Easy Cream Cheese Danish
Sometimes you just need a quick and easy dessert or sweet breakfast treat. That is where this easy cream cheese danish comes to the rescue. Simple and delicious and with only five minutes to prepare and twelve minutes to bake, you will be in cream cheese puff pastry heaven in no time.
Danishes
The name of this flaky and buttery pastry would have you believing that this dessert was of Denmark decent. However, it is from Austrian origins that this lovely dish comes to us. It was first made popular in Denmark however, so the name Danish stuck.
The danish was always a special treat when we were growing up. Momma would surprise us at holidays with a cream cheese and fruit filled confection that we all loved. We would have danishes every Christmas while we opened up Santa gifts. Even though we are no longer living with mom and dad, every Christmas momma still gets danishes as a special treat for her and daddy.
I have carried this tradition with me as I have become a momma and my kiddos love them just as much as I did when I was little. These treats always show up on Christmas morning for pre-breakfast as we watch the kids enjoy Santa’s gifts and we sip our coffee. It doesn’t feel like Christmas without these little treats hanging around. When I think of danishes, I think of momma.
Puff Pastry
Puff pastry was invented by French baker Claudius Gele in 1645! This pastry has been around the block a few hundred times. It was, like most great inventions, a mistake when he forgot to put in butter and tried to fold it in at the last minute. The result was this flaky buttery goodness.
Puff pastry is one of those things that you should always have in your freezer. I am not well versed in the making of puffed pastry, but I am well versed in using it. It comes in handy for a ton of quick meals and desserts from a Chicken Pot Pie topping to these danishes.
One great option is to make Hot Pockets out of it. Store them in the freezer until ready to eat then pop in the oven for a healthier option than what you get at the super market! So many fun things! Maybe I need to make a past about puff pastry uses!
This light, flaky, and buttery pastry is so handy that I always make sure I have some on standby. You can make your own as well. You can find a great recipe here at bakingamoment.com.
Easy Cream Cheese Danish
This easy danish recipe comes together in less than five minutes, and requires very little in the way of special tools or ingredients.
First start by thawing out your puff pastry until it is just thawed enough to easily unfold. You don’t want to thaw it too much or the butter will start to melt before it is ready. The steam from the melting butter is what causes those delicious flaky layers. Melt it too soon and you miss out on that goodness and end up with a pastry that is flatter than a flitter.
Next you want to cut your puff pastry into 6 equal squares. Then lightly score a rectangular space for your filling. Be careful to not go all the way through.
After preparing the pastry, now it is time to make the cream cheese filling. This filling is super simple with just a little cream cheese that has been softened (you can also use cream cheese spread), a little sugar, and a little sour cream. Mix it all together and dollop it onto the puff pastry where you scored it earlier. Top with a teaspoon of your favorite preserves and bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes until the pastry is puffy and golden brown.
To really elevate this dish, you can create a simple glaze to drizzle over the finished product. The glaze is a little confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix and drizzle over the cooled pastry and enjoy!
Easy Cream Cheese Danish
Ingredients
- 1 Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry slightly thawed
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 tsp sugar
- 6 tsp Preserves/Jelly
Instructions
- Unfold pastry and cut into 6 equal squared
- Score each square in the center with a smaller square. This will be the space that your filling will go. Do not cut all the way through.
- Mix together cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream until smooth. Add a dollop to each pastry center where you scored it.
- Top each with a teaspoon of your favorite preserve or filling and swirl slightly
- Bake at 400° for 12 to 15 minutes
Simple desserts are the best desserts. We hope you enjoy this recipe and try out some of our others like Granny’s applesauce cake or these delicious easy mini cheesecakes . Let us know below how you like this simple and quick dessert by leaving us a comment below!
