You all know I’m just as obsessed with the pumpkin spice craze as the next person (maybe even more-so, and my obsession started long before it was trendy!) but I think with all of that hype, another fall flavor combo often gets overlooked: Apple-Cinnamon! Store-bought puff pastry dough (found in the freezer section of the grocery store) makes bakery quality delicacies totally doable at home. This one has both a sweet cream cheese layer, and a layer of cinnamon apples tucked away inside, with a crunchy cinnamon-sugar topping. The outside is flaky and buttery, and the inside is sweet and creamy, with those sweet bites of cinnamon apples. If that doesn’t scream fall is here, I don’t know what does. So add this to your fall baking recipes list!
Ingredients & Equipment Needed
- frozen puff pastry sheets
- butter
- cooking apples – peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- sugar
- flour
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- cream cheese – you’ll want this nice and softened
- egg – at room temperature
- vanilla
- milk
- sugar
- apple corer – highly recommend!
- 15x10x1″ baking pan – this is a little smaller than a sheet pans most people use for cookies and baking, so you might want to measure yours to make sure you’re using the right size.
How to Make Apple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Danish
- Prepare a baking sheet and bake the first sheet of puff pastry until golden, then let it cool.
- Cook sliced apples in butter until just tender, then stir in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and cook briefly.
- Whip cream cheese until smooth, then blend in sugar, egg, and vanilla.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture over the baked pastry, leaving a small border, and top with the apple mixture (without excess juices).
- Roll out hte second puff pastry sheet, place it over the filling, and seal the edges.
- Brush the top with milk, cut a few slits for steam, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.
- Bake until puffed and golden, then cool before slicing and serving.
Storage & Other Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- If you’d like to freeze leftovers, I’d recommend wrapping and freezing them individually. Once they are all wrapped, place them all together in a freezer-safe gallon storage bag, and store in freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight. Also, don’t refreeze thawed pastries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Granny Smith, Fuji, Braeburn, or Gala all work well. Just aim for one that holds it’s shape when it’s cooked. Too soft or overly sweet can make the filling mushy.
Puff pastry naturally expands when its baked, which is intended! The recipe baked it briefly before adding fillings to help control that rise. I recommend poking it with a fork a few times before baking.
Handle puff pastry with care, especially if its cold. Letting it rest a few minutes at room temperature makes it more pliable, and less prone to cracking. Gentle rolling and careful alignment help too.
Absolutely! This is a great make-ahead dessert. You can roll it out, fill, and cover the assembled Danish in the fridge. When ready, let it sit at room temperature briefly before baking for the best results.
I don’t see why not, but it will result in a slightly sweeter and much less flaky version of the pastry. We’ve never tried this, so if you do, let us know!
Apple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Danish
Equipment
- 15x10x1" pan
Ingredients
- 1 17.3 ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets 2 sheets, thawed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ pounds cooking apples, peeled (if desired), cored, and thinly sliced about 7 cups
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 8-oz package cream cheese softened
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- milk
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Lightly grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, unfold one pastry sheet and roll into a 15×10 inch rectangle. Transfer to the prepared baking pan, pressing pastry to edges of pan. Use a fork to poke some holes in the pastry. Bake about 12 minuets or until golden (pastry will puff and shrink from sides of pan, poke with a fork and it will flatten out again). Cool on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, in an extra-large skillet heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add apples; cook about 8 minutes or until apples are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.
- In a small bowl combine ½ cup of the granulated sugar, the flour, ½ teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the nutmeg. Sprinkle over apples. Cook and stir over medium-low heat for 2 minutes more. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese and the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla just until combined. Carefully spread cream cheese mixture over baked pastry to within 1 inch of the edges. Spoon apple mixture over cream cheese mixture (I did not include the syrup/juices in the apples).
- On a lightly floured surface, unfold the remaining pastry sheet and roll into a 13×10-inch rectangle (make sure pastry is large enough to completely cover apple mixture). Place on top of apple mixture.
- Lightly press edges of top pastry to edges of bottom pastry. Lightly brush top pastry with milk. Using a sharp knife, cut a few slits in pastry to allow steam to escape. In a small bowl combine coarse sugar and the remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle over pastry.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until pastry is slightly puffed and golden. Cool on wire rack about 45 minutes.
- Serve slightly warm, or at room temp. Store leftovers in an airtight container in fridge for up to 24 hours.
Questions & Reviews
Thanks so much! No one in my family likes pumpkin and I was just thinking “why does everyone neglect good ol’ apples????” 🙂
Do you think that some sliced almonds on top would work, or would they burn ??
Just when it seems like you gals have thought of everything, here you go again, readin my mind that I’m totally burned out on the pumpkin craze!!! Will be making these this weekend that is for sure!
this is crazy! i was just looking for a cream cheese danish recipe on your site a couple of weeks ago. this looks like exactly what i need. got a boy in seminary and i need a ready to go breakfast he can take with him. thanks for reading my mind! you girls are my go to for best recipes. a million thanks!!!!!
First a question-the bottom doesn’t burn when you put it in the oven the 2nd time?
Next my comment is I’ve done with with refrigerated crescent rolls and it’s amazing. I’ll have to try it next with the puff pastry.
If the bottom burned we wouldn’t have posted this recipe 😉 It’s correct as written!
Looks so delicious! Going to try this very soon:)
This is just what I’ve been craving! Making this as soon as I get some good apples at the farmer’s market!
Do you only partially bake the bottom layer before putting the cream cheese on, and then bake the top and bottom all the way? With 12 minutes for the bottom and 40 with the top, I just want to be sure I’m reading it right.
Also I buy my puff pastry in squares. Should I squash them together to make a sheet or can I do these individually?
Thank you!!
The recipe is written correctly. You can certainly experiment with smaller sizes, but this recipe is written for the larger sheets.
Wow. I was JUST looking up cream cheese danish recipes online to find a good option to the store-bought ones. Can’t wait to try it!
Can these be frozen to keep longer?
This homemade danish looks so yummy!! Definitely digging this recipe 🙂