Cherry Cream Cheese Danish

Here’s a super easy homemade breakfast pastry your family will do handstands for – Cherry Cream Cheese Danish! You are just 5 ingredients away from a delightful treat that you can have ready in less than 30 minutes, start to finish. #Cherry #Danish #Pastries #Breakfast

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How to Make Cherry Cream Cheese Danish – Just 5 Ingredients!

Crescent Roll Dough. This is the foundation of your  this Cherry Cream Cheese Danish recipe – flakey, buttery, tender. When you unroll the dough after removing it from the can, you will find 4 rectangles that are perforated from corner to corner.  You want to keep them intact as rectangles, so resist the urge to divide them! You will also see alot of breakfast pastry recipes similar to this one that call for puff pastry, which is equally  delicious, but maybe not as readily available at every grocery store like crescent roll dough is.  Also, the puff pastry comes frozen, while the crescent roll dough is just refrigerated.

Cream Cheese.  You can use full-fat cream cheese or the one-third-less fat type – I can’t really tell the difference in this recipe, once you sweeten it with some granulated sugar and a bit of vanilla extract.

Vanilla Extract.  If you prefer, you can substitute almond extract – it’s pairs well with the cherry pie filling, too.

Cherry Pie Filling.  If you’re not a fan of cherries, feel free to substitute any pie filling that you prefer – apple, blueberry, strawberry, whatever.  If you don’t happen to have pie filling on hand, you could also top the cream cheese filling with a bit of jam….I did that once with apricot jam and it was wonderful!

Optional: Powdered Sugar Icing.  Sometimes I add icing to these danish, and sometimes I don’t.  It’s easy to make by combining powdered sugar with a bit of melted butter, milk, vanilla extract and a pinch of kosher salt – whisk until smooth, then drizzle over the warm pastries after you’ve topped them with the pie filling.

Easy Recipe Tips for Making Cheese Danish with Crescent Roll Dough

• What kitchen tools do I need to make these breakfast pastries?

A good baking sheet, some parchment paper, and a cooling rack are helpful, but that’s pretty much it. I like baking sheets that are rimmed and heavy-duty so they promote nice browning as things bake.  Also, always keep your baking sheets OUT of your dishwasher.  The pressure and the soap can ruin a nice baking sheet quicker than anything!

• Can I make mini Cherry Cream Cheese Danish?

You sure can.  Just make 16 small pastry rounds (instead of the 8 larger ones) and fill them with the cream cheese filling.  When I did this, I found that the smaller pastries sometimes fell to one side a bit, after I added the cream cheese filling.  However, once you top the pastries with the cherry pie filling, nobody is the wiser.  Also, since the pastries are smaller in size, you can bake them a couple of minutes less.

• Is the powdered sugar glaze optional when baking these cherry danish?

Totally! You can glaze them if you prefer and I usually do since it makes the pastries look like shiny little packages!  Kinda depends on how big of a hurry I’m in.  Just let the pastries cool a bit before after they’ve baked in the oven or the glaze will melt into your pastry crust…..it will taste great, but you won’t be able to really see it.

• Will it work to substitute puff pastry for the crescent roll dough in this recipe?

I’ve never tried that myself, but I think it would work just fine and the danish will be even more puffed and more tender in texture, as well.

• Can I use other fruit toppings when making these crescent rolls?

Absolutely.  Apple pie filling would be delicious, as would peach or blueberry.  The sky is the limit and I think it would be fun to bake up an assortment of different fillings to serve in one batch for breakfast or a special brunch.

Other Recipes to Enjoy –

• Honey Bun Cake – Transform a Plain Yellow Cake Mix into a Magnificent Experience!

• Make Your Entire House Smell Like a Bakery – Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts! 

Printable Directions for Baking Cherry Pastry

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Cherry Cream Cheese Danish

Here's a super easy homemade breakfast pastry your family will do handstands for - Cherry Cream Cheese Danish! You are just 5 ingredients away from a delightful treat that you can have ready in less than 30 minutes, start to finish. 

Course Breakfast/Brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword cherry, cream cheese, crescent roll dough, danish, easy breakfast pastry

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 8 large danish

Ingredients

• 2 cans crescent roll dough 8 count
• 4 oz. Hiland Dairy cream cheese, softened (may use one-third less fat cream cheese, if desired)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 can cherry pie filling, I like Grandma Hoerner’s or Wilderness brand

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Unroll each can of crescent roll dough, separating each one into 4 rectangles. Use your fingers to smooth together the perforated line across each rectangle. Starting at the long side of each one, roll the dough up into a cylinder. Now form each cylinder into a fat round, using your fingers to flatten out the bottom a bit to make a place for the cream cheese filling to nest. Place the crescent roll rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Divide the prepared cream cheese mixture between the 8 crescent roll rounds on the baking sheet, spooning it into the center of each danish.
4. Bake, uncovered, on the center rack of the oven for 15-18 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.

5. Let rolls cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then spoon the desired amount of cherry pie filling on top the cream cheese in each one. Serve at once.

6. Drizzle with your favorite powdered sugar glaze, if desired.

Recipe Notes

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Let’s Get You Cookin’,
Chef Alli

This recipe was happily shared on Southern Bite’s Meal Plan Monday and Country Cook’s Weekend Potluck.