Searching for a way to take cottage cheese to the next level? Add vanilla, sprinkle raisins to get the party really started!

Cottage cheese is a highly undervalued thus fairly unknown ingredient of the dairy industry. While many athletes regard it in high esteem due to its pure protein content, it goes unnoticed for the larger population.

Except, of course in some obscure European countries where cottage cheese is the main part of traditional recipes thus not only part of the daily life but an organic tile of national pride.

Not as the U.S. were unfamiliar to cottage cheese as a whole. During the First World War it was widely promoted as a cheap alternative to meat. A pound of cottage cheese contains more protein than any of the widely consumed meats.

The consumption of cottage cheese was peaked during the 70’s and since then it’s dwindling down year after year despite all the efforts of athletes and healthy conscious consumers. It’s pretty much a wonder how the keto community haven’t picked it up yet and placed right next to the pedestal of avocados.

Cottage cheese is a fresh cheese curd product with a mild flavor. As it isn’t aged, it’s free of the typical strong flavors of cured cheeses. It’s a quite bland tasting food apart from the mild acidic flavor that comes from the naturally presenting lactic acid.

There is a myriad of dishes that can be made of cottage cheese. A slight variation of the ingredients can bring a completely different dish to the table making friends or enemies in the process.

As an example, pasta can be served with cottage cheese either by stir frying it with smoked bacon or just plainly topping the pasta with sour cream and some sweetener like honey or raisins.

To complicate matters more, there is a dessert that takes the sweet-sour cream and cottage cheese pasta on to the next level by baking it between two sheets of puff pastry. Some just can’t get enough of cottage cheese, it seems…

We aren’t going to complicate matters too much here. This recipe will only use some well-known fresh yeast dough to carry the filling.

To give a bit of excitement to the pastry, we mix the cottage cheese with vanilla custard that smoothens the acidic nature of the cheese. Optional raisins or dried fruits can also be added which provide additional excitement upon finding them every now and then.

Packing up the filling can be done by completely closing the dough or leaving the pastry open along the edges like it is done with the filo or phyllo dough allowing us a peak into the excitement of flavors.

When it’s done let it cool down a bit for at least 20 minutes as the hot filling doesn’t offer the best of its flavors especially not if we burn our tongues with it.

The best news is that even the pastry is not the least labor-intensive piece of treat to make, we can freeze the leftover without any problems. Popping it into the microwave for a couple of seconds will quickly heat it up without any considerable loss to texture or flavors making it perfect for quick desserts or even for a cheat day breakfast.

Ingredients

Pastry

5 cups / 600g Flour
3½ tablespoon / 50g Butter (room temperature)
3 medium / 150g Eggs
1 cup / 250g Milk
0.2 oz / 5g Fresh yeast
1 medium / 20g Egg yolk for egg wash

Cottage cheese filling

17 oz / 500g Cottage cheese (low fat)
2 tablespoons / 40g Honey or sweetener of choice
½ cup / 100g Raisins
1 teaspoon / 5g Vanilla essence
2 tablespoons / 16g Corn starch
1¼cup / 300g Milk (low fat)

How to make Cottage cheese pastry

Dough

In a kneading bowl measure flour, butter, eggs, milk and crumbled fresh yeast.
Mix together until combined.
Transfer it to a 68°F – 81°F /20°C – 27°C place where it can raise undisturbed for 45 – 90 minutes depending on the temperature.
When it doubles start working with it.

Filling

Mix cornstarch, vanilla and honey or sweetener of choice in a small cup with 3-5 tablespoons of milk.
Pour the rest of the milk into a small saucepan and warm it up. Pour the vanilla, cornstarch mixture into the milk and stir it constantly whilst it’s warming until it gets bubbly.
Then take it off the heat and let it cool a bit.
Mix raisins into it as well.
Finally add cottage cheese too.

Assembly

When dough is ready, turn it out onto floured surface and roll it into a square.
Cut dough into 4 strips then more or less 3″x3″ / 10cm x 10cm squares.
Put filling in the middle of each squares.
Lift opposite corners.
Stick them together like making a bag out of the dough.
The sides can be closed if desired but this step is optional.
Place little bags onto a tray then leave the tray in a 68°F – 81°F /20°C – 27°C place for another 15 – 30 minutes where the dough can rest and raise a bit more.
Brush the top of the pastry with a beaten egg yolk.
Put tray into the 350°F / 180°C preheated oven for about half an hour or until the top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Cottage cheese is as strange as ingredient as good. It’s like a wild horse that needs taming to be our best companion:

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Cottage Cheese Pastry

Searching for a way to take cottage cheese to the next level? Add vanilla, sprinkle raisins to get the party really started!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Sugar free recipe

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 40