Easy Cheese Danish

By: Renee from My Kitchen Adventures

Make your Mom's day special by baking up one of the most delicious Danish recipes. This Easy Cheese Danish goes perfectly with a cup of coffee or tea and will brighten anyone's day as a yummy brunch item.

Ingredients

1 (17.3-ounce) package of frozen puff pastry, defrosted ( I used Pepperidge Farm )
8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 tablespoons low-fat ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
zest of one lemon
1 egg, beaten w/ tablespoon of water for egg wash

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment, non stick foil or silpats.
Place cream cheese and granulated sugar in large bowl and beat with electric mixer until smooth.
With mixer on low, add in yolk, ricotta, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until just combined. Fold in lemon zest with rubber spatula. (Don't use mixer, the zest will stick to the beaters)
Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured work surface. (I used waxed paper)
Roll the pasty slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's roughly a 10" x 10" square. Cut the sheet into 9 pieces with a sharp knife. Transfer squares to pan.
Place a 1/2 tablespoon of cheese mixture in the middle of each square.
With pastry brush (or I just use my finger tips) brush the border of each danish with egg wash and fold two opposite corners together at center and try to stretch tip under pastry, brushing and overlapping so they firmly stick. Brush the tops of the pastries with egg wash.
Repeat with remaining puff pastry sheet and filling. (You may have extra filling leftover)
Put baking sheets into refrigerator for 15 minutes. Then, bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed. Serve warm.