Braided Cherry Cheese Danish

Y'all. This is dessert disguised as breakfast - and I am OK with that! This was a decadent special weekend treat we enjoyed recently - and it was so easy to combine! This would be fantastic for your holiday brunch or breakfast, and it's wonderful warm and at room temperature. It will be a little softer and harder to handle when warm, but works great to eat with a fork off of a small plate instead of holding by hand.

The braiding process is very simple - use kitchen shears and cut about 2 inch slits, 1-inch apart, all the way down both sides of the crescent sheet. Then you just alternate back and forth once the filling has been spread.

Feel free to mix and match any flavor of pie filling here - every single one of them would be DELICIOUS. Or HEY! It's July 4th - so alternate some blueberry and cherry pie filling in there and call it a Red White and Blue Cherry Cheese Danish!

However you fill this one, it is such a yummy delicious treat to make and share!

My biggest dilemma now is that I have about another cup of cherry pie filling leftover and I have to decide just how to use it - besides putting a spoon into it and then inserting said spoon into my mouth...!

Braided Cherry Cheese Danish from Center Cut Cook

Ingredients
1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations – Seamless Dough Sheet
8-oz cream cheese, softened
2 TBS granulated sugar
1 TBS vanilla extract
3/4 - 1 cup cherry pie filling

Glaze
1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 - 1 1/2 TBS milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Lay out a crescent roll sheet on a baking sheet. Cut 2 inch slits, about 1 inch apart, all the way down both sides of the sheet.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Add in the granulated sugar and whip again. Scrape down the sides as needed, lastly blend in the vanilla and beat until mixture is smooth.
4. Use a spatula and spread this mixture down the center of the pastry sheet.
5. Top with the pie filling.
6. Braid the dough by tucking the strips, alternating sides, over the filling all the way down (see picture above for reference).
7. Bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes, until golden brown and baked through.
8. Allow to cool about 10-15 minutes before spreading the glaze over the top.
9. Prepare the glaze by stirring together the sifted powdered sugar with the vanilla extract and just enough milk to reach your desired consistency in a bowl.
10. Drizzle / spread the glaze over the warm pastry and enjoy warm or allow to cool to room temperature and then slice and serve. 

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