This is a fantastic dish that appears to have been created by a professional baker. It takes a little time, but it’s not difficult.
| Prep Time: | 55 mins |
| Cook Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 18 |
| Yield: | 18 pastries |
Ingredients
- 1 (24 ounce) carton cottage cheese
- 3 apples – peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (17.5 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 3 tablespoons white sugar for decoration
Instructions
- Place the cottage cheese in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or heavy-duty paper towels. Pat dry with paper towels and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Place apples in a bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Combine the cream cheese, drained cottage cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, egg, and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer, and mix 1 to 2 minutes on high speed, until almost smooth.
- Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cut each of the puff pastry sheets into 9 pieces; you should have 18 total. Roll the pieces out, one at a time, to make 5 x 5-inch squares. To ensure the pastries puff up, avoid using too much pressure or rolling over the edges of the dough.
- Place a square in front of you so that it looks like a diamond. Spoon a generous amount of cheese filling down the middle of each square, leaving 1/4 inch of room at the top and bottom edges. Fan out 4-5 slices of apple down the center of each cheese-filled square. Bring the left and right corners together to meet in the center and pinch to seal.
- Transfer the Danish to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pastries. Sprinkle sugar over each bundle and bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- The pastries can be assembled the night before and refrigerated, lightly covered, overnight. Omit the sugar garnish; mist plastic wrap with cooking spray to prevent sticking. The next morning, sprinkle the pastries with the sugar and place the pans directly in the hot oven to bake.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 279 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 25 g |
| Cholesterol | 30 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Sodium | 262 mg |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 17 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Delicious concept and I’m glad to have tried this! I was able to get the cheese mixture completely smooth waiting patiently for the blender to do the work! But I agree with the other review that there is too much cottage cheese in the texture. I think if I tried this again, I’d use less cottage cheese, and more egg and/or cream cheese? I also used canned apples, which are easier and added a small amount of extra flavor and smooth texture. Overall good recipe and good danishes but my perfectionistic self wants to make some improvements! =)
Did not make as written. Did not have cottage cheese on hand so used 8 oz of cream cheese to make half a recipe. Delicious! A little time consuming rolling the puff pastry, but worth it!
I halved the recipe when I discovered my box of puff pastry only had one sheet in it! I had way too much filling. It was good, but you do get a lot of cottage cheese taste. Next time I would not use so much cottage cheese and probably add cinnamon to it
Good recipe, I didn’t have any cottage cheese so I substituted plain Greek yogurt which made the filling to loose or watery so I had to add cornstarch to thicken it up. Next time I’ll use only about 12 ounces of Greek yogurt which should be perfect. I also added a little more sugar and a little more vanilla. Also I sprinkle a little sugar cinnamon and vanilla one the apples which made them a little sweeter since I use Granny Smith. Will definitely do this recipe again the kids loved it
not well thought out recipe. but the cheese mix is tasty. it will mix. just not completely. it’s fine however. the biggest problem is sealing the edges. wet one edge with a small amount of water then fold and pinch with fork tines. 20.mins at 400 is good. my kids ate them up
I liked every aspect about these except the cottage cheese. I was unsure about the cottage cheese and the amount. And, I couldn’t quite get the batter to get smooth, like I was worried about. I was hoping for a more creamier texture with the cheese like danishes at coffee shops or bakeries. The texture though was just odd to me. I also had thought about just pinching 2 of the sides so the apples would show, but there was too much cheese filling on each one to do that. The first batch I didn’t sprinkle enough sugar on, and I then realized that 3 Tblsp. came out to be 1/2 tsp. of sugar on top of each one. The ones with the right amount tasted best. I also think homemade puff pastry would be much more flakier, and less greasy, but it is also a very time-consuming so I understand the usage of the frozen. This is not a repeat recipe, because of the cheese taste and texture not being to my liking, but it was interesting to try either way.