pistachio danish ring with almond goat cheese filling

Today I made Danish rings; one for today, and one unbaked, tucked away in the freezer for Christmas morning. They are laced with almond paste and goat cheese, topped with sweet sugar icing and salty pistachios. They are decadent yet comforting, simple but complex. A perfect treat for all the possible faces of this holiday season.

And by the time there’s nothing left
An empty tree, a winter vest
A winter vest, a winter vest

I didn’t change very much from the original recipe, so I’m just going to link to it; you can find it here. [It has how-to pictures and everything.] I substituted goat cheese for the cream cheese in the dough, and also in the icing. I switched out almonds for pistachios. I didn’t bake the danish with pistachios – I sprinkled them on afterward, after I had drizzled on the icing. The dough is lovely – soft and smooth and easy to work with. I did have a little trouble getting the sliced rings to lay nice, but it still turned out fairly pretty. It was so delicious, and maybe a new Christmas tradition.

This recipe makes two rings, and one [or both] can be frozen after shaping. So there is one for now, and one for Christmas. Perfect.