Cherry Cheese Danish – buttery puff pastry filled with a creamy cream cheese mixture and topped with a sweet and tart cherry pie filling.
Cherry Cheese Danish
These buttery and delicious cherry cheese danishes are super easy to make and they are so delicious and impressive! They start with a simple store-bought puff pastry and are filled with a creamy and fresh cream cheese mixture and topped with a spoonful of cherry pie filling. I used a large heart cookie cutter to make the danishes heart shaped and I love how they came out! Perfect for a fun Valentine’s or Galentine’s Brunch!
Supplies Needed
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- 5 inch Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter
- 2 Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Rolling Pin
- Pastry Brush
Cherry Cheese Danish Ingredients
- Puff Pastry – two sheets (1 Box) of puff pastry thawed according to package directions.
- Cream Cheese – 1/2 a block of cream cheese
- Sugar
- Eggs – 1 egg yolk and 1 whole egg for the egg wash
- Ricotta Cheese
- Almond Extract or Vanilla Extract – either works well and tastes great. I prefer the almond extract combination with cherries but have made them with vanilla too.
- Salt – just a pinch, so either kosher or table salt will work
- Lemon Zest
- Cherry Pie Filling
How to Make Cherry Cheese Danishes
- Thaw puff pastry according to package directions. Prepare two baking sheets and line with parchment paper.
- Prepare Cream Cheese Mixture and keep in refrigerator until ready to use. Can be made ahead.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out thawed but still cold puff pastry to a 10×10 square and use heart shaped cookie cutter to make hearts.
- Transfer puff pastry hearts to baking sheets and prick with fork as pictured.
- Fill with cream cheese mixture, then top with cherries and brush edges with egg wash.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.
How to Make Ahead Cherry Cheese Danishes
Imagine serving fresh baked cherry cheese danishes for Valentine’s Day or at your next brunch! All you need to do is prepare danishes up to the refrigeration step, then keep them in the refrigerator until ready to bake. This can be done the day ahead. Alternatively, you can bake them ahead and reheat in a toaster oven or oven just until warm.
More Valentine’s Day Recipes
- Valentine’s Day Cookie Bars
- Valentine’s Day M&M’S Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Chocolate Covered Cherries
Cherry Cheese Danish - buttery puff pastry filled with a creamy cream cheese mixture and topped with a sweet and tart cherry pie filling.
- 4 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tablespoon Ricotta Cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract or vanilla extract
- Salt pinch
- 1/2 tablespoon Lemon Zest
- 2 sheets Puff Pastry (1 box)
- 1 can Cherry Pie Filling
- 1 large Egg plus 1 tablespoon of water
- Flour for dusting
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Thaw puff pastry according to package directions. Prepare two baking sheets and line with parchment paper.
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In a medium sized bowl, use an electric mixer to combine cream cheese and sugar. Once well blended mix in egg yolk, ricotta cheese, almond extract, salt and lemon zest. Refrigerate cream cheese mixture until ready to assemble danishes.
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On a lightly floured surface roll out thawed but still cold puff pastry to a 10×10 square and use heart shaped cookie cutter to make hearts. Transfer puff pastry hearts to baking sheets and prick puff pastry with fork in a heart shape leaving a 1/2 inch edge around the heart. This will help the edge of the puff pastry puff up while keeping the filling in the center.
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Divide cream cheese mixture onto each danish. You will have about one heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture for each danish. Top with tablespoon of cherry pie filling, about 4-5 cherries per danish. Brush edges of puff pastry hearts with egg.
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Refrigerate danishes for 15 minutes. This helps keep the filling from running off the danish. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to center of oven and preheat oven to 350℉. Bake danishes for 15-20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown.
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EASY! DELICIOUS! and so so cute! Thanks for the idea!
Oh my goodness – these are just SO ADORABLE – and tasty too!!!!!
I love the combination of flavor, ease, and that cute look! These are the perfect treats for Valentines Day!
These turned out to be so super cute! I made them for our little date night at home and plan to make them again for Valentine’s Day!
These are so precious. They look so fancy and complicated, but seriously could not be any easier to make – we loved them for breakfast!
Oh man, the filling in these is PERFECT! Yum!
This is sinfully good. Perfect way to start the day!
These are so cute and really good! Plus they’re so easy to make! What a treat!
The flaky pastry, the sweet cherry filling, and the creamy cheese—it’s a perfect combination. They disappeared so quickly!
Looks amazingly delicious! I’m definitely making this!
This recipe is exactly what I wanted! It has perfect flavor combinations that taste great together. Thanks for sharing & keep them coming.