TWD: Cottage Cheese Pufflets

When I first read that this week's recipe was cottage cheese pufflets I thought "hmm... that doesn't sounds very tasty." I was envisioning something savory and lumpy. I have texture issues (anything suspended in jell-o is my worst nightmare) and although I like cottage cheese, I had my concerns. But leave it to Dorie to show us how cottage cheese can make a light and flaky crust! It gives the dough a little tang that makes you wonder what the secret ingredient is.

The cottage cheese is thrown into a food processor with the other ingredients and everything gets blended into a dough. As many of the other TWD bakers have mentioned... the dough feel as if it was made with paste! It's sticky and gooey... and tough to handle. I chilled it for about four hours before trying to roll it out. Then I used PLENTY of flour to keep it from sticking. As soon as you start handling the dough and it gets even the tiniest bit warm, it wants to turn back into a squishy mess. I had pretty good luck though, and got it rolled out and cut into squares with minimal hassle.

Once its cut into squares, you put a dollop of preserves on each piece. I used raspberry jam - which was delicious - but you can use any variety! It was interesting to see what the other bakers used - everything from blueberry to apricot to jalapeno! Then each square is folded into a triangle (similar to the apple turnovers from last week), baked, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

True to their name, my pufflets puffed up pretty well. My jam oozed out and made a huge mess... but other than that, they turned out pretty well. They tasted surprisingly like a struedel or a danish. They would be great served with an afternoon cup of tea of coffee!

Thanks to Jacque of Daisy Lane Cakes for this week's pick. Be sure to check her blog for the complete recipe! Up next week: chocolate caramel crunch tart... I can't wait!