words by: Merissa A. Alink

Recently, I was searching online for a Cream Cheese Danish Recipe and everything that kept coming up was basically a cream cheese mixture folded into a container of crescent rolls. That’s not at all what I had in mind! I wanted a delicious, homemade danish that was soft and fluffy and didn’t taste like a dinner roll.

With that in mind, I set out to create my own delicious danish totally from scratch. Using an old Mennonite recipe as inspiration, I came up with this Cream Cheese Danish braid. If you’re wanting the real deal, not some convenient version, then you will love this recipe!

What You Need: 

•  1/4 Cup warm water

•  1 Tablespoon yeast

•  1/2 teaspoon sugar

•  1/2 Cup sour cream

•  1/4 Cup butter

•  1/4 Cup sugar

•  1/2 teaspoon salt

•  1 egg

•  2 Cups all-purpose flour

•  1 – 8oz. package cream cheese

•  1/4 Cup sugar

•  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions: 

1. Mix together the warm water, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Let it sit for 5 or so minutes.
2. In a saucepan, begin making the dough. First, mix together the sour cream and the butter on low heat. Stir continually until the butter melts so that it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the sugar and the salt into the sour cream and butter mixture. Stir on low heat until the sugar is melted. Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool for a bit before adding the yeast.
4. Add the egg to the sour cream mixture and then mix in the yeast. Then, add in the flour and mix well.
5. Cover the dough and let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. You can even make this dough the night before and leave it in the fridge overnight if you want to bake it fresh first thing the next morning.
6. Mix together the filling. Stir 1/4 cup sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract until well combined. It helps if the cream cheese is softened.
7. After the dough is refrigerated at least 2 hours, roll it out like you are rolling out pizza dough. Cut slits along both sides of the dough about 2 inches long and at least 1 inch apart. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Then, spread the cream cheese mixture down the center of the dough, between the slits.
8. Fold the flaps of dough back over to the center to make it look like a braid. Bake at 350ºF for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
9. Yum! If you want you could create a sweet glaze with powdered sugar and milk. Or you could add jam inside with the cream cheese to give it a little fruit flavor! I’m going to make a glaze with mashed up strawberries and a little sugar. Also, if you want to make this ahead of time this recipe works great! Just prepare as directed above, bake, and freeze whole.