comment icon 34 more comments Croissant dough layered with cream cheese, twisted up and baked with a pool of jam on top, and a drizzle of buttery glaze to finish. The sugared cranberries on top are just the bonus for decoration and a bite of tart crunch. Hoo, wow, I’ve been eating them on the reg lately, and those layers of cream cheesy goodness hit just right when they are warm out of the oven. This is my current weakness.
Cream Cheese On Top Vs. Cream Cheese Inside The Layers
I tried these with a little puddle of cream cheese filling on the top, but since this dough (refrigerated croissant dough) really wants to pop up when it bakes, I felt like it was hard to get that dense cream cheese center I was going for. Personally, I love the cream-cheese-in-the-layers approach because the cream cheese gets evenly distributed throughout the dough so you are guaranteed cream cheese – and just the right amount – in every bite.
Topping Options
How I think about the 3-way topping situation:
For flavor: strawberry jam For color and sparkle: sugared cranberries For beautiful sweetness: vanilla butter glaze drizzle
You can sub other types of jam (I’m a sucker for the classic strawberry, but raspberry, blackberry, or even something like fig or apricot could be awesome). And you can use a different fruit to garnish in place of the sugared cranberries, or skip them altogether. The sugared cranberries do take some time, so I would recommend making those at least a few hours before, or even the day before, just to keep it really easy. If you want to go all-out, some streusel crumbles on top would make it extra-danishy!
Pro Tip: Eat These Cream Cheese Danishes Warm
The last thing to know about these little danishes is that they are really delicious when eaten warm, just a few minutes after coming out of the oven. Let them cool enough to get the glaze on there without melting into a puddle, and then just sink your teeth into this very festive, warm, buttery, cream cheese and fruit deliciousness.
More Holiday Baking Recipes We Love
The Very Best Chocolate Cookies Gooey Caramel Monkey Bread Old School Homemade Oreos
4.8 from 18 reviews
1 roll refrigerated crescent rolls 2 ounces cream cheese 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk (for egg wash) 1/2 cup jam or fruit spread (I like a classic strawberry but this is also delicious with something more seasonal)
Vanilla Butter Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon warm melted salted butter 1 tablespoon warm water 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sugared Cranberries
3 cups fresh cranberries 1/2 cup water 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
The glaze is designed to set fast, so that you don’t have to wait too long or make too much of a mess to eat these! So once you mix it up, don’t wait too long to use it or it will set and become harder to drizzle. When you sprinkle the sugar over the cream cheese, it might create a less-smooth texture with the cream cheese. This didn’t bother me because you fold the strips before you roll and bake them, so the cream cheese layer is tucked inside anyway (and it saves you the step of having to pull out the mixers)! But if it bothers you visually or texturally, you can always just use electric mixers to get your cream cheese and sugar worked together before you start spreading it on the dough.
