Schnecken and Pinwheels

Now that you have made your Danish pastry dough, it's time to make some delicious treats! The first method gives you the classic shape people think of when they are offered a danish, the second is a pinwheel sure to impress your friends. The glazes and baking method come from Peter Reinhart, but are fairly standard fare.

SCHNECKEN (makes 12 reasonably-sized pastries)
Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper)
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 of the pastry block into a 12 x 9 rectangle. Cut into 12 one inch strips (i.e. they will measure 1 x 9 inches).
2. The dough will shrink back a bit from the cutting, so gently pull each end then twist each end several times to make a spring. Coil the dough and tuck the end under the coil. Place on the prepared sheet, cover with plastic, and let rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until nicely swelled and risen.
3. OPTION: Instead of letting the dough rise, you can freeze the formed dough. Place the sheet in the freezer, and when pastries are frozen transfer to a plastic bag.
PINWHEELS (makes 8)
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper)
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1/2 of the pastry block into an 8 x 16 inch rectangle. Cut into 8 equal squares (4 x 4 inches).
2. Cut a notch at a diagonal from each corner to the center, leaving enough space in the middle for the filling. Take the same side of each corner and fold it into the middle, pressing the dough into the middle to hold its shape. Place in the prepared sheets, cover with plastic, and let rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, or until nicely swelled and risen.
3. OPTION: Instead of letting the dough rise, you can freeze the formed dough. Place the sheet in the freezer, and when pastries are frozen transfer to a plastic bag.
TO BAKE
If you are using frozen pastries, place on a prepared baking sheet, cover with plastic, and let thaw/rise until nicely swelled. This will take a few hours. Then proceed as follows:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Once pastries have risen, use you thumb to depress a section in the middle for the filling. Fill depression with fruit filling (I find it easiest to put the filling in a piping bag).
3. Place pastries in the oven and reduce heat to 400 degrees. Bake for 6 mins, then rotate pan and bake for another 6 mins. Pastries should be golden but not too dark.
4. Brush each pastry with hot glaze (see below), then let cool in the pan for 5 mins. Drizzle with a bit of icing and enjoy while still warm.

FRUIT FILLING
- 1 cup frozen blueberries (or other fruit, chopped if too big)
- scant 3/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- splash of lemon juice
Whisk water, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice together, then bring to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in fruit until well mixed. Let cool.

HOT GLAZE
This recipe will do 12 pastries, so double if you are making more
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
Bring ingredients to boiling, then simmer while the pastries finish baking.

ICING
Double if you like a lot of icing
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp light corn syrup
- 2 tbsp soy milk
Mix all ingredient together, adding more icing sugar or soy milk to make a thickish glaze that can be drizzled with a fork.