pastry Archives | The Vanilla Bean Blog

Flaky Cherries & Cream Turnovers

Sarah Kieffer — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 15:55:43 +0000

I forgot they were in my freezer. Door County cherries, tucked underneath bags and bags of raspberries the kids and I had gathered every summer afternoon from our backyard bushes. I had to dig through those berries and move them around and curse slightly to get to the bottom of that freezer drawer. But there they were, still glittering and ruby red and perfect. It seemed the cherries were calling me. They were a memory, a lovely one, and it had been a week filled with bad news from the outside; articles and TV anchors whispering deadly affairs again and again: 92 people who died of thirst and Man kills family and then himself and Funeral workers steals gold teeth from bodies and 5 stabbed to death by relative and You are not safe. You are not safe. You are not safe. I tend to turn to puff pastry when I’m anxious. The rolling, the turns, the soft dough on my hands helps me focus for a moment. And this batch would be filled with those memorable cherries. They were picked this summer, one short weekend when [A] and I got to steal away by ourselves. We made an impromptu […]

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Blueberry Walnut Streusel Pie

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 17:37:52 +0000

This post is sponsored by California Walnuts. As always, all opinions are my own. I’ve been so busy working on my book, and just now realized it is now August and this is the first pie I’ve made. Hopefully there will be more to come in the near future (I’ve got a bowl full of peaches on my counter calling to me). Usually I’m a big fan of double crusted pies and prefer them over anything, but I love the blueberry and walnut streusel pairing here; the toasted walnuts really shine here and make for a delicious bite. I’ve teamed up with California Walnuts to bring you some recipes over the past year (such as this walnut snack cake with raspberry buttercream and these raised donuts with chocolate glaze and candied walnuts). Over 99 percent of walnuts grown in the U.S. come from California’s walnut orchards, many of which are on family owned and operated farms that have been around for generations. Walnuts are nutritious and heart-healthy*, and offer 4 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber per ounce. Walnuts are also the only nut with a significant amount of plant-based omega-3 ALA (2.5 grams/ounce). You can check out the CA Walnuts website for more […]

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Cranberry Cream Cheese Danish Braid

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 01:08:07 +0000

Christmas is just around the corner. I’ve been baking for weeks (mostly recipe testing for my next book, but also holiday baking!), and must say this cranberries and cream Danish braid is one of my favorite things I’ve made this December, along with this White Chocolate Cranberry Christmas Cake. The tart cranberries paired with cream cheese, sweet icing, and flaky Danish dough is just about perfection. If cranberries aren’t your thing, you could fill the braid with your favorite jam or curd. Cranberries and Cream Danish Braid The Easy Danish Dough recipe is from my book, The Vanilla Bean Baking Book (affiliate link).The cranberry filling is adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (affiliate link). Easy Danish DoughNotes: The dough does need to rest overnight in the refrigerator, so plan accordingly. If the dough is not used right away after being out and turned, it will puff up a bit in the refrigerator. This will make it a little harder to roll out, but you will still have good results. Other recipes you might enjoy: Danish Braid with Apple and Cream Cheese, Good Morning Cheese Danish Slab Pie, St. Lucia Buns, Pistachio Chocolate Twist. ************************************************** I’ve mentioned this before, but I do have holiday […]

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Peach Apple Cherry Pie

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 22:02:37 +0000

‘Have you been online yet?’ my husband asks from the couch. It’s 8:45 am, and I am searching the kitchen for breakfast. Most mornings, upon waking, I reach for my phone next to me on my nightstand, and check all the icons chirping at me like hungry baby birds. Email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, usually in that order. I despise the impulse, but I’m too tired to stop my arm from reaching, and its become a daily habit. Summer vacation is upon us, however, and I’ve set new goals for myself. Wear a small gray arm band to record my daily steps. Read books at night before bed instead of falling asleep to the internet. Eat a healthy breakfast, then go ahead and see what the world brings. So I hadn’t heard the news. ‘No,’ I replied. ‘Something bad?’ He handed me his phone with a stony face, and I knew instantly. Another shooting. I felt the pit in my stomach, the one that has been there since Columbine, that grew into something fierce after Sandy Hook. The one that triggered my anxiety the last day of school, just two days ago, the one that made me whisper as my kids […]

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Puff Pastry Turnovers With Jam & Cream Cheese Filling

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 14:49:13 +0000

‘I’m all over the place, up and down, scattered, withdrawing, trying to find some elusive sense of serenity.’‘The world can’t give that serenity. The world can’t give us peace. We can only find it in our hearts.’‘I hate that.’‘I know. But the good news is that by the same token, the world can’t take it away.’–Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird I come to you with a recipe for turnovers filled with jam and cream cheese filling. I love puff pastry filled with fresh fruit, but it’s not always in season. I often turn to jam when all my summer berries are not in season. I have mixed feelings about jam in baked goods; often it’s just too sweet, and then I regret using it. Here I’ve paired it with a tangy cream cheese filling, which balances the sweetness. I also try to use jams with a bitter or tart edge; orange marmalade and blackberry jam are two favorites. The combination of the flaky, buttery pastry, tart-but-sweet jam, tangy cream cheese, and a crunchy, sugary top is a great idea on a bitter, cold winter morning. (Also, I couldn’t quite find words this morning to how I was feeling, but then […]

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Apple Danish Braid with Cream Cheese

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 13:55:50 +0000

We entered September with a bang: school for everyone except me, birthday celebrations, anniversary dinner, and then we splurged on U2 tickets and saw the Joshua Tree tour (and they did play the Joshua Tree from start to finish and it was amazing) (also the poems they scrolled on giant screens before the show are worth reading) and then saw Maria Bamford the very next night (along with Jackie Kashian who was also hilarious) and then family visiting and then meet-the-teacher night and then scrubbing my house from top to bottom because summer made it embarrassingly dirty. There is still so much packed into the rest of this month I am actually looking forward to October, along with some cool fall breezes and falling leaves, long walks and even longer books. September started out rather chilly, but this past week we found ourselves in a major heat wave, so naturally I found myself in the kitchen making pies, puff pastry, and Danish dough. I have this odd desire to bake on extremely hot days, which doesn’t make much sense to me, but then again, I have the same desire on icy cold days, so maybe it’s just that I’m obsessed […]

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Crème Fraîche Scones

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 16:20:41 +0000

“How can I find the words? Poets have taken them all and left me with nothing to say or do.”“Except to teach me for the first time what they meant.”-Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, Dorothy Sayers: A Busman’s Honeymoon I’m not one for using expletives much in my day-to-day, but I must admit this past Monday a very loud one flew out of my mouth as my twitter notifications lit up my phone. Somehow, I had won the Reader’s Choice portion of the Saveur Food Blog Awards for Baking and Desserts. I’m not going to lie to you, I’m still pinching myself. It’s a huge honor, a dream come true, and I have you to thank. All you wonderful, lovely readers who took the time to cast a vote my way, thank you so much. I share the category with the amazing Izy from Top With Cinnamon (who won Editor’s Choice), and I am excited that in just over a month I get to meet her, along with so many other favorite bloggers. But in the meantime, Crème Fraîche Scones! These breakfast treats are made with mixed berries and crème fraîche, and they might be my favorite scones to […]

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pear + blackberry tartlets

Sarah Kieffer — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 03:21:45 +0000

sweet spring is your time is my time is our time for springtime is lovetime and viva sweet love (all the merry little birds are flying in the floating in the very spirits singing in are winging in the blossoming) lovers go and lovers come awandering awondering but any two are perfectly alone there’s nobody else alive (such a sky and such a sun i never knew and neither did you and everybody never breathed quite so many kinds of yes) not a tree can count his leaves each herself by opening but shining who by thousands mean only one amazing thing (secretly adoring shyly tiny winging darting floating merry in the blossoming always joyful selves are singing) sweet spring is your time is my time is our time for springtime is lovetime and viva sweet love” -E.E. Cummings Spring! Is here! At least, our fingers are crossed it’s staying around for good. You never know in these parts. A few things: *If you’re a Flight of the Conchords fan, you may enjoy the new show Short Poppies,(on Netflix) starring Rhys Darby (who played Murray). *Diala’s Kitchen! So beautiful. *If you ever wanted to know how to make that Big […]

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raspberry cacao nib sugar buns

Sarah Kieffer — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 02:44:44 +0000

Hello! I come to you today with raspberry cacao nib sugar buns and a giveaway, both of which I’m terribly excited about. I’ve been baking up a storm lately; this extended winter Minneapolis refuses to let go of is making us all stir-crazy, literally. So we’ve been kneading and rolling and folding and repeating too often for this little family of four. But! these tasty raspberry circles were worth our time, and after enjoying a few, we gladly passed them out to our neighbors. Raspberry Cacao Nib Sugar Buns These little sugar buns are inspired by the lovely Seven Spoons, and while I’ve posted about them before, I couldn’t resist adding raspberry and cacao nibs to them. I also made this version with puff pastry (the original uses a Danish dough), and I think either would be delicious here. Originally I intended to use a cinnamon roll dough, but with the icing it all was a bit too sweet. If you do decide to go that route instead (in which case you may want to double the filling), I highly recommend The Smitten’s version of cinnamon roll dough and icing. I did include almond paste in the filling, but if […]

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