Cream Cheese Danishes With Sugared Cranberries And Butter Glaze

These cream cheese danishes are sure to bring joy and happiness into your home! The crescent dough is twisted, and cream cheese is layered on top. Baked with strawberry jam, the buttery glaze and then baked again. Add those sugared dried cranberries for a delicious finish!

Croissant dough is layered with cream, twisted and baked, with a layer of jam and buttery glaze on top. Sugared cranberries are a nice touch for decoration, and they add a bit of tart crunch. They are delicious when warm from the oven. This is my weakness. What’s the best part? ALDI has brought the magic of the holidays to you at a very affordable price this year.

Cream Cheese on top vs. Cream cheese inside the layers

The cream cheese center was not as dense as I wanted it to be.

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.

Top Options

What I think of the 3-way topping scenario:

• For flavor: strawberry jam
• Sugared cranberries: a colorful and sparkling addition
• For beautiful sweetness: vanilla butter glaze drizzle

Other jams can be substituted (I love strawberry but blackberry, fig, apricot, and raspberry are also great – ALDI has them all!) You can also use another fruit as a garnish instead of the sugared dried cranberries or even skip them. To make it easier, I recommend making the sugared cranberries a day or even a few hours in advance.

You can make this extra delicious by adding some streusel on top.

ALDI Favorites for This Recipe

ALDI sponsored this recipe, which is great for us because we love ALDI.

All the ingredients for this recipe can be found at ALDI, including croissants (crescent rolls), jam or fruit spread, and cream cheese.

ALDI also has some essentials that you will need as extras. If you are like me, these items should already be in your refrigerator: organic eggs and milk, butter, sugar powder, and cranberries.

ALDI is my favorite store all year long, but I especially love it during the holidays. They make holiday fun (charcuteries, dips and snacks, candies, seasonal fruits, meats and seafood, cheeses and drinks, and even gifts for kids) more affordable and accessible.

Enjoy them warm

Last but not least, these little danishes are delicious warm from the oven.

Then, enjoy this courteous, creamy, buttery, and cream cheese delight.

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Danishes

•  1 Roll Bake House Creations Crescent Rolls
•  2 Ounces Happy Farms Cream Cheese
•  One tablespoon Granulated sugar
•  One egg Plus one tablespoon milk (for egg washing)
•  1/2 Strawberry Fruit Spread Specially Selected This is delicious with seasonal fruit, but I also like the classic strawberry.

Vanilla Butter Glaze

•  1/2 Powdered Sugar
•  One tablespoon Warm melted Countryside Creamery Butter
•  One tablespoon Warmth Water
•  1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sugared cranberries

•  Three fresh cranberries
•  1/2 Water
•  1 1/4 Granulated sugar

Instructions

1. To make the sugared Cranberries: Boil half a cup of water with half a cup of sugar for about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the dried and washed cranberries. Transfer the cranberries to a tray lined with parchment paper and allow them to cool for an hour. (This will make them sticky, but not too wet.) Once the cookies are cool and damp, toss them with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar to coat.
2. Prepare the cream cheese danishes. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the unrolled croissant dough on a clean surface. Roll it out with a rolling-pin and press the seams. It would be best if you created a solid rectangular shape that is slightly larger than the original.
3. Spread the cream cheese over the croissant dough evenly with a butterknife. Sprinkle sugar over the cream cheese.
4. Cut the dough into four long strips. Each strip should be folded in half so that the cream cheese doesn’t get all over your fingers. Then twist each strip to make a long rope. The danish is formed by rolling the string in a spiral. Transfer the danish to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 10 minutes; increase temperature to 400 and bake for 3-5 more minutes. Bake for 10 mins, then increase the temperature to 400 degrees and bake an additional 3-5 minutes for desired browning.
6. Finishing and glazing: Remove the oven and allow it to cool. Whirl the glaze ingredients while cooling.
7. Each Danish should be topped with a few sugared dried cranberries. (See notes below). Drizzle with glaze. These are delicious and warm. The cream cheese, the jammy goodness and the tart crunch of the cranberries… Oh my! So good!