This delicious, fall-inspired, sweet treat, comes together rather easily. Crescent Dough Apple Danish will give you the feel and taste of a bakery pastry without the cost or effort of leaving the house.
Enjoy this cream cheese apple danish for breakfast, holiday brunch, mid-day snack with coffee or even dessert! Basically, what I'm saying is it's delicious any time of day.
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Related: CopyCat Tastefully Simple's Nana's Apple Cake
🛒Ingredients
- tube crescent dough
- cream cheese
- sugar - granulated, light brown & powdered (confectioner's)
- apples - green (granny smith)
- butter
- apple pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice)
- vanilla extract
- cornstarch
- milk
- caramel sauce (optional but recommended)
All ingredients are pretty common and you probably have most ingredients in the house already.
📃Substitutions
- If you don't have access to the crescent dough sheets (the ones without the perforations), then just use the tube crescent rolls. When using the perforated crescent rolls for danish, be sure to roll it out so the perforations don't tear.
- Apples - not a fan of granny smith apples, try Jonagold, Honeycrisp or Pink Lady. You can even grab a can of apple pie filling if you'd like to skip making the filling yourself.
- Apple Pie Spice - if you don't have the store-bought version, you can easily make it yourself with this recipe for apple pie spice.
🍳How To Make Crescent Dough Apple Danish
Start off by making the apple pie filling. Melt the butter and add apples, brown sugar and spice blend. Boil and simmer and add slurry and vanilla extract.
Slurry is cornstarch mixed with water used to thicken.
Next make the danish / pastry. Roll out the dough, cut into strips. Combine cream cheese with sugar and spread on cut strips.
Roll up, curl and place on baking sheet. Using a spoon press the center to create a well for the filling.
Add apple filling to each danish and bake.
While danish is cooling, prepare icing by combining powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle cooked apple danish with prepared icing and caramel sauce.
Icing can be applied with a spoon or use a piping bag for more precise application.
🍽 Storage and Suggestions
Crescent Dough Apple Danish can be stored in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
I would not recommend freezing leftover danish.
Refrigerated danish can be re-heated in microwave for 20 seconds to serve warmed.
Related: Apple Bread
🖨Printable Recipe
Crescent Dough Apple Danish
Equipment
- sauce pan
- bowls
- knife + cutting board
- whisk or hand held blender
- baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup sugar granulated
- 1 tube crescent dough sheet *note1
Apple Pie Filling
- 1 large granny smith apple peeled & diced
- 3 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Icing
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 - 3 teaspoon milk
Optional
- caramel topping / sauce
Instructions
Apple Pie Filling
- Melt butter in sauce pan. Stir in apples, brown sugar and apple pie spice.Bring to boil and allow to cook just until apples start to soften. While apples are cooking, whisk together cornstarch and water to create a slurry. Stir slurry into apple mixture and then stir in vanilla extract. Bring back to a boil then reduce heat to low for another 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Danish
- In a small bowl, blend cream cheese and ¼ cup of sugar.
- Roll out crescent dough sheet. Slice into strips. Spread strips of dough with 2-3 tablespoons of cream cheese mixture. Starting on the long side, gently roll and twist at the same time. Spiral and curl loosely - tuck the seam inside. Arrange on parchment lined baking sheet pan.
- Using the backside of a spoon, flatten the hole in the center to make room for filling. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of apple filling.
- Bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes, or until golden.
- Allow danish to cool before drizzling with icing.
Icing
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract to bowl. Add milk slowly, 1 tablespoon at a time and mix well. Continue mixing and adding milk until you get the consistency for a thick icing. If you add too much milk, just sprinkle in a little more sugar.
- Drizzle icing and over cooled danish. If using caramel sauce, drizzle the caramel over the top as well.
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