Easy Cream Cheese Apple Danish

This dessert is perfect for a weekend brunch or a special occasion. It is also a great way to use up extra cinnamon buns if the sales are good! These Danishes are soft and fluffy, with a sweet cinnamon apple flavor. The cream cheese filling adds a touch of richness and creaminess making these taste like bakery quality pastries.

I don’t know about you, but I love a good danish! They make a great breakfast or dessert because when filled with ingredients like cream cheese and fruit, they’re a really satisfying treat.

I used to love heading to our local bakery on an occasional Saturday morning and picking out some delicious Cream Horns, Apple Filled Puff Pastries, and Cream Cheese Danish.

Sadly, the best bakery in town sold the business and their quality went downhill. But thankfully, Danish are easy to make at home with some ingredient hacks like canned cinnamon rolls or even crescent rolls.

Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls are a pre-made dough that is filled with cinnamon sugar and rolled up into a spiral. They make these Danish super easy to make since all the dough work is done.

Apple Pie Filling is a canned or homemade filling made with apples, sugar, spices, and sometimes other ingredients like cornstarch or flour. It pairs well with the cheesecake flavor and cinnamon dough.

Cream Cheese is a soft, creamy cheese that is made from milk and cream. It forms a no-bake cheesecake center for these Danish.

Sugar helps to sweeten the cream cheese.

Vanilla extract is a flavoring that is made from vanilla beans. It offers the cream cheese a yummy flavor.

1. In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, vanilla extract, and sugar until fluffy.
2. Unwrap cinnamon rolls and stretch each one out, making a small depression in the center of the dough.
3. Add about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling to each cinnamon roll danish.
4. Top with about 1 tablespoon of apple filling.
5. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 350℉.
6. Allow Danish to cool.
7. Add icing to glaze.

No matter how you make them, Cinnamon Roll Danish are sure to be a hit! Here are a few specific variations you can try:

• Strawberry Cream Cheese Danish: Spread the cream cheese filling with a layer of strawberry jam.
• Chocolate Cream Cheese Danish: Add a layer of chocolate chips to the cream cheese filling.
• Nutella Cream Cheese Danish: Spread the cream cheese filling with Nutella.
• Almond Cream Cheese Danish: Add a layer of almond paste to the cream cheese filling.
• Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Danish: Dust the Danish with cinnamon sugar before baking.

To be on the safe side, you should refrigerate Danish that contain cream cheese filling if you’re keeping them overnight. They can be left out all day at room temperature but if you plan on keeping any for the next day, they should be refrigerated. Cream cheese although baked, still contains many components needed by bacteria to grow.

Yes, I often use traditional crescent rolls for my Danish. In fact, you can find this recipe for Cream Cheese Danish which is similar to this recipe with the exception of the apples.

Store baked Danishes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Wrap the Danishes tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent them from drying out.

To freeze Danish, wrap each Danish individually in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place the wrapped Danishes in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw frozen Danish, place them in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, you can reheat them in the oven or microwave.

• Apple Crescent Danish
• Pumpkin Danish
• Blackberry Cream Cheese Danish