Easy Blueberry Danishes
Easy Blueberry Danishes are a simple yet impressive way to make bakery-style pastries in your own kitchen. Buttery, flaky puff pastry creates a crispy base for the cream cheese and blueberry filling. These pastries are perfect for weekend mornings, brunch gatherings, or a sweet treat with coffee or tea.
What makes these easy is that you’re skipping the whole process of making homemade danish pastry. I’ve done it, it’s fun and delicious but I don’t want to make my own pastry every time I want to make a Danish.
The combination of light, crispy layers of pre-made puff pastry is the perfect base for the creamy berry topping. The layers are crunch together beautifully as you bite through them. And icing drizzled over the top adds just the right touch of sweetness to round out these easy to make pastries.
These easy Danish are THE recipe to make when you’re looking for something new to make for breakfast or brunch on longer weekend mornings. If you’re especially eager in the mornings, you could also make these on a weekday. Put them together and let them bake while you make coffee, and you’ve got something that everyone will bounce out of bed for.
Best Practices For Using Frozen Puff Pastry
If you’ve never used frozen puff pastry before, it can feel intimidating, but don’t let that pastry bully you! My best tip to make the most of frozen puff pastry is this: Keep It Cold!
Thaw it in the fridge before use. This can take some time so be sure to thaw it ahead of time. Once you’ve cut the pastry and scored it, put the baking sheet in the fridge or freezer to keep it cold.
When you bake warm puff pastry, all of its butter will leak out, resulting in the loss of puffy, crispy layers. The water the butter carries will not be layered in the dough to steam up and make layers. If your puff pastry comes out flat it was probably warm.
Don’t skip the egg wash in this recipe. It can be tempting to skip this step but if you do the pastry won’t come out burnished and browned.
What You Need To Make These Blueberry Danishes
When you see fresh blueberries in the store grab a box and the puff pastry and you’ll be ready to make these easy breakfast pastries. And remember to thaw the puff pastry in advance of making these for best results.
Ingredients:
- puff pastry
- cream cheese
- sugar (Running low on sugar? Here are quick alternatives)
- vanilla extract
- fresh blueberries
- lemon juice
- egg (No eggs? No problem—try these easy substitutes)
- water
Frosting:
- powdered sugar (Missing powdered sugar? These options work just as well)
- heavy cream
How to Change These Up
Want to change things up? Swap blueberries for raspberries, blackberries, or sliced strawberries. Add a touch of cinnamon to the cream cheese for a warm flavor. If you prefer a lighter glaze, use a simple dusting of powdered sugar instead of frosting.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day. After that, refrigerate for up to three days.
To keep the pastry crisp, reheat in the oven at 300°F for a few minutes before serving. An air fryer will work for this as well.
Blueberry Danishes
Ingredients
For the Pastries
- 17.3 oz box puff pastry (2 sheets) thawed per package directions
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp sugar, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
For the Frosting
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy cream (or milk for a thinner drizzle)
Instructions
- Preheat to 400°F (200°C)
- Lay out the thawed pastry sheets on a flat surface
- Cut along the fold lines to create 3 strips per sheet, then cut each strip in half to make 12 rectangles
- Arrange the rectangles on a large, ungreased baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between them
- Lightly score a ¾-inch border around each rectangle using a paring knife. Be careful not to cut all the way through
- Poke the center area of each rectangle several times with a fork to prevent it from puffing up
- Put the baking sheet in the freezer or fridge while you work on the filling
- In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth
- Remove the baking sheet from the fridge or freezer and spoon the mixture evenly into the center of each pastry and spread it out within the scored border
- Toss the blueberries with lemon juice and the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Distribute them over the cream cheese filling
- Beat the egg with water in a small bowl
- Brush the edges of the pastries with the egg wash for a golden, glossy finish
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and heavy cream. Adjust consistency by adding more cream (for a thinner drizzle) or powdered sugar (for a thicker drizzle)
- Let the pastries cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
- Drizzle the frosting over each Danish before serving
This is DELICIOUS. I’ve been looking for an easy danish recipe and happened upon this one. VERY EASY to make, I made them before work this morning. Trying not to eat them ALL today ;-).