Easy Cheese Danish

My dad saw Ina Garten make these Cheese Danish when I was home back in March. He kept asking when I was going to make them for him :) I went home the weekend before Father's Day and thought that was the perfect time to try this recipe. I had made Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes for breakfast (which by the way are even better with my favorite pancake mix, Aunt Jemima!) so we had some blueberries left over. My sister suggested I stick a few in some of the danish, and it was a great idea! The ones with blueberries were a hit! The combination of lemon and blueberry went really well together, otherwise the lemon is a bit overpowering. I might suggest backing off on the lemon zest if you don't use blueberries, unless you really like lemon.

This was my first time working with puff pastry. I have to say, it's amazing! I really couldn't believe how wonderfully it puffed up in the oven. This is such a quick, simple recipe that would be great for a brunch or even as dessert!

With blueberries:

Without blueberries:

Easy Cheese Danish

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese (I used light)

1/3 cup sugar

2 large or extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature

2 Tablespoons ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest, or less to taste (~2 lemons)

2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tablespoon water (for egg wash)

fresh blueberries, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream together on low until smooth. With mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!

3. Unfold 1 sheet puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheets into quarters with a sharp knife.

 

4. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes.

5. Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

Source: Adapted from FoodNetwork.com courtesy of Ina Garten