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These easy Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Danishes made with puff pastry are the perfect combination of flaky, buttery crust with a luscious cream cheese filling topped with gooey chocolate chips and a simple glaze. Ideal for breakfast on the go, as an afternoon snack, or as a dessert for your weekend brunch table.
Glazed Cream Cheese Danish with Chocolate Chips
The thought of making homemade danish from scratch can sometimes sound like a daunting task. What if I told you that you could eliminate several steps by using puff pastry sheets? Wouldn’t that be the best?
I am pretty sure you’ll be making these chocolate cream cheese danish all the time once you see how easy they are to prepare.
Easily modifiable based on what you’ve got on hand, these chocolate chip danish are sweet, creamy, and irresistibly good.
Once you’ve got the puff pastry prep nailed, you can use whatever filling you like; change it from sweet to savory, or use fruit instead of chocolate chips. The options are endless.
Why you’ll love Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Danish
Shortcut recipe – Using frozen puff pastry rectangles eliminates the need to make yeasted dough so you can indulge in these cream cheese puff pastry danish a lot sooner.
Perfect size – The danishes bake up to just about the right amount so that everyone gets a whole one and maybe one for later!
Customizable – Try different types of chips whether it be peanut butter, Skor bar, cinnamon chips, or even a dollop of your favorite jam or jelly.
Easy – Make homemade cheese danish with just a few simple steps in 30 minutes! So, you can enjoy a freshly made breakfast pastry any day of the week.
Equipment you’ll need
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
- Puff Pastry – Puff pastry, thawed according to package directions, not to be mistaken for filo dough or crescent rolls. You’ll find them in the freezer section of your market.
- Cream Cheese – Use full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor, softened to room temperature.
- Granulated Sugar – White granulated sugar sweetens up these danish. Something we wouldn’t do if we were making a savory danish.
- Milk – I use 2% because that’s what we keep on hand. You can use any kind of milk or even heavy cream.
- Vanilla Extract – Pure vanilla extract, not imitation, will give the best flavor.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – Mini chocolate chips work well but full-sized or regular-sized chocolate chips can also be used. If you like you can chop the full-sized ones to make them smaller. For a variation in chocolate flavor, use either milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Egg and water – An egg wash is brushed over the pastry before we bake it. This helps to give it a beautiful sheen and a golden brown color.
For the glaze
- Powdered sugar – Also called confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar. This is used to create a sweet and smooth glaze.
- Butter – Melted butter adds a creaminess to the glaze. You can use salted or unsalted.
- Vanilla extract – I always recommend using pure vanilla extract whenever possible, rather than artificial extract.
- Milk – Adding milk helps make the glaze pourable.
How to make Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Danish
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Step One: Gently unfold each thawed sheet of puff pastry on a clean, flat surface. Make three equal strips by running a sharp knife along the fold marks. Cut those three strips in half so you get 12 rectangles and place them on the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Make sure to leave 1” of space between pieces.
- Step Two: Using a paring knife or pizza cutter, score a border of ½” from the edge of each strip of pastry. Then, poke holes in the center of each pastry rectangle using a fork.
- Step Three: Make the filling by combining the cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer and mix until smooth and creamy. Drop approximately 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese filling ingredients into the center of each puff pastry rectangle and spread it just inside the border. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top of the cream cheese filling.
- Step Four: Using a pastry brush, brush the outside border of each pastry with a thin layer of the egg wash, which is just whisked egg and water. Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 14-16 minutes or until the danishes are golden brown.
- Step Five: While the danishes bake, prepare the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and milk in a small bowl and whisking together. Once they’ve cooled to room temperature, add a drizzle of glaze over the tops.
What to serve with Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Danish
If you’re serving these for a quick breakfast or snack, these are always good with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee.
For special occasions, like Christmas brunch, why not pair them with easy Christmas morning punch or slow cooker hot chocolate?
Since these cream cheese danish are pretty sweet, complete your brunch menu with more savory options like sheet pan eggs or slow cooker tater tot breakfast casserole.
Or balance them with a healthier acai bowl.
Tips & Suggestions
- The glaze is optional. You can drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the danish or garnish the danish with a light dusting of powdered sugar instead. Or, leave it without anything at all!
- Scoring the border allows the dough to rise while poking holes in the center prevents it which creates a well for the filling. So, don’t skip either step.
- Store leftover egg mixture in the fridge to use in another recipe or add to your next omelet.
- Make sure to use equal amounts of the filling in the center of each square.
- Use up leftover chocolate chips in one of these recipes; Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes, Salted Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars With Pecans, or Chocolate Chip Cookies With Coconut Oil.
How to reheat and store Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Danish
How to store leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container or in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator.
How long will cream cheese danish last in the fridge?
Enjoy leftovers for up to 5 days when stored properly in the fridge. The longer they sit the soggier they’ll be, but oh well! They’ll still be gooey and chocolaty and all kinds of delish.
Can I freeze cream cheese puff pastry danish?
You can freeze uneaten danish for up to 3 months. Allow them to cool completely and if layering them, be sure to separate the layers with parchment paper.
To defrost them, place however many you plan to eat the next day in the fridge overnight.
How to reheat them?
Reheat in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds. You can also use the air fryer or toaster oven, but keep an eye on them so the edges don’t burn.
FAQs
Danish pastries are a variant of puff pastry. Traditionally Danish pastry uses yeast in its dough, whereas puff pastry doesn’t. It also contains more butter than puff pastry, but since we’re not making it from scratch and using sheets of puff pastry, we’re definitely playing it fast and loose with the differences!
Definitely! They reheat nicely the next day. Although, they are best eaten right away for that ultimate flaky crispy warm and gooey experience, but I’m not mad at how amazing they are the next day too.
The center of the dough will sink back down as it cools. this is completely normal, thanks to the holes we poked in them earlier! The edges around the outside should remain puffed up.
Need more breakfast/dessert bakes? Try these:
Chocolate Chips Cinnamon Rolls
Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Cream Cheese Chocolate and Peanut Butter Muffins
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Click here for my entire collection of breakfast recipes.
Easy Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Danish with Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 17.3 ounces puff pastry thawed according to package directions
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons water
For the glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- To a clean, flat surface, unfold the sheets of thawed puff pastry. Use a knife to cut along the fold marks making three equal size strips.
- Cut each strip in half, making 12 rectangles, and add them to the cookie sheet, leaving 1” of space between each rectangle.
- Use a paring knife to lightly score a border approximately ½” away from the edge of each rectangle.
- Use a fork to poke holes into the center of each pastry.
- In a small mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer on medium mixing until fully combined and smooth.
- Scoop approximately 1 tablespoon of the filling into each rectangle, using an offset spatula to spread it inside the border.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on top of the filling.
- In a small bowl, make the egg wash by beating together the egg and water. Use a pastry brush to brush the border of each pastry.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the danishes are golden brown.
- While the danishes are baking, in a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and milk, and whisk together.
- Once they have cooled, drizzle the glaze over the tops.
Notes
- Scoring the border allows it to rise while poking holes in the center prevents it, creating a well.
- Store leftover danishes covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheat in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds.
- Heavy cream can be used in place of milk.
- Full sized or regular sized chocolate chips can be used – milk, semi-sweet, or dark.
- Glaze is optional, melted chocolate can also be drizzled over the top or a light dusting of powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
