Apple Cheese Danish

Most people usually buy their pastries at the bakery, but by using store-bought puff pastry, you can easily make these breakfast treats at home. The sweet-tart filling goes perfectly with the apples, and not only are these beautiful to look at, but they're tasty too!

Ingredients

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Unwrap and unfold puff pastry (which is usually folded like a letter in thirds) and set on a floured board. Cut each third lengthwise along the fold, then cut each into half horizontally, across the middle (the short side), giving you 6 rectangles of pastry. Roll each section into a square. Cover with a cloth and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, ricotta and egg yolk. Add sugar, lemon zest and salt and mix until just combined.
4. Spread cheese filling evenly down the middle of each pastry square on the diagonal (corner to corner). Fan 5 slices of apple across the filling. Fold the two opposite corners (the ones without the filling) to the center, using a bit of the egg wash to help them stick together.
5. Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash and use a spatula to place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastries, then chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the refrigerator and bake for about 20 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden. Melt the apricot jam in a small bowl in the microwave (about 15-30 seconds) and brush over the tops of the apples. Serve warm or at room temperature.