The Best Apple Pie Cheese Danish Recipe with Video

This apple pie cheese danish is the perfect recipe for your upcoming Thanksgiving brunch. It’s a gorgeous showstopper that’s easy to make when you’re short on prep time.

Apple Pie Cheese Danish

If you’re looking for something tasty to dress up your weekend breakfast or enjoy with that new caramel apple latte at Starbucks, this is definitely the apple cheese danish recipe you need.

Plus, I’ll share my favorite tips for plating this beauty and serving suggestions to take this apple cream cheese breakfast pastry to the next level.

Keep reading and you’ll learn how to make your own delicious apple pie cheese danish just in time for breakfast.

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Apple Pie Cheese Danish Ingredients

This recipe will make about 12 apple pie cheese danishes for you to enjoy, but keep in mind that your count may vary depending on how large or small you decide to make your pastries.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started creating your own delicious apple pie cheese danishes:

Cheese Filling

• 16 ounces (2 standard packages) of cream cheese
• ¼ cup white sugar
• Zest from one lemon*
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

* Don’t forget the lemon zest. In some recipes it’s optional, but that’s definitely not the case with this apple cream cheese breakfast pastry. You’ll need the lemon zest to balance out the flavors and create the perfect cream cheese filling.

Apple Filling

• 4 cups of peeled and diced apples
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 of a cup of unbleached flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Pastry

You’ll need two refrigerated puff pastries for this apple cheese danish recipe. I prefer the Wewalka brand for this recipe. 

Aren’t you thrilled you won’t be making puff pastry from scratch? That’s part of what makes this apple pie cheese danish so fantastic!

Apple Cider Glaze

• 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar
• Up to 2 tablespoons of apple cider.

The more apple cider you add to this glaze, the thinner it will become. Not a fan of cider? You can substitute milk instead of apple cider for a more traditional glaze that still tastes amazing.

Optional Topping

If you’re planning to make this apple pie cheese danish for a special occasion, or just looking for an extra treat, you should definitely add my favorite little extra.

This optional topping is made using:

• 2 tablespoons apricot jam mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons of raw sugar

My Favorite Apple Cheese Danish Recipe

One of my favorite things about this apple cheese danish recipe is that I can have it ready to go in the oven in about 15 minutes. That’s all the hands-on time you’ll need for this apple cream cheese breakfast pastry. 

The baking time for this recipe is approximately 30 minutes. However, the size of your pastries will influence the baking time. Smaller pastries will cook more quickly and larger pastries will need extra time for a perfect bake.

Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients, follow these step-by-step instructions to create your own delicious apple pie cheese danishes:

To Make Apple Filling 

1. Wash, peel, core, and dice the apples. 
2. Add the apples to a medium-size bowl and toss with the sugar, flour, and spices. 
3. Allow the mixture to rest for about 10 minutes so that the sugar and flour can work their magic in creating a delicious caramel sauce over the apples.

To Make Cheese Filling

1. Use the paddle attachment or whisk attachment on your stand mixer for this step. 
2. Toss in all ingredients (cold cream cheese is perfectly fine). This cream cheese filling should whip together in less than 60 seconds.

Assembling & Baking

1. To assemble the pastries, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. Then, unroll the cold pastry dough and cut it into 6 even pieces each for a total of 12. You can make your pieces smaller or larger as needed.
3. Next, evenly divide and spread the cream cheese filling between the 12 pastries, about 3 tablespoons per pastry, but it does not need to be exact.
4. Divide the Apple mixture the same way, about 1/3 of a cup per pastry. Pile it on top of the cream cheese filling.
5. Fold the edges of the pastry up and around on top of the apples and pinch together so they’ll stay in place. You are going for a rustic look here so they do not have to be perfect!
6. If time allows, place the trays inside the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, this will help the pastry hold its shape while bit bakes.
7. Next, preheat the oven to 400°
8. While the pastries are chilling, mix together the optional apricot jam and water topping. I microwave it for about 10 seconds to make this step super easy. 
9. When you’re ready to remove the trays from the refrigerator, brush the pastries with the apricot mixture and sprinkle the tops with sugar.
10. Then, bake the pastries for about 30 minutes or until completely golden brown on top and bottom. Resist opening the oven during the baking time as it can affect how the pastry bakes. *I do bake both trays at the same time, but you know your oven best, so choose one at a time if that yields better results.
11. Finally, allow the pastries to cool while you mix together the apple cider glaze.

Glazing and Topping with Apple Cider Glaze

1. Whisk the sifted sugar together with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of apple cider, if needed add a little more apple cider until you get the consistency that you want.
2. While the pastries are still on the parchment paper, drizzle each pastry with the apple cider glaze using a  back-and-forth motion.
3. Enjoy these apple pie cheese danishes warm, cool, or freeze them for later.

Apple Danish Recipe with Puff Pastry

Serving Suggestions and Tips for Plating This Apple Cream Cheese Breakfast Pastry 

This apple cream cheese breakfast pastry goes really well with your morning coffee, tea, or a glass of warm apple cider.

If you’re planning on serving these apple pie cheese danishes at an upcoming Thanksgiving brunch, try some of these fun plating techniques from the pros:

Make a swirl with apple cider glaze on the bottom of your serving plate. Then, arrange an apple cheese danish or two (or all 12!) on top.

Be careful not to apply too much glaze to the plate since danishes are traditionally eaten with fingers and you don’t want to make them too sticky on the bottom.

Apple Cheese Puff Pastry

Another idea for plating would be to use a culinary stencil with a fun Fall theme in the corner of the plate. To pull off this plating trick, you’ll simply place the stencil in the corner of a white plate and dust apple pie seasoning over top. Remove the stencil and clean up the edges with a napkin to reveal an edible decoration your guests will love almost as much as these apple cream cheese breakfast pastries.

How to Save Cheese Danish for Later…

This apple pie cheese danish recipe freezes well so you can save it for later or make it ahead of time.

Once your apple cheese danishes have baked and cooled completely, simply store them in the freezer to pull out later. They thaw well on the counter and warm easily in the oven or microwave.

In fact, these danishes are perfect for any morning when you need a quick treat. Last-minute guests?

Warm up these apple pie cheese danishes to get everyone smiling. Your girlfriend popped over for a cup of coffee? Serve her a sweet treat to make this visit extra special.

I like to make them in batches for a special breakfast or dessert any day of the week.

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