chocolate cheese danishes

So I have to say that I have probably been doing you a bit of a disservice.  In the past week I’ve shared with you recipes that, while they have been good, have probably not been exactly the reason why you’re coming to this blog.  Sure, that cauliflower was really good, and if you don’t think you like cauliflower, it may just convince you otherwise.  But let’s face it, that recipe also probably didn’t make you want to go out and buy a head of cauliflower right then.

But now I might just be able to live up to my duty, because I think that right at this moment you need to go buy some puff pastry and some mascarpone cheese and make these for breakfast tomorrow.  Or even for dessert tonight.  (Or maybe breakfast today!)

And because my mind often works in list form, here are a couple of reasons why you will love these:
1. Flaky puff pastry dough filled with warm, sweetened cream cheese and chocolate.  I could come up with a more enticing description, but I really don’t think you need it.
2. The easy effort to fancy results ratio is fantastic.  Mix the filling in a bowl, cut sheets of puff pastry into fourths, plop some filling in the center and fold the corners over.  They would be difficult to mess up.
3. These can easily be made ahead of time.  I filled the pastries the night before and folded one corner over and left them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Then the next morning all I had to do was fold the other corner over and stick it on with egg wash, and brush the top of all the pastries.

There are few things that feel more indulgent than a fancy pastry for breakfast, and the unfortunate thing about this blog is that I made these on Saturday and today is Monday and now I have to settle on something else for breakfast today.  Oh, the problems I have.

Chocolate Cheese Danishes
from Giada De Laurentiis

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 15 minutes
Wait Time: 5 minutes

Makes 8 danishes

1/4 cup (2 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup (2 oz.) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2 (9 inch) squares frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl combine cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, egg yolk, flour, sugar, vanilla, and sea salt.  Mix until smooth and then stir in chocolate chips.  Set mixture aside.
3. Unfold puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured board.  Cut each sheet into 4 equal squares.  Place squares on baking sheet.
4. Scoop 1-2 teaspoons of filling into the center of each square of puff pastry.  Fold one corner of the puff pastry into the center of the square, so that is is slightly overlapping the filling.  In a small bowl, beat 1 egg.  Brush egg on the top of this corner and then fold the opposite corner to meet the first folded corner, sticking it on top.
5. Brush the top of each pastry with the egg, so that when it bakes a nice golden crust will form.
6. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Allow pastries to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.*

*Really.  Do this.  The roof of my mouth is still burnt.