Start the holiday celebrations with a festive and delicious Candy Cane Cherry Danish! No one can say “humbug” to this breakfast!
Feed the whole family a wonderful holiday breakfast of Candy Cane Cherry Danish that’s easily made in about half an hour! Crescent roll dough makes easy work of this pastry, along with a sweetened cream cheese filling, all topped with cherry pie filling, for a truly special holiday treat.
Celebration Kickoff
Ah, the most wonderful time of the year makes me want to bake everything seasonal and seasonally themed! Of course, everyone around me loves this, but I love to see their faces when they catch their first glimpse of what I’ve made, especially when it’s Candy Cane Cherry Danish. This danish brings big festive vibes first thing in the morning and is too delicious for words! Doubling the recipe is also really simple, in case your family is like mine and can’t get enough of this cherry danish.
Other Recipes to Serve with Candy Cane Cherry Danish
- By now, you may be really craving something that is actually peppermint flavored so don’t fret, just pull out the crock pot to make Slow Cooker Candy Cane White Hot Chocolate! You can be sipping holiday cheer all day long!
- It’s holiday cocktail hour somewhere right now so mix up a warming, classic drink with a cherry twist, like a Cherry Moscow Mule.
Ingredients
Refrigerated items: For this recipe, you will need cream cheese, and regular, light, or Neufchatel will work. Plain Greek yogurt is also needed, and you can choose between regular, light, or non-fat. If you don’t have Greek yogurt on hand, sour cream will work too.
Dough: This recipe is easy because crescent roll dough is used and you will need 2 cans.
Pantry items: You will need powdered sugar, cherry pie filling, and vanilla extract.
Produce: Pick up a lemon to zest for the danish filling.
To make the glaze: You will need to juice that lemon you bought for zesting and you will need powdered sugar and a little water.
How to Make Candy Cane Cherry Danish
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F. Using a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, powdered sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, either by hand or with a mixer, until smooth.
STEP TWO: Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and roll out the crescent dough. Remove two sheets from each can to cut the stripes a little later. Shape the remaining dough from each can into a candy cane shape, pressing the seams together, so they don’t split while baking. Cut strips from the dough you removed earlier – you should get eight strips total from the four sheets removed.
STEP THREE: Spread half of the cream cheese mixture evenly over each candy cane and then top each candy cane with half of the cherry pie filling. Twist the strips of dough and place them on top of the filling, like candy cane stripes.
STEP FOUR: Bake the danish for 12-15 minutes, until they are golden. While they are baking, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water to make the glaze. Allow the danish to cool completely before adding the glaze. To glaze, spread over the danish stripes for that great candy cane look, and let them dry before enjoying!
Tips for Success
- For easy mixing and to ensure your cream cheese filling is smooth, let the cream cheese come to room temperature before mixing. And while you don’t have to add the lemon zest to this filling, it does bring a bright, sweet freshness to the danish.
- You can use other fruit fillings instead of cherry, like apple or raspberry. If you use apple pie filling, feel free to add some additional spices to the filling, like cinnamon and nutmeg.
- When making the glaze, add the water a little at a time, until the consistency you like has been reached. For a thicker glaze that will make whiter stripes, you will use less water and for a thinner glazer, you will use a bit more water.
Can I make this ahead of time?
As with just about any pastry it really is best the day it is made. If you need to make it ahead of time, it can be made up to two days in advance. Freezing these danish is not recommended because they tend to get mushy when they thaw. You can cut this recipe in half if you need to or double it. If you double it, bake only two candy canes at a time so they bake evenly.
Can you use frozen fruit for the danish topping?
Fresh or canned fruit is probably best for topping danish, but that doesn’t mean frozen can’t be used. If you’d like to use frozen fruit, like peaches, mixed berry, or even mango, place the amount of fruit you will need into a colander with a bowl under it (to catch the water), and let the fruit thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Dry the fruit in the morning and toss it with a little sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice and then top your danish, as you would with the cherry filling, and follow the recipe above for cooking and glazing.
More delicious recipes to start off the festive day!
- Eggnog French Toast Bake
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Monkey Bread
- Glazed Gingerbread Muffins
- Gingerbread Pancakes with Lemon Syrup
- Orange Sweet Rolls with Cranberry Glaze
Ingredients
Cherry Danish
- ¾ cup cream cheese at room temperature
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about 1/2 lemon)
- 16 ounces refrigerated crescent roll dough (2 cans)
- 1 ½ cups cherry pie filling
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons water plus more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 360 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside. (If your baking sheet is big enough, you may be able to fit both danishes on one sheet.)
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest until smooth. Set aside.
- Open the cans of crescent roll dough. Set aside 1 rectangle (2 connected triangles) from each can to make the candy cane stripes.
- Layout the remaining dough on the prepared baking sheets and form two candy cane shapes, one on each pan. Press the seams in the dough together so the danish doesn't fall apart later. Cut the reserved dough into 8 strips each for a total of 16 pieces.
- Divide the cream cheese mixture between the two candy canes and spread it evenly over the dough. Repeat with the cherry pie filling, spreading it over the cream cheese.
- Twist the dough strips to elongate them and add make them pretty. Arrange 8 strips over each danish to make the stripes in the candy cane.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown and baked through.
- Remove the danishes from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, decorate or drizzle with glaze if desired.
Glaze
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk in 1 teaspoon of water at a time until your desired consistency is reached. (see note)
- Spread the glaze over the dough stripes before cutting each danish into 8 slices. Drizzle more glaze over each slice if desired.
Notes
- I like the glaze a little thicker so it has a whiter color and sticks to the candy cane stripes and doesn’t run all over the danish. You can thin out the glaze with water or lemon juice, but mixing them gives a more controlled zing than lemon juice alone.
- This danish will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days but tastes best the same day. Freezing is not recommended as they will get mushy.
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