Jack’s Cherry-Almond Kringle Recipe
I’ve been getting a lot of requests for a kringle recipe—specifically the one that Jack makes for Astra in Once Upon a December, so here it is. It comes from Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Country. One of the joys of making kringle is the filling is so easy to change—anything that goes in a pie or on toast works in my opinion. Peanut butter—yep, cooked apples with cinnamon and brown sugar—perfection, Nutella—absolutely. Get creative! My favorite is cherry and almond together.
Cherry-Almond Kringle
Makes 2 kringles, each serving 8
To bake only one kringle, adjust the oven rack to the middle position. If the dough appears shaggy and dry after adding the sour cream in step 2, add up to 2 tablespoons ice water until the dough is smooth. If the capacity of your food processor is less than 11 cups, pulse the butter and shortening into the dry mixture in two batches at the beginning of step 2.
Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
4 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups sour cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Filling:
Your favorite cherry pie filling recipe or one can/jar high quality store-bought cherry pie filling
8 oz almond paste
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons whole or low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add flour, sugar, yeast, salt, butter, and shortening to empty food processor and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to bowl and stir in sour cream until dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and divide in half. Pat each half into 7- by 3-inch rectangle and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes, then freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
Roll one dough half into 28- by 5-inch rectangle, cover lower half of strip with half of cherry pie filling, then grate half of the almond paste (using a cheese grate with the a large shred) over the cherry filling. The almond paste can get sticky, but do your best to evenly distribute. Fold dough over filling, and pinch seams closed. Shape into oval, tuck one end inside of other, and pinch to seal. Transfer to parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 4 or up to 12 hours. FREEZER OPTION: You can also freeze the uncooked kringle immediately after assembly. When you are ready to use, thaw in the fridge overnight and continue with the recipe. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Discard plastic, brush kringles with egg, and bake until golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Transfer kringles to wire rack and cool 30 minutes.
Whisk sugar, milk, and vanilla in bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over kringles. Let glaze set 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Kringle can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.) And enjoy!
