This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
Use your favorite fruit preserves paired with a tangy cream cheese filling and flaky pastry to make these easy and delicious puff pastry danishes!
Breakfast is the best meal of the day, right?I mean…when else is it considered totally ok to have sweet and savory things all at the same time?
I love a savory breakfast. Christmas breakfast casserole, eggs benedict, or biscuits with sausage gravy are all big winners for me. But I also love having something sweet with them!
I don’t need a whole stack of buttermilk pancakes. But a cinnamon scone or blueberry biscuit will do the trick. So will one of these puff pastry danishes.
Quick and easy cheese danishes made with puff pastry
I looooove a good cheese danish. If I’m at a coffee shop and they have danishes there, there’s a real good chance I’m gonna treat myself to one.
But I didn’t really think to make them at home until recently. I don’t know why not, because I use puff pastry all of the time to make things like puff pastry apple tart and cherry turnovers. So why not use it for an easy and delish danish?
These puff pastry danishes have a tangy cream cheese filling topped with your favorite fruit preserves. They are easy to assemble but look impressive, so they’re perfect for serving at a special brunch.
And since you can use any jam you like for the filling, you can mix and match flavors so that everyone in the family gets something they will love!
What’s the difference between puff pastry and danish pastry?
Puff pastry and traditional danish pastry are really similar. In fact, that’s why it’s so common for folks making danishes at home to use pre-made puff pastry for a quick and easy version.
Both pastry doughs are laminated doughs, meaning that layers of dough are repeatedly rolled and folded with layers of butter.
Puff pastry gets its rise and flaky layers from the steam that comes out of the butter when it is baked. The resulting pastry is very crisp and buttery.
Danish pastry also includes yeast, eggs, and sugar, giving it a softer texture when it is baked.
If you want to try making homemade danish pastry, you totally should! But if you’re like me and don’t have time but still want to enjoy a plate of danishes for breakfast, puff pastry is a great shortcut.
How to make these puff pastry danishes
These puff pastry danishes look beautiful, but they’re really simple to put together.
Ingredient you will need
For the danishes themselves, you will need:
- 8 ounces room-temperature cream cheese
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
- ⅓ cup Bonne Maman fruit preserves
Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature before mixing the filling. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, check out my post on how to soften cream cheese quickly.
I like using a good-quality jam in this recipe. Since there are only a few ingredients, using a nice jam really makes a difference. Bonne Maman is what I typically grab, but you can use any brand you like best.
You will also need 1 egg for an egg wash.
I like to finish these puff pastry danishes with a simple glazemade with:
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
If you’re out of powdered sugar, don’t panic! Learn how to make powdered sugar and save yourself a trip to the store.
Making these danishes
Start by mixing together the cream cheese filling. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla – you can do this by hand, but I prefer to use a mixer to make sure it is super smooth.
Now grab 1 sheet of the puff pastry. Leave the other sheet in the fridge until you’re ready to work with it.
Unfold the pastry on a lightly floured surface. If the top of your pastry is really floury, brush some of that off. Otherwise it’ll be harder to get the cream cheese filling spread out later.
Use a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or dough blade to cut the pastry into 3 pieces along the fold marks. Then make 1 horizontal cut across the middle of the sheet to make 6 equal-sized rectangles.
Move the rectangles to a lined baking sheet. Use a sharp paring knife to lightly score a 1/2-inch border inside of each rectangle, making sure not to cut all the way through the pastry.
On each pastry piece, spread 1 heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture in the center, staying within the scored lines. Top with 1 teaspoon of the jam, but do not spread the jam out.
Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the egg wash onto the border edges of each danish.
Bake at 400°F for 16-18 minutes, or until the puff pastry is puffed and golden brown and the undersides of the danishes are cooked through. When you pull the pastries from the oven, the centers may be puffed but will deflate a bit as they cool.
Repeat this process with the second sheet of pastry.
Once the danishes have cooled, whisk together the glaze ingredients and drizzle it over the pastries. The glaze will harden as it cools.
Storage tips
Store your puff pastry danishes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
The pastry will soften after the first day or so, but you can warm the pastries in a toaster oven to help crisp it back up if desired.
You can also freeze the baked, cooled, and glazed danishes. Place in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Let the danishes thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours or in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
Make-ahead
If you would like, you can prepare the puff pastry danishes the night before you plan to bake them. Assemble them on the sheet pans, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
The next morning, bake and glaze the pastries as noted in the recipe.
Puff Pastry Danishes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 sheets puff pastry thawed according to package directions
- ⅓ cup Bonne Maman fruit preserves any flavor
For the egg wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
For the glaze
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line (2) baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
- Work with one sheet of the thawed puff pastry at a time, keeping the rest in the refrigerator until you’re ready to work with it to keep it cold.
- Unfold one pastry sheet onto a lightly floured work surface. Cut into 3 pieces along the fold marks. Next cut the pastry sheet horizontally across the middle of the sheet to create 6 even rectangles.
- Place the rectangles onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a paring knife to lightly score a ½-inch border around each puff pastry rectangle. This will allow the edges to rise around the filling; just be sure not to cut all the way through the pastry.
- Add a slightly heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture to the center of each pastry and spread it evenly within the borders you created. Next, add a teaspoon of jam to the center of each pastry, but do not spread the jam out.
- Whisk together the egg and water until thoroughly combined. Use a pastry brush to apply the egg wash to the border of each pastry.
- Bake in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. The centers will deflate a bit while cooling.
- Repeat the process with the remaining pastry and filling ingredients.
- Allow pastries to cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to create a glaze. You want the glaze to be able to drizzle off of a spoon, but you do not want it to be watery. At this point, if the glaze is too thick to drizzle, gradually add more milk ½ teaspoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastries. The glaze will harden upon cooling.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
