Puff Pastry cherry Braid

Little Miss Muffett sat on her tuffett,

eating all the puff pastry away.

  Her hips grew wider and her pants did bind her,

and she was miserable all day!

lets rewind . . .

Little Miss Muffett stood in her kitchen,

baking and singing all day.

She tasted a crumb and that did delight her,

and she laughed all the calories away!

 much, much better!

This elegant pastry is so darn simple to make. You just need a box of puff pastry and a can of your favorite pie filling.

Unfold the chilled puff pastry, and on a lightly floured surface . . . roll it out just slightly.  You just want to get rid of the seams.

Grab a can of cherry, blueberry or other pie filling and open it up. I used the Wilderness brand, and used almost 1/2 of the can on one full sheet of puff pastry. Carefully spoon the filling down the center of the sheet of pastry.  Leave about 1″ open on the ends. (without filling)  Grab your pizza cutter or sharp knife.

Make 1 ” slits from the edge of the sheet of pastry into the pie filling. Begin braid by folding the top and bottom strips toward the filling.  Make sure the fold is at least 1″.

Now you are ready to criss cross the 1″ pieces.  Braid strips left over right, right over left. Repeat.

Finish by pulling the last strip over and tucking it under the braid. Tuck Tuck.

Now you have a nice little package! Take an egg or just the white of an egg, and beat it around with a fork…..until it’s frothy.  Brush the egg wash over your fancy little bundle, and sprinkle turbinado (raw sugar) over the top.

If you like, you can divide one sheet of puff pastry into 2 pieces, and make smaller braids. You might want to make  your slits 1/2 to 3/4″ apart. You will use 1/4 of the can on each square.

Fold the ends over first, then start your criss cross, just like before. Remember to tuck the tails underneath!

Place in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s very golden.  Make sure that the bottom side is also golden brown. I baked mine in the center of the oven.

They come out looking divine! Now you can eat them just like they are, or you can drizzle  orange & vanilla glaze over the top.

I simply took 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tsp. vanilla  and the juice of one clementine. You can also use 1/2 of an orange if that’s what you have on hand.  Mix it all together until it’s nice and smooth.  If it’s too thick for a glaze, add a touch of milk or even water.  It’s it’s too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.  Now drizzle just as much or as little as you like over the cooled pastry. I also sprinkled just a touch of powdered sugar over the braid as well.

If you eat the Cherry Braid like the first Miss Muffett . . . you must go run . . . right now!!

If you eat the Cherry Braid like the second Miss Muffett . . . you will feel deprived . . . but have skinny hips!

I chose the eat & run version!

Holy cow good!

. . . favor to ask

This would make one heck of a good dessert for your valentine.

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