Fresh apples, cinnamon, cream cheese and a refrigerated crescent sheet come together to make the easiest apple braid that your entire family will love. This Apple Danish Braid will look and taste like it came from a specialty bakery!
The Easiest way to make an Apple Braid!
This past spring I made a delicious Blueberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Braid. Not only did I think that this breakfast pastry was completely delicious, but so did you, my readers! I received numerous comments, and social media interaction from this recipe letting me know how much you loved it!
First of all – thank you for your reaching out and letting me know that you loved this recipe. With your feedback in mind, and letting me know that all of you love easy, delicious breakfast treats, I decided to bring you another delicious apple version of this recipe.
Here’s how to make this delicious and simple Apple Danish Braid:
Start with un-perforated crescent roll sheets:
Much like the blueberry version, my this apple danish braid comes together quickly and easily. It starts with a store-bought tube of refrigerated crescent roll dough.
I like to purchase the “sheet” version, which does not have the perforations, however if you can only find the perforated crescent rolls, go ahead and get those. It’s the same dough, just with tiny perforations to tear apart. Simply roll out the dough, and press the perforations together so you have one flat sheet of dough.
From here, I use kitchen shears to cut strips of dough at an angle. The strips are about 3/4″ wide, and cut approximately 3-4″ in length. In the center of the dough, I then spread my cream cheese mixture.
Make the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling:
Cream together the softened cream cheese along with cinnamon. The cinnamon adds a wonderful cinnamon flavor to the creaminess of the pastry. You’ll also add cinnamon to the coating of the apples, which are placed on top of the cream cheese mixture in the center of the pastry.
Next, add the sliced apples to the top of the cream cheese filling
I placed the apples in one long row in the center of the pastry. I stacked them up on top of each other a bit. It doesn’t have to be perfect, as the apples will be covered by the dough.
Fold the dough strips over the top of the apples to create the apple braid.
You’ll then begin bringing the strips of dough slices over the top of the center of the apples, folding each side over the top of the next. Again, this doesn’t have to be perfect. As you can see, some of the strips may be a little wider or longer than the other – simply just bring the strips over the top of the apples, closing the fruit into the center of the pastry.
Top the apple braid with a cinnamon sugar topping
The last step before putting the pastry into the oven is topping the braid with a cinnamon sugar mixture. For this, I really love using turbinado or raw sugar. The granules of sugar are much larger than regular granulated sugar. It adds a wonderful texture to each bite of the pastry and when mixed with the cinnamon, adds a glorious golden color to the pastry after it has baked.
Bake the Apple Danish Braid
After about 15-18 minutes in the oven, you’ll have the most beautiful pastry!
After Baking Add a Glaze to the top of the Apple Braid
While still warm, drizzle the breakfast braid with a simple cream cheese glaze. The glaze brings it all together, as it adds some additional sweetness to the pastry, and looks really pretty as well!
Slice and Serve for Breakfast or Brunch!
Feel free to slice the pastry while still warm. The cream cheese and apple filling will be absolutely heavenly when served fresh out of the oven!
This is a wonderful dish perfect for brunch with friends, or a great option for when you’re hosting guests for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. Brew up a fresh pot of coffee, and you’re set!
If you love this delicious apple Danish braid, check out some of my other breakfast pastry recipes:
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Breakfast Braid
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Braid
- Strawberry Danish Breakfast Braid
- Cream Cheese Blueberry Danish
- Strawberry Danish
Here are a few of my apple recipes that are perfect for fall or any time of year:
- Microwave Apple Crisp
- Apple Cobbler with Cake Mix
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- Apple Pie Tarts
- Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins
- Healthy Apple Crumble
- Apple Cider Cake
- Cinnamon Apple Bread
- Dutch Apple Pie Bars
- Applesauce Coffee Cake
- Apple Pie Filled Cinnamon Rolls
- Dutch Apple Cake
Here’s the recipe for my Apple Danish Braid:
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Easy Apple Danish Braid with Cream Cheese Filling
Equipment
- Sheet Pan These USA stainless steel sheet pans are great for one-pan meals, baking and more!
- Mixing Bowls These stainless steel mixing bowls are an essential cooking tool for every kitchen.
Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz. tube) crescent dough sheet
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon divided
- 2 cups apples peeled and thinly sliced, about 2 apples
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 2 Tablespoons turbinado or raw sugar
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cream cheese
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On parchment paper, roll out the crescent dough, and pinch together any holes or perforations.
- In a bowl, cream together the 4 oz. of cream cheese, 2 Tbsp. of sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Spread into the center of the dough, leaving about 4" on each side. Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut diagonal 1"strips along the sides of the dough.
- Peel and slice apples. In a bowl, add the remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar, the cornstarch, and 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and mix together to coat the apples. Pour the apple mixture over the center cream cheese area of the dough.
- Gently fold over each end of the dough on to the apples, and fold in each strip of the dough, until all the apples are encased. In a small bowl, stir together the turbinado or raw sugar granules with the remaining 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the braided pastry. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes.
- While pastry is baking, mix together the glaze by creaming together the powdered sugar, cream cheese, and milk. Mix until smooth.
- When breakfast braid comes out of the oven, drizzle with glaze. Slice and serve
Notes
Nutrition
You make this looks so easy – I think even I could pull it off!! Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner Link up!
Omg, yum! This looks great. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Do you think I could make this the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning??
I haven’t tried it. I would be a little concerned that the apples would let out extra juice, causing the crescent to get overly soggy. If you want, leave the apples in a seperate container and add them while the oven is preheating in the morning. Good luck!
This looks amazing! Visiting from #turnituptuesdays 🙂
You make this look so easy! I will have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing with us on Creative K Kids #TastyTuesdays
Ok. I love how festive this is and the idea of having it as a breakfast bread is even better. I’m always looking to make our mornings easier by making on-the-go breakfasts, and this is definitely an option. Thanks so much for sharing it with us on #shinebloghop this week 🙂
That looks delicious! Hopefully it’s as easy as you make it look 🙂
I can’t wait to try this recipe. Looks so good. Thanks for sharing at the #InspirationSpotlight Party Pinned & shared.
Hi, should I use two cans of crescent dough? The reason I am asking because in the past when I have made this crescent heading has been kind of flimsy and has not held it that well. Great recipe btw!☺👍
I only needed one can, and the crescent sheets held together well. I would recomend using the sheets (that don’t have the perforations), which prevents tears. Good luck! ~E
E: are you sure the finished pictures are actually using crescent rolls? The bread looks like a yeasted sweet bread. Just the structure and thickness tells me it’s from a yeasted dough, not crescent rolls.
Nope. This is definitely crescent roll dough bought from the refrigerated case at the grocery store. It works wonderfully and is the perfect amount of dough for this recipe. I use the sheets (non-perforated) version. Enjoy! ~Erin
Step 5 What are you supposed to do with the
sugar you mix w cinnamon?
In a small bowl, stir together the turbinado or raw sugar granules with the remaining 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.
What kind of apples?
Just about any variety of apples will work for this recipe. I like Honey Crisp and Granny Smith, which are sweet and tart. However, whatever variety of apple you most prefer will work well. Enjoy!
Everyone loved this pastry! My son thought I bought this pastry because it was so pretty! And my desserts always look attractive.