It’s been a crappy week. For the past few days when I came home, the only thing I wanted to do was to hug my kids. So tight. Yesterday my girl was sitting on my lap, we chatted and ate danishes together. I started to tear up yet feel SO MUCH BETTER! What happened before didn’t matter anymore. Kids are so magical! I’m lucky to have them.

Eating sweets with kids is lovely and all. But if you don’t have kids, another wonderful stress therapy is bread making. Shaping dough, letting it rise, double or triple in size, and oh the smell of bread baking… It makes you feel like you dig yourself out of the hell and fly up to the heaven!

I went with my go-to cinnamon roll dough recipe for the danish pastries. It’s straight forward and completely versatile. Check out these matcha buns and you will know what I’m talking about.

Ingredients (15 danishes):
Dough
2 cups milk, warm to touch
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup strawberry jam
1/4 cup heavy cream
Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
To prepare dough, in the large mixing bowl, mix milk, canola oil and sugar. Sprinkle yeast over mixture. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir in 4 cups of flour to combine. Mixture will be very sticky. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let sit in a warm place for an hour to rise.
When the dough is risen, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.
Move the dough to a lightly floured surface. Press to slightly flatten the dough into a 10″ x 14″ rectangle. Cut the dough vertically into 10 long pieces.
Working with one strip at a time, hold one end of a dough strip in place with one hand. Twist the strip into a spiral with another hand. Curl the spiral strip into a snail shape. Tuck the loose end of the strip underneath the snail.
Place the shaped doughs on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Before baking, gently press down the center of each dough to make space for the strawberry jam.
Lightly brush the doughs with heavy cream.
Preheat oven to 350F. Bake the danishes for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
To prepare the glaze, mix all the ingredients and whisk until the mixture becomes thick and smooth. Generously drizzle the glaze over the warm pastries. Serve warm or in room temperature.