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This easy Cherry Danish is made from puff pastry dough filled with a sweetened cream cheese mixture and topped with cherry pie filling

Imagine a cherry cheesecake cupcake, but in breakfast form. That’s basically what these danishes are! If you love cream cheese and cherries, you’ll love these pastries.

Golden baked cherry danish on a white plate
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Brunch in 30 Minutes or Less!

Imagine this: a beautifully crafted pastry that looks like it came straight from the local bakery, filled with a sweet cream cheese filling and topped with a dollop of tart cherry pie filling.

Sounds like the perfect item to serve for brunch, right?

You might expect something so fancy to take significant time and effort, but this tasty Cherry Danish recipe is ready in MINUTES with little effort (thank goodness for quick and easy recipes)!

Serve these beauties at a brunch, or make them ahead and use them for an easy breakfast throughout the week. They even make for a great after-school treat because kids love them! 

Cream cheese filling for the cherry cheese danish

how to make cherry danishes

PREP. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Heat oven to 400ยฐF.

EGG WASH. Crack the whole egg into a small bowl. Add the water and beat together. Set aside.

CREAM FILLING. In a medium bowl, add egg yolk, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix the ingredients together using an electric mixer on medium high speed.

PUFF PASTRY. On a clean surface, spread out both puff pastry sheets. Cut each sheet into 4 even squares (a pizza cutter works great for this). Make the squares into octagons by folding over each corner about 1 inch. Add each pastry to the baking sheet.

FILL. Add a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each danish. (about 2 tbsp each). Keep the cream cheese in a dollop shape. Don’t spread it out.

Optional Cherry topping: Spoon cherry pie filling on top of the dollop of cream cheese.

BRUSH. Dip a pastry brush into the egg/water mixture. Brush the top of the exposed puff pasty with the mixture. Add a dusting of sugar over the exposed pastry.

BAKE. Bake for 15-27 minutes until the pastry is an even golden brown. Serve your cherry danish after it has cooled.

Assembling and filling a cream cheese cherry danish

Switch it up!

It’s not difficult to change up the filling in these easy danishes. In fact, any kind of pie filling will be delicious spooned on top of the cream cheese filling. You could try:

And you can also used canned OR homemade pie filling!

And don’t forget that you can omit the filling altogether and make it a classic cream cheese danish. 

You can even drizzle a glaze on top (made by combining some sifted powdered sugar, vanilla or almond extract and milk) and sprinkle on sliced almonds. 

If you can’t find puff pastry, a package of canned crescent rolls or a crescent sheet work for this too. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Brushing an egg wash over the unbaked cherry danish

FAQ

Can you make these danishes ahead of time? YES! Assemble the danishes the night before. Keep them covered with plastic wrap in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them.

How to store? Store leftovers covered, at room temperature for 1-2 days. Keep them in the fridge for about a week.

How to freeze danishes? Freeze them for 2-3 months. If you want to freeze them, I would wrap each cherry danish individually with plastic wrap then store them together in a freezer Ziploc.

Cherry cream cheese danish on a white plate

For more brunch recipes, try:

5 from 24 votes

Cherry Danish Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
This easy Cherry Danish is made from puff pastry dough filled with a sweetened cream cheese mixture and topped with cherry pie filling.
Servings: 8
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp water
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 3 tbsp sugar plus some for dusting
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 (17.3 oz) package frozen puff pastry sheets thawed
  • 1 can cherry pie filling optional

Instructions 

  • Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 400ยฐF.
  • Crack the whole egg into a small bowl. Add the water and beat together. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, add egg yolk, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix the ingredients together using an electric mixer on medium high speed.
  • On a clean surface, spread out both puff pastry sheets. Cut each sheet into 4 even squares. Make the squares into octagons by folding over each corner about 1 inch.
  • Add a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each of the octagon shapes. (about 2 tbsp each). Keep the cream cheese in a dollop shape. Don't spread it out.
  • Optional Cherry topping: Add cherry pie filling on top of the dollop of cream cheese.
  • Dip a pastry brush into the egg/water mixture. Brush the top of the exposed puff pasty with the mixture. Add a dusting of sugar over the exposed pastry.
  • Bake for 15-27 minutes until the pastry is an even golden brown. Cool and serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 554kcal, Carbohydrates: 54g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 34g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 79mg, Sodium: 267mg, Potassium: 166mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 599IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 49mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and Iโ€™m the mom of SIX stinkinโ€™ cute kids and the wife to my smokinโ€™ hot hubby, Lo. My momโ€™s maiden name is Luna, and Iโ€™m one of the many crafty โ€œLilโ€™ Lunasโ€ in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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5 from 24 votes (14 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




23 Comments

  1. Pat Cohen says:

    5 stars
    Easy to make and my husband loved them. He thought I had bought them, they looked so professional.

    1. Lil'Luna Team says:

      Oh that makes me so happy to hear!!

  2. Peggy M. says:

    5 stars
    Delicious ๐Ÿ˜‹ will definitely make these again!

  3. Veronica Sterba says:

    5 stars
    Made 16 of these and they are amazing. My husband took most to work and the guys loved them.

  4. Kristina says:

    5 stars
    I was surprised at how well this turned out. It’s just as delicious as anything from a bakery. I had plain cream cheese and one with cherry added. Both were great. I’m anxious try other topping flavors.

  5. Natasha says:

    5 stars
    I made this yesterday, followed the recipe as it is and it came out so good. Thanks for sharing another epic recipe!

  6. April says:

    5 stars
    M’mm….homemade danishes are my favorite! the cherries on top = perfection!

  7. katerina @ diethood.com says:

    5 stars
    I would love this for breakfast! It looks AMAZING!

  8. Joy says:

    5 stars
    It has been way too long since I have had a cherry danish! This recipe popped up & I knew I needed to make it! So good! Love the little pop of cherry flavor & how soft it was!

  9. Olivia says:

    5 stars
    My husband loves cream cheese danish. Especially with cherries. Not hard to make.

  10. Ana Maria says:

    5 stars
    Perfect little danish! Love it