Blueberry Danish

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

**DO NOT preheat your oven yet. You must do some preparation first.**

## The Pastry:

* One 17.5-ounce package frozen puff pastry dough ***(I used Pepperidge Farm, which contains 2 sheets of puff pastry)***
* 1 large egg
* 1 Tablespoon water ***(right out of the tap is fine)***
* White ***(granulated)*** sugar to sprinkle on top

## The Blueberry Sauce:

* 3/4 cup fresh blueberries ***(you can also use frozen, but you'll have to thaw them and dry them with paper towels so they won't have an excess of juice)***
* 2 Tablespoons water ***(right out of the tap is fine)***
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom ***(if you don't have it, use cinnamon)***
* 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
* 1/2 cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar

## The Cream Cheese Filling:

* 8-ounce package brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature ***(I used Philadelphia)***
* 1/3 cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

## The Drizzle Frosting:

* 1 and 1/4 cups powdered ***(confectioners')*** sugar ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 1/4 cup whipping cream ***(that's heavy cream, not half-and-half)***
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/8 teaspoon salt

## **Directions:**

* Thaw both sheets of puff pastry dough according to package directions. Do this on a floured surface ***(I used a bread board)***. To prepare the surface, sprinkle on a little flour and spread it around with your impeccably clean palms.
* While your puff pastry sheets are thawing, make the blueberry sauce.
* In a medium-size saucepan, combine the blueberries with the water.

* In a small bowl, combine the cardamom, cornstarch, and sugar. Stir with a fork until they are thoroughly mixed.
* Sprinkle the contents of the bowl on top of the blueberries and water in the saucepan. Stir everything together until all the ingredients are well mixed.
* Cook the contents on the stove top at MEDIUM-HIGH heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture reaches a full boil. Continue to stir for 2 minutes. Then pull the saucepan over to a cold burner, turn off the burner you used, and let the blueberry sauce cool to room temperature.

* While your blueberry sauce is cooling, make the cream cheese filling.
* In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the softened cream cheese with the sugar and the vanilla extract. Beat the mixture until it is smooth and creamy. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it on the counter.

**Hannah's 1st Note: If you forgot to soften your cream cheese, you can do it by unwrapping the cream cheese, placing it in a microwave-safe bowl, and nuking it for 10 seconds or so in the microwave.**

**Hannah's 2nd Note: You will not be making the Drizzle Frosting yet. You will do this after your Blueberry Danish are baked and cooling on racks.**

* Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
* While  your oven is preheating, prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
* Check your sheets of puff pastry to see they are thawed. If they are, it's time to prepare the dough to receive its yummy contents.
* Unfold one sheet of puff pastry on your floured board. Sprinkle a little flour on a rolling pin and roll your puff pastry out to a twelve-inch square.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: I use a ruler to make sure I have a 12-inch square when I'm through.**

* Use a sharp knife to make one horizontal line through the middle of the square and one vertical line thorough the middle of the square. This will divide it into 4 equal *(or nearly equal)* pieces.
* Break the egg into a cup. Add 1 Tablespoon of water and whisk it up. This will be your egg wash.
* Transfer one of your squares of puff pastry to your prepared cookie sheet.

* Use a pastry brush to brush the inside edges of the square with the egg wash. This will make the edges stick together when you fold the dough over the cream cheese and blueberry filling.
* Measure out 1/4 cup of the cream cheese filling and place it in the center of the square.
* Spread the cream cheese over the square evenly to within 1/2 inch of the edges.

* Spread 2 Tablespoons of the blueberry sauce over the cream cheese.
* Pick up one corner of the square and pull it over the filling to cover just a little over half of the filling. Then pick up the opposite corner and pull that over to overlap the first corner.
* Since the egg wash you used on the square of puff pastry dough acts as a glue, that second corner should stick to the first corner. If it doesn't, simple use a little more of the egg wash to stick the two overlapping corners together.

**Hannah's 4th Note: This sounds difficult, but it's not. You'll catch on fast once you complete the first one. It takes much longer to explain than it does to actually do it.**

* When you've completed the first 4 squares of dough, roll out and cut your second sheet of puff pastry and repeat the process to complete those.
* Once you have all 8 Blueberry Danish on the cookie sheets, brush the top of the pastry with more egg wash and sprinkle on a little granulated sugar.
* Bake your Blueberry Danish at 375 degrees F., for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they're golden brown on top.Remove the cookie sheet from the oven to a wire rack and let the pastries cool for 10 minutes.

## **Drizzle Frosting (how to)**

While your Blueberry Danish are cooling, make the Drizzle Frosting:

* Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl and mix it with the cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue to mix until it's smooth and thoroughly combine.
* Use your favorite method to drizzle frosting over the tops of your Blueberry Danish. A pastry bag ***(or a plastic bag with one of the corners snipped off)*** works well for this.

**Hannah's 5th Note:  If you don't want to use a pastry bag to do this, simple mix in a little more cream so that the frosting will drizzle off the tip of a spoon held over the pastries.**

When all the Blueberry Danish have been decorated with the Drizzle Frosting, pull the parchment paper and the Blueberry Danish off the cookie sheet and back onto the same wire rack.

These pastries are delicious eaten while slightly warm. They're also good cold.

If any of your Blueberry Danish are left over ***(I don't think this will happen!)*** wrap them loosely in wax paper and keep them in a cool place.

**Yield**:  8 Blueberry Danish