A cinnamon brown sugar apple Danish has to be one of the most tempting breakfast or brunch treats ever! Or maybe you want to enjoy one as a late-morning pick-me-up. However you choose to enjoy these Danish puff pastry treats, one thing is for sure, you will enjoy them!
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Using crescent rolls makes light work of this apple Danish recipe. Plenty of flavors come from the addition of fresh apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, and more. The incredibly fresh aroma you can enjoy while they bake is just like walking past your favorite bakery!
So whether you want to learn how to recreate your favorite baked goods or you just love apple Danish pastries as much as I do, this recipe shows you how to make the most mouth-watering ones you ever tasted. If you do want a shortcut using apple pie filling though, these apple puffs are great. I love these apple cups too!
Main Ingredients
This apple Danish is well worth making and most of the ingredients are pantry staples. Here are the main ingredients you will need:
- Crescent rolls: A pastry shortcut. Danishes are traditionally made with a yeast-leavened dough although they can also be made using puff pastry which is raised using steam. Crescent roll dough is a handy shortcut because it puffs up and all you have to do is roll it out.
- Apples: For a perfect fruity flavor. Use your favorite kind of apples. I love Granny Smith for the slightly tart flavor which goes so well with the sweet brown sugar. Jonagold, Braeburn, and Honeycrisp are other options and of course, you can also make an apple Danish using more than one apple variety.
- Cinnamon: Complements the apple. You can adjust the amount of cinnamon to suit your palate or even substitute nutmeg or allspice for a different result.
- Sugar: For sweetness. Brown sugar goes into the apple filling. Yes, you could use white sugar, but brown sugar offers a special caramel-like flavor which is beautiful with the taste of the apples. You will also need confectioners' sugar for the glaze because it's super-fine and won't make the glaze grainy.
Instructions Overview
Melt the butter in a pan then add the apples and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the brown sugar as well as the salt and cinnamon. Keep cooking until the fruit is tender then take the pan off the heat.
Roll the crescent roll dough out on a floured surface and pinch the precut lines together. Roll the whole thing out into a large rectangle. Put the dough on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
Next cut the dough rectangle into strips on both sides and pour the apple mixture over the top. Fold the dough back up over the apple filling, strip by strip, braid style.
Bake for 20 minutes and take the apple Danish out of the oven when the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling hot. Let it cool a bit.
Mix the confectioners' sugar and milk together and adjust the amounts if the glaze is too thick or too thin. Drizzle it over the top of the apple Danish, cut it into 8 servings, and serve warm.
Common Questions
Danish pastries were introduced to Denmark by bakers from Austria. The recipe was tweaked to the Danish palate and the rest is history. Danish pastries, also simply known as Danishes, are popular all over the world these days.
Vanilla custard is popular in Sweden while anything from jam to custard, cherries, apple, apricots, cherries, almonds, or pecans are well-loved in the US and UK.
As you might expect, the sooner you serve these, the fresher they will be. Keep them for up to a couple of days at room temperature wrapped in plastic or foil. You can keep them for a couple more days in the refrigerator, but they will dry out a bit.
Chopnotch Tips
- Feel free to change up the ingredients, subbing pear for the apple perhaps, or make some of each.
- You can freeze these treats individually wrapped in plastic for up to three months then thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.
- Give the pastries time to cool from hot to warm before adding the glaze or else it will melt into the pastry too much.
This apple Danish recipe is easy to make and bakery-quality results are guaranteed! Served warm, from the oven, these really are delicious.
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Recipe
How to Make
Apple Danish
Ingredients
- 8 ounces crescent rolls, 8 count package
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Melt the butter in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the chopped apples and sauté for 2 minutes. Mix in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Continue to sauté over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and the apples are tender. Remove from the heat and let rest.
- Flour the countertop and unroll the crescent rolls onto the floured surface. Pinch the pre-cut lines together and use a floured rolling pin to flatten it out into one big rectangle. Then transfer the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Take kitchen scissors and cut strips into one side of the rectangle. Make each strip about 1½-inches deep and ½-inch wide. Repeat this on the opposite side of the rectangle. Then pour the filling down the center of the dough.
- Starting at the bottom of the dough, take the first strip of either side and carefully fold it over the top of the filling at an angle. Then repeat this with the corresponding strip on the opposite side. The two strips folded over the filling should form a V shape like a braid. Continue braiding the dough with the remaining strips down the entire length of the dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Check often and remove from the oven once the filling is bubbly and the dough is golden. Allow them to cool slightly.
- Mix together the confectioners’ sugar and milk to form a glaze. Add a little more confectioners’ sugar or milk if the glaze is too runny or thick. Use a tablespoon to drizzle the glaze over the top of the Danish. Serve while still warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Feel free to change up the ingredients, subbing pear for the apple perhaps, or make some of each.
- You can freeze these treats individually wrapped in plastic for up to three months then thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.
- Give the pastries time to cool from hot to warm before adding the glaze or else it will melt into the pastry too much.
