The Easiest Butter-Pecan Kringle Ever
The Easiest Butter-Pecan Kringle Ever
(16)
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| quick-n-easy | |
| Hands-on time: | |
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| Baking time: | |
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| Yield: | one 13" kringle, about 2 dozen servings |
Ingredients
Base
- 1/2 cup butter, cut into pats
- 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt*
- 1/4 cup cold water
- *Reduce salt to 1/4 teaspoon if you use salted butter.
Pastry topping
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt*
- 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon butter rum, eggnog, or vanilla butternut flavor, optional but delicious
- *Reduce salt to 1/4 teaspoon if you use salted butter.
Pecans and caramel
- 12 ounces caramel, cut from a block (about 1 cup, packed); or about 3 dozen individual caramel candies*, unwrapped
- 2 cups pecan halves, toasted in a 350°F oven till golden brown
- *Use fresh, soft caramels. If using harder, supermarket-type caramels, add a couple of tablespoons milk or cream when melting, to keep them soft on the kringle; or substitute caramel sauce.
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' or glazing sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, half and half, or milk, enough to make a thick but pourable glaze
- 1/8 teaspoon butter rum, eggnog, or vanilla butternut flavor, optional but good
- pinch of salt
Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) a baking sheet that's at least 18" x 13"; or a 14" round pizza pan.
2) To make the base: Combine the butter, flour, and salt, mixing till crumbly. Add the water, and stir to make a soft, sticky dough.
3) Wet your hands, pick up the dough, and shape it into a 12" x 8" oval ring on the sheet pan; or a 10" ring in the pizza pan. This will be messy going, but just keep wetting your fingers and pushing it into a ring.
4) Once you've made the ring, flatten the dough so it's about 1 1/2" wide; basically, it'll look like a train or NASCAR track.
5) To make the pastry topping: Place the water, butter, and salt in a saucepan, and heat over medium heat till the butter is melted and the mixture is boiling.
6) Transfer to a mixing bowl, and immediately add the flour, beating until the mixture is cohesive and starts to form a ball.
7) Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Add the flavor at the end, if you're using it.
8) Spread the pastry along the ring, covering it completely; you'll now have a much wider ring, though it won't be completely closed in the center; it should still look like a ring.
9) Bake the kringle for 50 to 60 minutes, till it's a deep golden brown. If you haven't yet toasted your pecans, this is a good opportunity to do so; they'll need about 9 to 11 minutes in the oven. When they're golden, remove them from the oven and cool. When the kringle is done, remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool completely on the pan.
10) To add the pecans and caramel: First, have the pecans all ready beside the pan of kringle; you'll be sprinkling them atop the caramel as soon as you pour it on.
11) Place the caramel in a microwave-safe spouted cup, if you have one; it's not necessary, but makes it easier to pour. Melt the caramel till it's bubbly, remove it from the microwave, stir a few times to smooth out the bubbles, and immediately drizzle it over the kringle. If it stiffens up, reheat briefly in the microwave.
12) Sprinkle pecans atop the caramel, pressing them in gently. Allow the kringle to cool completely.
13) To make the glaze: Stir together the confectioners' sugar, salt, flavor (if you're using it), and enough milk or cream to make a pourable glaze. Drizzle it over the kringle.
14) To serve, cut the kringle in 2" slices. Yield: one large (12" x 16" oval, or 14" round) kringle, about 2 dozen servings.
Reviews
01/31/2011- Well, it is offical, I am addicted to KAF recipes. I made the Kringe and it is delicious.
- 01/11/2011
- Absolutely heavenly! It looks a little intimidating, but was actually very simple as the recipe promises and well worth the time. After initially looking at the recipe, I decided to try making homemade soft caramels. That was also a huge success. I froze a large block to use for this recipe and it worked perfectly. Will definitely make again and am considering making for gifts next Christmas.
12/23/2010- Suppose I shouldn't be surprised, as it was described as "over the top" in the recipe, but this was truly an excessive sweet. Heck, even my six and seven year old said there was too much stuff on top of the pastry! Underneath it all, was a very delicious (and yes, decadent) pastry that we all liked. I subbed almond extract in both the pastry and the drizzle. We all could have done without the whole nut and caramel. If you bake it, I suggest cutting both in half. Or, just top with the glaze.
- 12/04/2010
- This was a great recipe - time consuming, but not much of that is active time, and easy. I would note that I used caramel sauce, and it got really liquidy when melted (as it's supposed to). So if you substitute sauce, heat it just until it's barely pourable, not bubbling, and then I would even suggest refrigerating it so it doesn't keep dripping off. Mine just turned out a little on the messy side.
- 12/03/2010
- I have never had traditional kringle, I can't imagine any one tasting better than this version. I made my own caramel. My pastry filling was very thin and I didn't have to spread it, it kind of flowed everywhere, did anybody have the same problem ? I would definitely make again.
- 11/29/2010
- It should be against the law to make something this delicious! I made it tonight, and it was quick and easy. My husband and I couldn't wait for it to cool before digging in. We used the wrapped, store bought caramels but added a few tablespoons of half-and-half. The sauce turned out perfect! I was planning on making this to bring into the office tomorrow, but I think I'm going to save the whole thing for my family. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks KAF!!
11/29/2010- Ok, you have this wide ring of dough that is so long and so wide then you FLATTEN THE DOUGH till it's thin like a train track? If you flattent the dough it'll get wider, not more narrow. Are you suppose to fold the dough onto it's self first then flatten?
Is something missing in these instructions? I don't get it. how can you flatten something and make it less wide?
Clear as Mud.
I'm sorry you found the directions confusing. Give the bakers a call at 802-649-3717 or check-out the step-by-step photo instructions on the King Arthur Flour blog. - kelsey
- 05/15/2010
- This is an absolutely wonderfully easy and tasty recipe which I now make and sell in my bakery. The textures and flavors are excellent. I switched to chopped pecans just to give the cake an consistent even top layer.
- 01/11/2010
- Awesome Danish, got two thumbs up from Wisconsin born co-workers, will make it again. The step by step directions and photos on the Banter page are so helpful, I love seeing what my item should look like.
12/27/2009- I play in the Candlelight orchestra at Epcot, and I took this to the Christmas night potluck. I got a lot of good comments, and only one piece came home with me at a rather large spread. I had never made anything like this before, so I was intrigued by how things looked during the process, and the results were excellent. I couldn't find any blocks of caramel to melt down, so I just made my own caramel from a stick of butter, a pint of cream, and a cup of brown sugar. It poured over the top very nicely. Just don't do as I did and forget about your pecans toasting in the oven! About half had to be thrown out due to scorching. The recipe WAS easy; I was able to throw this together while working on three or four other things simultaneously for Christmas breakfast and on an empty stomach!
