Apple Cheese Danishes (Print version)
Flaky puff pastries with cream cheese and cinnamon-spiced apple filling, ideal for brunch or dessert.
# What you'll need:
→ Pastry
01 - 1 sheet puff pastry (about 8.8 oz), thawed
02 - 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
→ Cheese Filling
03 - 4 oz cream cheese, softened
04 - 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
05 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Apple Filling
06 - 1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced
07 - 2 tablespoons brown sugar
08 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
09 - 1 teaspoon lemon juice
10 - 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
→ Icing (Optional)
11 - 1/2 cup powdered sugar
12 - 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
# Method:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add diced apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes until the apples are soft and coated in a syrupy glaze. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
03 - In a mixing bowl, combine softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy.
04 - Roll out the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and cut into 8 equal squares. Place squares on the prepared baking sheet. Using a knife, lightly score a border about 1/3 inch from the edge of each square without cutting all the way through.
05 - Spread approximately 1 tablespoon of cheese filling in the center of each pastry square. Top with a spoonful of the cooled apple mixture. Brush the pastry edges with beaten egg.
06 - Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until the pastries are puffed and golden brown.
07 - Allow danishes to cool for 10 minutes. Whisk powdered sugar with milk until a drizzle-consistency icing forms. Drizzle over the cooled danishes if desired.
# Expert advice:
01 -
- The frozen puff pastry does all the heavy lifting so you look like a pastry genius with almost zero effort.
- That combination of tangy cream cheese and warm spiced apple filling tastes like autumn wrapped in buttery dough.
02 -
- If your puff pastry tears while you are cutting it, press the seams together gently with damp fingers because the egg wash will seal everything during baking.
- Cooling the apple filling before spooning it onto the cheese layer prevents the cream cheese from melting and leaking out the sides.
03 -
- Freeze the assembled but unbaked danishes on a tray for thirty minutes before baking and you will get even more dramatic puff and cleaner edges.
- Dusting your knife with flour between cuts prevents the pastry from tearing and gives you those neat square shapes that brown evenly.