such a recipe, handed down from my Grandma Clark. She would serve this family favorite alongside my Grandpa’s Friday night Root Beer Floats. It was the one night my mother would allow such sugar indulgences. (I am pretty sure this is why God made Grandparents).
I would love to tell you that my Grandma created this delightful recipe, but truth be known, it is from the 1969 Betty Crocker cookbook.
Grandma Clark gave me my first Betty Crocker cookbook before I could read. She felt we were never to young to learn to cook and Betty Crocker was the go-to girl even if she was just a trademark for General Mills.
FUN FACT: The creator of Betty Crocker brand name was Marjorie Husted. She was a home economist and businesswoman who developed the image of Betty Crocker for General Mills. The name Betty was selected because it was viewed as a cheery, all-American name.
Grandma Clark believed in using the best ingredients and my grandfather was Irish. So, in their honor I make this recipe with General Mills Gold Medal Unbleached flour, Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter made from grass-fed cows in Ireland, and fresh eggs from my local farmer’s market. They would approve.
When I was in high school my parents took me to tour the General Mills headquarters in Minneapolis. You could almost say Betty Crocker is in my blood… well, almost.
Today Recipe:
This recipe has only a few ingredients with a couple of techniques that are easy to learn.
Place 1 cup of flour in a medium bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup softened butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; toss with fork.
Gather pastry into a ball; divide in half. Pat each half into 12×3-inch rectangle, about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. The pan should be large enough to hold both pieces of dough, leaving 3” on either side of each piece of dough, for expansion.
I find it easier to handle the sticky dough by putting a piece of plastic wrap over the top and press down. In 2-quart saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil; remove from heat. Quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat.
Add eggs, one at a time and whisk until smooth.
Spread half of the topping over each rectangle all the way to the edge. Bake about 1 hour or until topping is crisp and brown. Cool before spreading glaze over top of pastry. Sprinkle with nuts.
This keepsake plate is from my Grandmother’s dishes. She had good taste anyway you slice it.
Danish Puff
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1 cup Gold Medal® unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Kerrygold® butter softened, and cut into pats
- 2 tablespoons water
Topping
- 1/2 cup Kerrygold® butter
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup Gold Medal® unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
Creamy Vanilla Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons Kerrygold® butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla I used almond
- 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water
Optional: Chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds)
Instructions
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Heat oven to 350°F. Place 1 cup flour in medium bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup softened butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons water over mixture; toss with fork.
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Gather pastry into a ball; divide in half. Pat each half into 12x3-inch rectangle, about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. The pan should be large enough to hold both pieces of dough, leaving 3” on either side of each piece of dough, for expansion.
-
In 2-quart saucepan, heat 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water to rolling boil; remove from heat. Quickly stir in almond extract and 1 cup flour. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Spread half of the topping over each rectangle.
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Bake about 1 hour or until topping is crisp and brown; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely.
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In medium bowl, mix all glaze ingredients except nuts until smooth and spreadable. Spread over top of pastry; sprinkle with nuts.
Recipe Notes
Serves 12.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as our family does. I leave you with some wisdom imparted to me by my Grandmother.
Keep it simple, enjoy what you make and always wear a pretty dress.
…and then she paused for thought.
Yum
Wow, I love everything about this! Wonderful pics, recipe and info about Betty Crocker history. Oh, and that little girl is a cutie, whoever she is. 😉
Thank you! This recipe warms my heart as well as my tastebuds.
My Mom made Danish also, from the 1959 Betty Crocker cookbook. It was a favorite with all the moms at her weekly kafeklatch. Boy, that brings back some memories. Your Danish looks delicious!
Thanks Lynne, I love that your mom made it too! I hope this recipe brings back great memories for a lot of people.
My first cookbook was Betty Crocker, too! What a lovely dessert, and I adore the plating!
Thanks Kristi! Betty Crocker is a great place to start learning.
So THAT’S how that pastry is made!! How cool! I just LOVE the photos of you and your grandmother! The last one looks like an ad for something, it’s so perfect! I have to make something for the annual teacher’s luncheon at my daughter’s school tomorrow-I just may make this Danish Puff! Thanks, Cathy!
Christina, I hope you make it for the teachers because I think there will be other people that remember this treat from their childhood.
Thank you for the recipe. My family made this too. I love it. Didn’t know where the recipe came from. Love your post. I’m going to make this for sure!!
You are welcome Kelli! I am putting this recipe in my regular rotation of favorite recipes I make.
I love it!! I don’t believe I have ever had this, but now I’ve got to try it! I don’t believe I’ve made enough sweets this year, but I have a feeling I’ll make up for it this season. 😉 Thanks for sharing!!
Natalie, this will be one of your new favorites. It is perfect to give as a hostess gift or to work for an afternoon break.
While not BEING Danish, I do LOVE a good Danish!! And it’s so much easier to spell than Phefferneuse. Fepherneuse? Pfeffernusse!! (see?)
LOL Rona! Yes, this pastry is easy to make, easier to pronounce, and easy to spell. You don’t have to be a pastry chef to get this recipe right.
Absolutely beautiful! Love the old photos. I still cherish my Mom’s Betty Crocker Cookbook. Our family favorite was the Banana Nut Loaf. Page 98 in my book. 😉
Yum!
Thanks Nan, I will have to check out that Banana Nut Loaf recipe!
That’s what I do! I keep it outrageously simple, I do what makes me happy and I wear my bestest, prettiest dresses at home when my hubby is around 😀
Never knew making a restaurant-quality nutty, buttery, creamy puff would be THAT easy! Thank you for the crazy good recipe.
How I adore those slightly time-worn but still colorful, full-of-life pictures! Treasures! (You are as cute as you were before, dear Kathy) 🙂 ♥
Kisses.
You are so kind. This recipe looks impressive and yet is easy to make. I can eat one of the pastries in one setting. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your support and encouragement.
They call them classics for a reason. GREG
Very true Greg. 🙂
I can’t begin to tell you how this post hit my heart. I can totally understand why this recipe makes your heart sing. Thanks so much for a wonderful story and recipe.
Thanks Judy. It was a labor of love for sure.
How beautiful that you used Grandma’s china in this photo – and what darling and lovely photos of you and her! YES, as a member of the Clark Clan I testify that she made this dessert regularly and was KNOWN for it! I am super happy you brought back the recipe and the memories and I fully approve your upgrade of using butter – she used margarine but butter will be even better! Can’t wait to bake this very soon and I’m grateful I have some Kerygold stashed in my refrig! Grandma Clark made each one of her 19 grandchildren feel special and gave us each 100% of herself. THANKFUL! Love you, Cousin Julie
Thanks Julie. We share so many sweet memories with Grandma Clark. Love you too!
Adsolutely special!!! And the photos of you and your grandma are priceless! Thank you for making my day!. (I still have my Boys and Girls Cook Book!)
Thanks Leslie! Cooking can provide such wonderful memories.
I don’t know how I missed this one, but love the story. I never got to tour General Mills when I lived in Minneapolis, but we all knew Betty Crocker lived there! How lucky you were. Really want to try that Danish sometime…after cookie season!
Patricia you will love this recipe, it is a classic. It would be a great recipe to teach your students!
What a lovely post, and such sweet, nostalic photos. How the times have changed! Your grandmother looked so young. Of course, youth is in the eye of the beholder; in my case, I am 60 and have a 14 year old daughter. And by the way, that’s a great recipe, too.
Thanks Susan do glad you enjoyed a little nostalgic fun. Thanks for stopping by.
Can you freeze the Almond Puff?
Good question Edda. I haven’t tried that before because there was never any left to freeze. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Let me know if you try it. Thanks for stopping by.
Of course I need not remind you my introduction to “puff pastry” was late one night in the early 1980’s in your loft. It may have been the night we played with that fun plasty-casty stuff for the first time. We stayed up so late engrossed in a new art project, then made pastry and ate it in the wee hours of the morning. You were such a BAD influence on me back then!
Yes Leslie, I remember that night well. And if doing art and cooking great food at 3am in the morning is a bad influence, I hope to influence more people. 🙂 I always loved my creative time spent with you.
Think this tastes better the day it is made. Any tips for storing it so the pastry stays crisp?
Anna, it rarely lasts beyond a day at my house. I put it in tuperware and store in on the counter. But I wouldn’t do that for more than a few days. You could also not frost it so you could reheat it in the oven the next day to keep it crisp. Hope that helps.
This recipe is an absolute winner!….My mom made this when I was growing up and I remember us kids helping…I started making it about 10 years ago and giving it out at the family Christmas Gathering, and others…Now I have people asking every year to make sure I bring it…lol
Thanks Greg, I have yet to run across anyone who doesn’t love this recipe. Thanks for stopping by!
This was a classic from my childhood, so it definitely pre-dates the 1969 Betty Crocker cookbook 🙂 It goes back to the 1950s, for sure. Keep wondering when it first appeared. Got a hankering to make it again after getting hold of my mom’s old recipe box–and now seeing this I really want to give it a try!
I would love to know where this recipe originated. It is one of my favorites.