Danish Pastry Twists

This are a two-day process, but they are impressive and tasty. You want to use real preserves, not AllFruit or anything like that, the sugar helps the fruit melt into the pastry.

Dough:
2/3 c. milk, divided
2 T. sugar, divided
1 ½ t. yeast
2 ¼ c. flour, divided
½ t. salt
1/8 t. freshly ground cardamom
1 large egg
18 T. unsalted butter (1 T. softened)

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
3 T. honey
blueberry preserves
peach preserves

Glaze:
¼ + 2 T. powdered sugar
1 T + ¼ t. water
1 ½ freshly squeezed lemon juice

Icing:
½ c. powdered sugar
1/8 t. vanilla
2 T. heavy whipping cream


Directions:
1) Proof the yeast in small bowl with 2 T of the milk (slightly warmed), ½ t. sugar, and the yeast. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes until bubbly and foamy.
2) In a heavy mixer, add all but 1 T. of the flour, the remaining sugar, salt, yeast mixture, and cardamom. Add the remaining milk, the egg, and the 1 T. of softened butter, and mix on a low speed until well combined (dough will be a little sticky and shiny). Put dough in an oiled bowl, turn over once to cover all over with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Gently deflate dough, recover with plastic, and refrigerate for 2-8 hours.
3) On a large sheet of plastic wrap, place the remaining 1 T. of flour mix in with the remaining butter. Once flour is incorporated, shape butter into a 5 inch square.
4) Take dough out of fridge, roll out to an 8 inch square, put butter diagonally in the middle mark it, roll out the flaps a little more, moisten with water, and wrap the dough around the butter. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
5) Gently roll the dough into a 7 by 16 inch rectangle. Brush off all the flour from the surface of the dough and fold into thirds. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-40 minutes. This is the first “turn.” Do two more turns refrigerating the dough 20-40 minutes between each one. After all turns are done, allow dough to rest in refrigerator for 2 hours.
6) Take dough out of fridge, allow to warm for 15 minutes before working with it so butter can soften a little and not break through the dough. Roll the dough to a 6 by 14 inch rectangle. Cut ½ “ wide strips from the dough. Twist the dough and then coil it like a snails shell on a baking sheet 2” apart. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with a nonstick spray. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours. With your fingers press down the middle two inches of the twist. In the indention, pipe cream cheese mixture around a tablespoon of preserves.
7) In a very well preheated oven, bake twists at 375 for 18-20 minutes. (It is good to have a baking stone to help maintain the oven temperature in the oven. Another hint is to have an oven safe bowl with boiling water on the lower oven rack.)
8) When twists come out of the oven, brush with glaze. Remove to wire racks to cool. About 20-30 minutes after pastries come out of oven, drizzle with icing.

from Pie and Pastry Bible