The end of the year is not over yet. One of my favorite ways to celebrate the last of the holidays is by making a big breakfast for the family. For Christmas, I usually make this Cheesy Bacon Hashbrown Egg Casserole and serve something sweet on the side.
Danish pastries have a layered buttery flaky crust. The breakfast pastry recipe is traditionally filled with a sweetened sticky filling such as pie filling or sweetened cream cheese frosting.
I’ve been craving pastries for weeks now and these Cherry Cream Cheese Danish pastries are a quick and easy alternative to traditional danish pastries.
Danish pastry recipes to try
What I like about these pastries is that the filling is pretty easy to customize. I’ve made these with added cocoa powder for a chocolate cream cheese filling. I’ve also made a lemon cream cheese filling with lemon juice, lemon zest, cream cheese and powdered sugar. Swap the cherry pie filling out for blueberry for a fun new recipe. Perhaps, the pastry pie filling is the easiest to swap out. You can use any flavor you want.
Where can I find Pie Filling?
I always buy pie filling in the baking section of the grocery store when it’s on sale. That way, I have pie filling on hand for special occasions like this weekend.
How to make a quick Danish pastry?
This recipe starts with store-bought crescent rolls which makes this recipe super easy to make at home. The pastry dough is then formed into these round shapes. I’ve included a similar Youtube video in the notes section of the recipe to use a general guide on how to make this recipe.
I’ve changed a few things and you’ll want to follow my recipe directions because you’ll end up with bigger pastries that are easier to work with and fill.
If you love the bakery section at the grocery store or perhaps you like to order a dozen Danishes from a local bakery, you’ll want to try this recipe for easy at home Danishes.
Leftover cherry pie pastry filling?
For more recipes that use cherry pie filling, check out my Cherry Fluff Salad for a quick summer dessert that’s no bake and perfect for potlucks. These Cherry Pie Cookies are a delicious shortbread and cherry pie filling dessert for summer holidays.
Easy Cherry Cream Cheese Danish
Ingredients
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 tablespoons powdered confectioners' sugar
- 21 ounces cherry pie filling
For the Danish
- 2 cans store-bought crescent rolls
- granulated sugar, to dust
For the Icing
- 1 cup powdered confectioners' sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.In a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and cream cheese. Beat until smooth; set aside.Unroll crescent rolls. There will be 4 large rectangles of dough pre-cut down the center lines. Run a knife down the center both vertically and horizontally. Disregard the crescent shapes, you want 4 rectangles. Repeat with second crescent rolls container. SEE NOTES FOR A SIMILAR YOUTUBE VIDEO LINK to demonstrate this.Pinch the seams in each rectangle to hold together and form a solid piece of dough. Generously coat each side of the rectangles with sugar. You should have 8 rectangles of dough from two containers of store-bought rolls.Slice each rectangle of dough in half the long way. You will have 16 strips of sugared dough once done.Gently stretch each strip of dough without it breaking.Twist the dough rope.Spiral the rope around itself to form a loose circle/spiral. SEE NOTES FOR A SIMILAR YOUTUBE VIDEO LINK to demonstrate this.Place onto cookie sheet, spacing danishes about 2 inches apart.Using a spoon/fingers, press fingers into center of dough to create of bowl/well.Add cream cheese to the center and spoon a little cherry filling on top of cream cheese.Bake in oven for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.To make the icing, combine powdered confectioners' sugar and water. Mix until smooth. Drizzle over the top of each cooled danish.
Notes
Nutritional information is only an estimate and it's accuracy is not guaranteed to be exact.
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