Crispy, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth goodness...

...but not at all good for you, I'm afraid.  But I must say, this is the most dee-licious attempt at a pastry I have ever made.  It started out of some leftover peach-cream cheese filling from some New Year's Eve wontons.  Then a search on allrecipes.com led me to 

the Danish Kringle.

It got an A+ from Hubby, and he is pretty much a pastry connoisseur, so that is high praise!  The recipe makes enough dough for 3 braids like this, so I concocted some apple filling to put in the other two.  I am going to try putting one in the fridge to bake tomorrow morning; and putting one in the freezer to bake for MOPS later this week.  We shall see how it turns out!

I hesitate to give you the recipe...because I don't want to be responsible for you eating the whole thing while it is warm!  But, here it goes!

Danish Kringle

1 c butter, softened
1 c sour cream
2 c sifted all-purpose flour

Cut the butter into the flour until crumbly.  Stir in the sour cream (it will be hard to stir.)  Form into a ball and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Split the dough into thirds, putting 2 back in the fridge while you work with the first one.  Form it into a rectangle, then roll it out on a very well-floured surface until you have about a 12x17 rectangle.

Working down a long side, cut about 4-inch slits (a third of the way across your dough) at a diagonal, about every 1/2 inch.  Repeat on the other side.  Spoon your filling of choice down the middle.  (I don't think you can go wrong with a filling!  The original recipe called for a walnut/brown sugar/butter mixture.)  I used approximately 1 to 1-1/2 cups of filling.  You don't need a very thick layer of the filling.  Then, lay a strip of dough across the filling, followed by a strip from the opposite side.  Lightly press the ends to seal them; fold the ends of the kringle up into the braid.  (It sounds complicated, but really, it will taste so good that I don't think it will matter how it looks!)  

Place kringle on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 375 for 28-30 min, or until golden brown.  Let cool for 30 min; drizzle with a powdered sugar and water or milk glaze frosting.

Enjoy!  (And don't blame me if you eat it all!  If you are supposed to save some for someone else, DON'T start eating it until they are at the table too, just trust me!)

Isn't kringle a fun word to say?