Cinnamon-Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

PinSaveJUMP to RECIPE

I have fond memories of going to the local bakery as a child and eating danishes. I would eat one jelly danish before we even left the bakery and then I would polish off a cream cheese danish on the car ride home.

When youโ€™re a kid and play sports seven days a week you can polish off danishes like itโ€™s your job. I wish I could get that job again.

Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?

Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus youโ€™ll get great new recipes each day!

    We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    And in high school and college, I could do some major damage on Entenmannโ€™s danishes and crumb cakes.  With danishes, I love the filling thatโ€™s encased within layers of dough and the density and heaviness.

    I donโ€™t go for light and airy desserts. I go for thick, dense, heavy slabs. The kind of heavy tonnage that makes you wonder how on earth an 8-by-8-inch baking pan weighs 14 pounds as youโ€™re hoisting it into the oven.

    Butter, sugar, cream cheese, jelly, and dough will do that.

    Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    But itโ€™s the crust that really sold me on this one and normally I avoid crust. Itโ€™s usually boring and dry.

    Since I just made mango and streuesel-topped muffins and cinnamon bun crumble-topped pie, I wanted to mix it up with this one and make a solid layer of crust thatโ€™s as flavorful as a crumble topping, while avoiding any blandness or dryness.

    The resulting crust is a solid wall of butter, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The best kind of wall, and itโ€™ definitely not boring, bland, or dry.

    Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    In each bite thereโ€™s a little cream cheese and a little jelly, and thereโ€™s softness and squishy tenderness.

    And then thereโ€™s the robustly flavored cinnamon and sugar crust, which is a little bit crunchy and the perfect contrast to the soft filling.

    Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    The best part of these is that theyโ€™re easy and use a shortcut.

    Itโ€™s called a can of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls.

    Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    I donโ€™t know about you, but Iโ€™d rather be playing with my daughter, outside enjoying the fresh air, organizing my sock drawer, or doing just about anything other than making and rolling out pastry dough.

    Iโ€™m all about baking and I like a good project and challenge, and I have the utmost respect for Christina Tosi who appears to enjoy making things as complicated as multi-staged as possibly, but I just donโ€™t have the time and energy. Hello, shortcut.

    Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    Iโ€™m all about the shortest distance between two points.

    Those points would be me and a bite of this.

    Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    Cinnamon Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    Pin This Recipe

    Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! ๐Ÿ†•
    Go Ad Free

    5 from 1 vote

    Cinnamon-Sugar Crust Cream Cheese and Jelly Danish Squares

    By Averie Sunshine
    A jelly danish sandwiched between flaky layers of cinnamon-sugar crust that will make even crust haters want more crust! So good and so easy! Make it for your next brunch or event and everyone will be so impressed with how it tastes like a bakery-quality pastry, and you donโ€™t have to tell them how fast and simple it is to make.
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 41 minutes
    Total Time: 51 minutes
    Servings:
    Save this recipe to your email
    Enter your email and weโ€™ll send it to you!
    Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

    Ingredients 

    • 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls, 8-count (I used Pillsbury Original)
    • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used Trader Joeโ€™s Whipped Light)
    • ยฝ cup granulated sugar
    • 1 ยฝ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • ยพ cup jelly or jam, I used a raspberry preserves and strawberry jelly combination
    • ยผ cup unsatled butter, melted (half of one stick)
    • ยผ cup granulated sugar
    • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions 

    • Preheat oven to 350F, line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
    • Open the can of crescent rolls and carefully unfold and unwrap them onto counter top or flat work surface. Take half the dough (4 triangles) and line bottom of prepared pan like a big blanket. Use your fingers to massage dough into corners and squeeze together large seams or gaps. It doesnโ€™t have to be perfect but seal gaps as best you can.
    • In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, vanilla, and stir vigorously until combined. Pour mixture over the crescent rolls. Add jelly over the top of the cream cheese layer by drizzling it or picking up large chunks with your fingers and dropping over the cream cheese. Try to create a zig-zag pattern or disperse the jelly evenly over the pan. Top with the remaining crescent roll dough (4 triangles). Use your fingers to massage dough into corners and squeeze together large seams or gaps. It doesnโ€™t have to be perfect but seal gaps as best you can.
    • In a small microwave-safe bowl (the same bowl the cream cheese was in is fine), add the butter and melt it, about 60 to 90 seconds on high power. Pour the melted butter over the dough.
    • In a small bowl (same one is fine), combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and stir. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top of the buttered dough. Bake for 37 to 41 minutes, or until dough has puffed, browned, butter is boiling, and edges show signs of barely browning. There will likely be a pool of butter in places; this is fine, normal, and it will soak in as danish cools. Do not allow the pooled butter to fool you into thinking these arenโ€™t done enough. Allow danish to cool on the counter for 1 hour. Then place pan in the refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving (I chill them overnight). If you do not refrigerate them before slicing, you will have a mess and will not get clean cuts. Store extra danish in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If desired, heat for a few seconds in the microwave before serving but I like to serve these chilled or let them come to room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1, Calories: 356kcal, Carbohydrates: 46g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 54mg, Sodium: 230mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 33g

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

    Related Recipes

    Cinnamon Bun Pie โ€“ best cinnamon rolls Iโ€™ve ever had and they use a shortcut

    Cinnamon Bun Pie

    Mango and Sour Cream Muffins with Streusel Topping

    Mango and Sour Cream Muffins with Streusel Topping

    Creamy Mixed Berry Crumble Bars โ€“ Cream cheese and berries, youโ€™d think very similar to the danish with cream cheese and jelly, but in reality very different tasting

    Creamy Mixed Berry Crumble Bars

    Coconut Spice Cheesecake Bars โ€“ Spice Cake meets Cheesecake meets shortcut โ€“ dense and I love this one

    Coconut Spice Cheesecake Bars

    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Comment

    Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

    Recipe Rating




    The maximum upload file size: 5 MB. You can upload: image, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

    Comments

    1. I ahve 3 kids, 2 of them are young boys, so I need to keep an eye on them. I am all about the short cuts.

    2. Oh wow that looks amazing. I can almost taste it! Mom would get those Entenmannโ€™s danishes as a treat once in a while. I thought they were the best things ever until I worked in a German bakery โ€“ now those were the best darn danishes ever!

    3. Ha, oh yeah, I was a danish kid too! For me it was apple, and there was never a crumb left on my plate. Actually there was no plate, letโ€™s be serious. :) These look awesome Averie, that crust looks dangerous in a really delicious sort of way.

      1. Right out of the cardboard box and cheapie metal tin they came inโ€ฆyou know it!

    4. WOW! All of these pastries look absolutely delicious! Can I have a taste tasting? Iโ€™ll take one of each please! Iโ€™m not a baker, but if I were, shortcuts would not be a problem!!! Life is hard enough sometimes. Why make it harder? :)

      1. Life is hard enough sometimes. Why make it harder? :) <--- TRUER words were never spoken!!

    5. wow these are to die for (insert drooling). Please come over & use your awesome baking skills, and make them for me!! :)

    6. I am all for homemade, but am definitely ok with shortcuts every now and then! These look amazing, Averie!!! :)

      1. And your stuff always looks fabulous! I donโ€™t comment much b/c itโ€™s tricky sometimes for me to login with Tumblr but you have some GOOD looking eats girl!

    7. O.M.G. These look like something I would love to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had just been over at Foodgawker and was reading something from Sallyโ€™s Baking Addiction that was so similar to your recipe tonightโ€ฆmusst be in the air. Anything that has cinnamon and sugar, yes, please, thank you! These look absolutely amazing! I just happen to have ALL the ingredients on hand. I always have ready made crescent rolls in my fridge! Can you say โ€œbreakfast for 2 teenage boys?โ€ :-)

      1. Omg TOO FUNNY! Sally & I are friends and I emailed her the minute after that post of hers went live and told her I had one on standby with a cinn/sugar crust and was going to post it last week but it got bumped for the homemade PB and the food proc giveaway.

        And how sweet (literally) is thatโ€ฆthat you have all the ingredients. You are such a good mama. LMK how the boys (or you) like them!

    8. I never would have guessed the shortcut was crescent rolls!! Iโ€™ve made some veggie-cream cheese appetizer squares with crescent rolls, but I havenโ€™t ever used them for something sweet. I love that thick layer of filling. Shortcuts are welcome in my kitchenโ€“especially when the box or can of whatever I need is on sale.

      1. Try them with something sweetโ€ฆsort of like puff pastry, can go either savory or sweet. Blank dough = blank canvas!

    9. Hi Averie, no, I donโ€™t like danish rolls, too sweet for me, and too messyโ€ฆ Baking shortcuts? Well, for that I have to learn how to bake firstโ€ฆ:) I made your no bake little balls again, this time I changed oatmeal to be gluten free, and I twisted the recipe againโ€ฆ. (donโ€™t hate me, please) :) Have a great week! :)

      1. You donโ€™t like sweets and donโ€™t bake much and like savory stuffโ€ฆI gotcha. You can handle the savory stuff, Iโ€™ll take care of the sweets. Have a great week, too :)

    10. These look amazing, but what are crescent rolls? Are they like croissants, or completely different?

      1. thereโ€™s a link to them in the post so you can sort of see but they are like croissants in a way, slightly less โ€œlayer-eyโ€ with tons and tons of dough, but similar. Something in between a buttery roll and a croissant. You buy them in the refrigerated section of the grocery store but either puff pastry or refrigerated croissants or some other similar bread/roll would likely work if you donโ€™t have them. Use something easy and pre-made from your grocerโ€™s refrigerated or freezer case :)

    11. These look so good, Averie! We used to have Entenmannโ€™s growing up as a special treat every once and a while. I love the cream cheese and jelly combo!

      1. Far from genius, just creative in how to save some time & turn out something delish but that was easy!

    12. Iโ€™ve never seen a dessert quite like this before, but it sounds like all the best parts of a cheesecake, tea time pastry, and jam sandwich combined!

      1. Nothing like the handmade every.single.detail you can turn out, but for a busy mama with lots going on, it worked :)