Pumpkin Pecan Danish Twist

This beautiful Danish is a lot easier to make that you think! I know working with yeast can be intimidating and twisting dough into a beautiful, twisted swirl looks very technically difficult, but I promise it’s not. If you can twist two strands together, you can make this Danish! This recipe is based off of a recipe for a Raspberry Danish Twist. I wanted to make a fall version, so I swapped the raspberry jam for homemade pumpkin butter and added chopped pecans. I also adjusted the glaze recipe and made a maple glaze. It was so delicious! It’s great for dessert or brunch or to serve for breakfast on Thanksgiving, so everyone has something yummy to eat while they prep the turkey! Yes, Halloween hasn’t happened yet and I’m already thinking about Thanksgiving! I love baking for the holidays and plan out what I want to make weeks in advance. 🙂

This is my final pumpkin recipe to share for my unofficial “pumpkin week”, but below are others pumpkin recipes I’ve made and loved if you need more pumpkin inspiration!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies I’ve made these twice this fall, once as cookies and once in an 8×8 pan and cut them into 12 pumpkin bars. They’re the best combination of sweet and chewy and the spice flavor gets stronger as the cool. So good either way! Just bake 5-7 minutes longer for the bars since they’re thicker.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies I’ve made this recipe several times too and they’re delicious! They’re soft and the cinnamon sugar coating is so yummy!

Pumpkin Crumb Muffins My mom made a batch of these muffins a couple weeks ago and they’re so moist and flavorful!

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’ve made another version of it from the same blogger that I liked. Baked oatmeal is a healthy and filling option for breakfast and if it reminds you of pumpkin pie, all the more reason to enjoy it this time is year!

Pumpkin Spice Latte I posted this recipe last year. Lattes at cafes can be so expensive, but you can make your own at home and they’re so good!

Mini Mason Jar Pumpkin Layer Cakes I made these last year for a family member’s rehearsal dinner and they were a hit. That cream cheese frosting is everything! You can also make this as a sheet cake to keep things easy!

Servings: 16 slices

Ingredients:

1 pack of yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3/4 milk of choice (I used almond milk)

1/4 (4 tablespoons, half a stick) cup unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour, may need an additional few tablespoons

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup pumpkin butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Maple Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half (milk will also work)

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Combine yeast and sugar in a bowl. Heat milk in microwave until warm to touch and pour into bowl. Whisk to combine and then allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes until it looks frothy/foamy. This activates the yeast.

2. While waiting for yeast to activate, add butter, eggs, flour, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer (you can mix dough by hand if you don’t have a mixer). Mix ingredients until combined. Once yeast is ready, pour yeast mixture into the bowl and mix in low speed for about 4 minutes. Then, knead dough gently with your hands by folding and turning the dough. If it’s too sticky to knead, you can sprinkle a couple more tablespoons of flour over the dough.

2. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl (I used cooking spray to grease the bowl). Cover with plastic wrap and place bowl in a warm environment until dough doubles in size, about 90 minutes.

3. Grease a 9-inch springform pan (can use a tall cake pan if you don’t have a springform pan) and set aside. Turn dough out of the bowl into a floured surface and press down on it to release air. Roll dough into a 12×16 inch rectangle. Spread pumpkin butter evenly over dough and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

4. Starting at the longer end of the rectangle, roll the dough as if you were making cinnamon rolls. Then use a serrated knife to cut down the center of your roll lengthwise to reveal the layers. Then make an x with the two strips of dough by crossing one over the other. Twist each side of the x and then coil the whole thing into a circle or swirl. Carefully place into your greased pan. Tip: watch the video here that shows how to shape this. It’s a lot easier than it sounds!

5. Allow the twist to rise again in a warm environment for about 45 minutes. It’ll look puffy and should better fill the pan.

6. Preheat oven to 350 and put danish twist on an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Bake until golden brown, 40-45 minutes. You can put a foil tent over the dough if it seems to be browning too quickly.

7. Allow danish to cool while you make the icing. Combine icing ingredients with a whisk until smooth. Remove rim of springform pan and drizzle danish with icing. Slice and enjoy! Wrap leftovers and store in the fridge for up to one week.

Original recipe for Raspberry Danish Twist can be found here.