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This is an open-faced treat made with store-bought puff pastry and canned apple pie filling (or make your own if you have lots of apples to use up). You get 12 danishes from this recipe, so if it’s a special brunch, you may want to double the amounts.
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Helpful tips + photos to make Apple Danish
I used to be so intimidated by puff pastry, even though I certainly wasn’t making it myself. Was it done enough? Was it TOO brown? But the best way to figure anything out is to practice. Practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to dessert like this easy apple danish.
Step 1: Preheat and prep
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line two small baking sheets with parchment paper. Make sure the puff pastry is thawed. If it’s still frozen it will snap while unfolding it.
Step 2: Cut the pastry
Gently unfold the puff pastry sheets and cut each one into 6 rectangles, for 12 total. A larger knife (like a chef’s knife shown here) or a pizza cutter does a clean job.
Step 3: Score the borders
Without cutting all the way through the dough: Use a butter knife to score a line about 1/4 to 1/2 inch inside the edge of each rectangle. Everything outside the scored line puffs up in the oven, creating a low “bowl” to hold the filling inside the line.
Step 4: Add egg wash
In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water together. Using a pastry brush, dab just the border of each rectangle.
Step 5: Fill each center
Spoon apple pie filling into the center of each rectangle, staying inside the score lines. About 2.5 level tablespoons for each danish, or a couple of gooey apple slices per dough rectangle. (See photo below.) It will be tempting to overfill them, but we want them to stay inside the lines while baking.
Step 6: Bake
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the borders are puffed and golden. Rotate the sheets halfway if your oven bakes unevenly. As I mentioned in Step 1, these need to be in the center of the oven, so bake one pan at a time if there isn’t room for pans to go in side by side.
Step 7: Glaze
As the danishes cool slightly on the parchment, grab a small bowl and add the powdered sugar, a few drops of vanilla and the tablespoon of milk. Stir and use your spoon to drizzle side to side over each danish.
Tools and Equipment
- 2 small baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Large cutting board
- Knife or pizza cutter
- Butter knife (for scoring)
- Small bowl and whisk
- Pastry brush
- Spoon
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Apple Danish
Ingredients
- 17.3 oz puff pastry sheets 1 box, thawed
- 21 oz apple pie filling 1 can
- 1 egg
- 1 T water
- 1/3 c powdered sugar
- 1-2 T milk
- 1 t vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 small baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Gently unfold the sheets of puff pastry and cut each sheet into 6 rectangles.
- Without piercing the dough all the way through: Use a butter knife to score about 1/4 to 1/2 inch inside the edge of each rectangle (like a frame; see photos above), without cutting through.
- Whisk together the egg and water and brush just the outside edges of each rectangle.
- Fill the center of each rectangle with apple pie filling, staying inside the score marks. It may be tempting to overfill, but keep it to about 2.5 level tablespoons of filling per danish. You may have some leftover filling.
- Arrange on the baking sheets and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden.
- Mix the powdered sugar and milk, and optional vanilla extract. to make a glaze and drizzle over each danish.
Notes
Nutrition
The bottom line
These easy apple danishes make a dozen breakfast pastries from a box of puff pastry dough and a can of apple pie filling, with almost no special prep. These are a warm, crisp pastry that will make guests wonder which bakery you got them from.
Here’s even more pastry goodness:
