These easy Apple Danish with puff pastry are buttery, flakey, and filled with homemade apple pie filling. Finish with a little glaze for a sweet and simple fall breakfast or dessert.
If you’re looking for more fall breakfast recipes with apples as the star ingredient, you can also try this Apple Cinnamon French Toast Bake, Applesauce Muffins, Apple Coffee Cake, or Baked Apple Cider Donuts.
And if you’re looking for more danish recipes, try our Cream Cheese Danish, Strawberries and Cream Danish, Raspberry Danish or Blueberry Danish.
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Apple Danish With Puff Pastry
Want to know how you can get away with eating apple pie for breakfast? The secret is to call it apple Danish, and this recipe couldn’t be easier. Each buttery, flaky Danish has a puff pastry crust filled with diced apples cooked in cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter. They’re baked until golden brown and then drizzled with a little homemade glaze to finish.
By using store bought puff pastry, you can enjoy bakery quality pastries at home in just about 30 minutes from start to finish. Feel free to get a little creative and add extra spices, dried fruits, or different fruit fillings.
Key Ingredients
- Puff Pastry – you will need to thaw the frozen puff pastry before you can use it, but you still want it to be chilled. The best way to do this is to just transfer it to the fridge overnight. A great substitute for puff pastry is crescent roll dough.
- Apples – because you will be both sauteing and baking these apples, you want to use a variety that can withstand heat without becoming mushy. My favorite types for apple Danish are Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples.
- Cinnamon Sugar – cinnamon and apples are a perfect combo, especially when cooked with a little butter and brown sugar. Light brown sugar or dark will work—it all depends on how deep of a molasses flavor you want to get.
- Egg Wash – egg wash not only creates a nice shine on the Danish once they are baked, but it also helps the coarse sugar stick.
- Powdered Sugar – you will need powdered sugar for both the cheese filling and for the glaze. It’s perfect for sweetening things without adding gritty texture.
- Milk – the milk is used to thin down the glaze. You may need to adjust and add a little bit more if it’s too thick to drizzle.
How to Make This Apple Danish Recipe
- Cut the puff pastry. Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheets and lay them out on a flat, lightly floured surface. Use a knife to cut along the fold marks to create three equal sized strips. Cut each strip in half to make a total of 6 rectangles for each sheet.
- Prepare the squares for the filling. Lightly score opposing corners but not all the way to the edges. Poke a few holes into the center of each pastry to allow the outside border to rise and puff up while the center stays lower and holds the filling.
- Cook the apples. In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, cook the diced apples, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon for 4-5 minutes, or until fork tender.
- Add the filling. Add about 2 tablespoons of apples to the center of each puff pastry rectangle. Fold the 2 cut corners over the apple filling.
- Bake. Egg wash each pastry and sprinkle a little coarse sugar on top. Bake in your preheated oven for 14-18 minutes, until golden brown.
- Glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of milk to make the glaze. Once the Danish are baked, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the tops. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can prepare apple Danish up to 2 days in advance and store them in the fridge until you are ready to bake. If you want to prepare them even further ahead of time, you could actually freeze them for up to 2 months, then transfer to the fridge overnight to thaw before baking the next day.
You can store these Danish in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, either warm in a toaster oven or a preheated oven until just barely crisp.
Yes! I recommend freezing these unbaked. Just place the sheet tray of fully assembled Danish into your freezer for a couple of hours. Once they are solidly frozen, you can transfer them to an airtight container and store for up to 2 months.
Storing and Reheating
- Room Temperature: store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. In order to crisp the puff pastry back up, warm them in an oven or toaster oven preheated to 350 degrees.
- Freezer: you can free unbaked danish for up to 2 months, then transfer to the fridge overnight to thaw and bake the following day. You can also freeze baked danish for the same amount of time, reheating in a preheated oven to revive some of the flakiness.
Cinnamon Apple Danish Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sheets Puff Pastry, thawed
Apple Filling
- 2 medium Apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2" chunks
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Egg Wash
- 1 large Egg
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- 2 Tablespoons Coarse Raw Sugar
Glaze
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons Milk
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheets and lay them out on a flat, lightly floured surface. Use a knife to cut along the fold marks and then down the center to create 6 equal rectangles. Arrange the puff pastry squares on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with at least 1" between each pastry.
- Using a knife, lightly cut opposing corners but not all the way to the edges. (See process picture) With a fork, poke a few holes into the center of each pastry to allow the outside border to rise and puff up while the center stays lower and holds the filling.
- In a medium sized saucepan, add the diced apples, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the apples are fork tender.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of apple filling to each puff pastry rectangle. Fold the 2 cut corners over the apple filling. (You can dip your finger in water and use that to help the puff pastry stay in place) Repeat the process and assemble all of the puff pastries.
- Whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl, then use a pastry brush to brush all of the exposed areas of the puff pastry. Sprinkle a little coarse sugar on top of each pastry.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 14-18 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While they are baking, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of milk into a small bowl. Mix well—the consistency should be somewhat thick, but still thin enough to drizzle. If the consistency is too thick, add a little more milk. If too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Once the danishes are baked, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before drizzling the glaze over the tops. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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More of the Best Apple Recipes
- Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread
- Homemade Apple Cider Syrup
- Apple Bread
- Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Caramel Apple Punch
- Homemade Caramel Apples
- Caramel Apple Crisp
- More Breakfast Recipes
- More Fall Recipes
This Apple Danish recipe uses simple ingredients to make easy homemade pastries. They are buttery, flakey, sweet, and take just a few minutes to prepare.
