Love pie but have a lot of people coming to visit? Danish Pastry is the perfect dessert for you! Its from-scratch crust and filling (or two) makes Danish Pastry a real crowd pleaser! No matter if it’s Easter, baptisms, or birthday parties, Danish Pastry has made the rounds in my family. 🙂 I hope you’ll try it at your next big event!
Danish Pastry Recipe…
The recipe for Danish Pastry comes from my great Aunt Marlyn. As one of seven kids, she knew a little something about fixing food for a crowd! My recipe card says my mom received this recipe from her aunt in 1967…quite a few years ago! 🙂 It continues to be a hit whenever or wherever it’s served today!
Though this is an easy homemade dessert, there is a little prep work involved. Making the crust is key to the recipe’s success. However, this is a VERY FORGIVING dough! If you would like to see how to mix together pie crust and cut in shortening, you might like to watch a video I created for my Foods II students here. No need to prebake the crust for Danish Pastry…it is a double crust pie. 🙂 I usually have enough scraps left to make a small single crust pie, too…can you say Coconut Cream Pie???
The Process…
After making the crust, you must choose your fillings. I like to use fruit from my orchard that I’ve canned or frozen, but premade canned pie fillings work well here, too. Just know you’ll need at least two, if not three, cans to fill this crust.
Finally, adding the top crust can be a little tricky. I like to use my rolling pin for transferring both crusts to the pan. I just roll the crust around it, position over the pan, and unroll. It makes things so easy!!! Just seal, crimp, and it’s ready for the oven!
Bake for 35-45 minutes, depending on your oven. If you aren’t a fan of icing, leave that off and serve warm with ice cream. 🙂 I like a light layer of homemade buttercream icing with some festive sprinkles. This makes Danish Pastry extra special.
I hope you’ll give my Danish Pastry a try! It makes a nice, big, dessert that’s sure to please all the pie lovers in your circle!
Danish Pastry: Pie for a Crowd!
Notes
The icing may be left off, if desired. In this case, ice cream would be a great side. 🙂 Leftovers may be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 2/3 cups butter-flavored shortening
- 2-3 cans pie filling
For Icing
- 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- milk to thin to desired consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- In a small bowl, beat together eggs, water, and vinegar.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until evenly mixed.
- Add egg mixture to flour mix and stir together gently.
- Divide dough in half and roll one piece to approximately 16x20 inches. Rolling the dough around the rolling pin, transfer to a 12x16 sheet cake pan.
- Cover dough with pie filling. (You may use two different fillings in the separate halves of the pan.)
- Roll out the remaining dough to a 16x20 inch rectangle.
- Lightly dampen bottom crust with water, place top dough on pan using the same method as before.
- Trim, turn under edges and crimp.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
For Icing
- In a mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup softened butter with 2 teaspoons vanilla. Gradually beat in 2 cups of confectioner's sugar. Beat in extra milk by the tablespoon until desired consistency is reached.
- Spread evenly on top of pastry, decorating as desired.
For recipes to serve with Danish Pastry, you might consider my Kickin’ Ranch Party Dip, Five Minute Roast Beef, or my Chicken Divan that is made without canned cream soup. Other recipes can be found on my Recipe Page.
If you’d like to see what products I used to create my Danish Pastry, please see below. Please know, these contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission on any sales, at no extra cost to you. The income I earn helps to pay for maintaining my blog. Thank you so much for your support!