Cheese Danish Pastries (delkelekh)

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1/3 cup milk, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 12 ounces farmer cheese
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 lemon, finely grated zest of
• flour, for dusting
• 1 large egg (mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
• confectioners' sugar (optional)

Recipe

• 1 for the dough: in bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast and milk and allow to sit for a few minutes. stir in eggs, butter, sour cream, sugar, salt and flour. mix well until dough turns into a ball. transfer to a covered container and allow to rest for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight.
• 2 for the filling: in bowl of an electric mixer, combine farmer’s cheese, sour cream, sugar, flour, vanilla, egg yolk and lemon zest. mix well. transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until needed, up to 24 hours.
• 3 for assembly: preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out dough into a rectangle 1/8 inch thick. cut into 4-by-4-inch squares. spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into center of each square. pick up corners of each square and press points together.
• 4 arrange pastries on baking sheets about 1½ inches apart. brush with egg mixture. bake until golden, about 20 minutes. allow to cool and serve as is or sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.