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Puff Pastry Cheese and Jam Danish or homemade toaster pastry

Print Recipe
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time16 minutes
8 minutes
Total Time54 minutes
Calories: 400kcal
My husband and I had so much fun making this recipe together! It was easy to follow and totally reminded me of homemade Pop-Tarts or toaster pastry. It’s also a great activity to do with family or friends. You can get as creative as you want skip the cream cheese filling if you’d like and just use jam, jelly, pie filling, or preserves instead. So far, we’ve tried blueberry, cherry, and poppyseed fillings, and all of them were delicious, especially paired with the cream cheese filling!

Equipment

  • 1 baking sheet 13" x 18"
  • 1 parchment paper or reusable silicone mat

Ingredients

  • Pastries
  • 1 Standard box puff pastry 2 sheets thawed in fridge overnight
  • 8 ounces Softened cream cheese
  • One egg yolk
  • 3 tablespoons Granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon Toasted marshemllow extract (or it could be hazelnut extract)
  • About 6 tablespoons berry jam/perserves
  • Egg Wash
  • Coarse sugar (optional)
  • Water as needed
  • 1 Egg
  • Glaze (optional)
  • 3/4 cup Powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon Toasted marshmallow extract or vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons Water

Instructions

  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the egg yolk, sugar, and extracts, and mix until fully combined. Set aside.
  • Remove the puff pastry sheets from the packaging. Working with one sheet at a time, unfold it onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, gently roll the pastry evenly in all directions, keeping a rectangular shape. The dough should only extend about ½–1 inch beyond its original size.
  • Cut the pastry along the two folded creases in one direction. Then cut once down the center in the opposite direction to create 6 equal rectangles.
  • Transfer the rectangles to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart. Using a knife, lightly score a border about ¼ inch from the edge of each rectangle. Do not cut all the way through the dough.
  • Place 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese filling in the center of each rectangle and gently spread it, keeping it inside the scored border. Create a small well in the center and fill with 1–1½ teaspoons of jam, pie filling, or preserves.
  • To make the egg wash, whisk the egg and water until smooth. Lightly brush the egg wash around the scored edges of the dough. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired.
  • Bake at 400°F for 14-16 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
  • For the glaze, whisk powdered sugar and extract in a small bowl. Add water a little at a time until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled pastries.

Notes

We were inspired by Easy Puff Pastry Cream Cheese and Berry Danishes by Sara Wells
Instead of using pie filling, you can use a preserve of your choice. Preserves are more jam-like, whereas pie filling can be too chunky, and the jelly tends to run everywhere.
We also added poppyseed filling, which was really good with the cream cheese.